Hugh Cecil Davis

DAVIS, BENSON, LAWSON

Posted By: Martin Davis (email)
Date: 2/2/2006 at 08:27:08

"H.C. Davis" in: Payne, William Orson. History of Story County, Iowa: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement. 2 vols. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1911. V.2, pp.262-3. H.C. Davis H.C. Davis, devoting his life to general agricultural pursuits, was born on the farm on section 36, Franklin township, on which he now resides, his natal day being December 6, 1871. He has always resided here and throughout his entire life has been connected more or less with the work of the fields, his time and attention being now given to the cultivation of one hundred and eighty-five acres of rich and productive land known as the Evergreen farm. His parents were John E. And Sarah A. (Benson) Davis, the former born in Canandaigua, New York, August 18, 1832, and the latter at Spencerport , New York, on the 11th of November, 1835. They were reared in the Empire state and were married there on the 18th of January, 1859. For several years thereafter they resided in Ontario county, New York, but in 1868 removed westward to Story county, Iowa, settling on the farm which s now the home of their son H. C. Davis. Here their remaining days were passed, the father's death occurring April 16, 1891, while his wife survived until February 28, 1900. Both were members of the Congregational church and were people of sterling worth, who enjoyed the good will and friendship of those who knew them. The father devoted his entire life to farming and was the owner of two-hundred and thirty-five acres of land in this county, including one hundred and twenty acres of the farm upon which H. C. Davis now resides, while the remainder lay across the road in Milford township. The family numbered three sons: Herbert M., who is now living in Greensburg, Kansas; George S., who was killed in a railroad wreck in northwestern Iowa on the 20th of December, 1877; and H. C., of this review. No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for H. C. Davis in his boyhood and youth. He pursued his education in the district schools and when not busy with his text-books worked in the fields or did the chores, gradually becoming more and more familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. At length he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of the old homestead and to this has added until his place now comprises two hundred and twenty-three acres. The land is rich and productive, and the Evergreen farm is known as one of the excellent properties of Franklin township. Upon the place is a ten-room brick residence which was erected by his father in 1880, and the barns and outbuildings are in good condition, furnishing ample shelter for grain and stock. He has made a specialty of breeding and raising Percheron horses and Shetland ponies and in this connection has become widely known. On the 28th of February, 1894, Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Dora E. Lawson, who was born in Polk county, Iowa, June 11, 1871, and is a daughter of John and Elizabeth Highland Lawson. They now have four children: Hazel A., Ida S., Esther Elizabeth and Fredericka. In 1888 Dr. Davis with his mother attended a reunion of the Davis family at Canandaigua, New York, where he met over eighty relatives. These reunions are held annually. A member of the Congregational church of Ames, he has endeavored to guide his life by its teachings and his fellow townsmen recognize in him an honorable, upright man and a public-spirited citizen.