(This account of the Davises of Hamilton County is among the chapters in the new book, Early Hamilton Settlers, by John Wilson)
James Davis fought in the Revolution, then he was one of the early settlers in Hamilton County. A number of his grandsons joined the Union side during the Civil War.
James Davis was born at Fauquier County, Va., in 1760. He was married in 1782 to Mary. Thomas Davis, who was born in 1765 in Virginia, also made his way to Hamilton County with his wife, Sarah.
The sons of James Davis included Phillip, Sullivan and James Jr. Two other sons, Barney and Wesley, married daughters of William Reed, who had married a Cherokee woman. Barney Davis married Nancy Reed and Wesley Davis married Nellie Reed. The children of Barney Davis included Eliza, James, Newton, Wesley, Isabella, Barney Jr. and Tennessee. James, who was born in 1843, married Elizabeth Thornton, daughter of John Thornton and Rhoda York. James Davis moved to Oklahoma and died there in 1895. Newton Davis lived from 1845 to 1896. Wesley Davis lived from 1849 to 1880. Tennessee Davis, who was born in 1856, married William Gillespie. Wesley and James Davis Jr. were with companies of soldiers mustered in at Athens, Tenn., in 1836 and at Dallas in 1837 for the Indian wars.
The Davises made some investments at Dallas, which was briefly the seat of county government. Phillip Davis purchased a lot there in 1831 for $19.50 and James Davis bought one for $45. Another quarter-acre Dallas lot that James Davis bought for $200 was later sold for $150 because he was constrained to do so. James Davis in 1833 sold a mulatto woman Jane to Aaron Rawlings “for a valuable consideration.” James and Mary Davis were among the commissioners of the county poor house.
Sullivan Davis died in the 1840s, but his wife, Elizabeth, lived to an advanced age. Their children included Sarah, Mary, William, James and Sullivan who married Adaline.
James Davis Jr. and his wife, Barbara, had John, Sullivan W., Julian, Martin, James Madison, Newton, George Washington and Robert. Two other daughters, Martha J. and
Mary, were unmarried.
Wesley Davis, who was born in 1811, married Mary A. Ford after the death of Nellie Reid in 1858. Wesley Davis was a trustee of the Snow Hill Academy. The children by Nellie Reed included Elizabeth, Cynthia, Jane T. who married Isaac Wolfe, LaFayette “Turk” who married Nancy E. Murphy, William M., Ellender, John and Benjamin Franklin. Cynthia remained unmarried. The second set of children were Cordelia, Caldonia, Julia, Susan M., Peter Monger and Ida B. B.F. Davis married Ollie Shropshire. He was a trustee of James County, a justice of the peace, and postmaster at Snow Hill. In 1851, the Wesley Reeds received a payment at their home near Harrison as part of the Indian claims.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Sullivan W. Davis marched away to Lexington, Ky. One record shows him at Nicholasville and another at Fort Nelson, then he was with an artillery company at Nashville. John Davis, his older brother, was among those signed up by the staunch Unionist William Clift in the Seventh Tennessee Infantry. John Davis enlisted June 2, 1862, at Sale Creek. Records show him deserting on Dec. 10, 1863, and he was later in confinement at Knoxville.
LaFayette Davis was with the Fourth Tennessee Cavalry and also the First Battalion of the Tennessee Light Infantry. His cousin, James Madison Davis, was also in the latter unit. He was 19 when he joined on Jan. 10, 1863, at Cumberland Gap, Ky. He spent the first part of the year in a hospital. Afterward, the 5-foot-6-inch soldier was named a first lieutenant and was temporarily in command of his company. Newton Davis, younger brother of James M. Davis, enlisted Jan. 23, 1864, at Harrison in the Fourth Tennessee Cavalry. He was later in a convalescent hospital at Nashville.
James E. Davis, who was born at Harrison, was also with the Fourth Tennessee Cavalry. This was apparently the James Davis who was a son of Barney and Nancy Davis. He was
sick in hospitals at Columbia and Pulaski, Tenn., then he rejoined the unit and near the end of the war was on duty with a pack train.
Thomas B. Davis, who was living at Snow Hill with his wife, Eliza, prior to the war, joined the Union's Co. G of the Fifth Tennessee Infantry. He was a son of Avarilla Davis and grandson of Thomas and Sarah Davis, who were from Virginia originally. Thomas B. Davis enlisted May 21, 1862, at Ooltewah. He contracted typhoid fever near the end of the war and died at Nashville March 30, 1865. He was 29.
After the war, LaFayette Davis took a leading role in James County, serving on the County Court. His farm was near the community of Norman. LaFayette Davis died in 1910 several days after suffering serious injuries in a runaway buggy accident. He had been transporting some barrels of water when the horses plunged from a steep embankment. His children included Samuel L. who married Mrs. Nannie Wolfe, Ellen D. who married Ben Clift, Mary Elizabeth who married John Lane, and Lillian who married Sam Lovell. Two other sons, Tyler Jefferson and Jackson William “Jack,” had fine farms in James County. Tyler Jefferson Davis had 567 acres between Harrison and Birchwood at the River View Farm. He had fine cattle and sometimes could get up to two tons of hay from an acre of his river bottom land. He married Bertie Coppinger of Meigs County. Jackson William “Jack” Davis had 175 acres in timber and another 175 acres in cultivation, including 110 of river bottom property. His average corn yield was 50 bushels per acre. He married Minnie Holman. J.W. Davis served on the James County School Board.
Sullivan W. Davis lived near Ooltewah until his death in 1924, when he was 82. His children included Walter L., James M., Samuel G., Luther R., Lillie who married a Bettis, Lulah who married H.M. Bettis, Fred N. and Clyde J. Sullivan W. Davis was buried at the Montgomery Cemetery near Snow Hill. Wesley Davis was also buried here when he died in 1900, as was his son, William M. Davis, and William's wife, Martha.
ANOTHER OF THE Old James County Davises was another William M. Davis. He was called “Cooley Bill” Davis because he married into the Cooley family. He married Mary Elizabeth Cooley, daughter of Elisha and Elizabeth Eldridge Cooley. According to various census records, Cooley Bill Davis was born in 1855 in Alabama and so was his mother, but the father was from Tennessee. It is believed the father was tied in with the Davises of James County. A descendant, Mildred Banther Davis, said he related that his parents both died when he was young. He also said he then went to live with his sister, Jessie, and her husband, but they also died. The children of Cooley Bill Davis were James who married Mollie Ford, Lee who married Martha Michaels, Elisha who married Arlena Shell, Frank who married Lillie Henry, Wes who married Nettie Cook and then Elizabeth Shell, Jess who married Annie Davis, Nannie who married Benjamin Moon and then T.C. Tittle, Marybelle who married Harrison Morgan, Sim who married Cora Cook, Chester who married Mildred Banther and Arthur Columbus "Lum'' who married Eddie Louise Conner. Pete Davis, longtime city detective, is a son of James Davis and Mollie Ford. Roy Davis, who served in state and county government and has started several radio stations, is a son of Sim Davis and Cora Cook. His son, Robert T. Davis, is a Chattanooga attorney. Roy Davis' daughter, Carol Ann, is married to Tom Klemisch and resides on Elder Mountain. Sisters of Roy Davis are Irene who married Ralph Ramsey and then George Garrett, and Florene who married Clifford Tinker.