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View Tree for Rev. John DavisRev. John Davis (b. December 29, 1774, d. January 17, 1838)

John Davis (son of Samuel Davis and Jane Marshall)456 was born December 29, 1774 in Virginia, and died January 17, 1838456. He married (1) Elizabeth Helm on 1801 in Lincoln County, Kentucky456. He married (2) Kittie Bruce on February 16, 1816 in Fauquier County, VA.

 Includes NotesNotes for John Davis:
[drussell.FTW]

John was a Baptist minister but his parents were old school Presbyterians. Before John and Kitty Davis left Kentucky to move to Monroe Cty, MO, he named, laid out the town site, named the roads and streets as we know them today, of Crab Apple Orchard, Kentucky. THe drawing on parchment is a beautifully done picture and the penmanship he used is a lost art. His grandson, WIlliam Marshall Acuff, Louisville, KY has this prized possession.

This story has been a favorite for four generations.

The youngest child of John Davis and his second wife Kitty Bruce was Martha Susan Davis who married William Alexander Beauchamp having heard this story first from Jean Marshall Davis. The story is verified in "The Early History of Kentucky" found in Austin and also at the University of Kentucky from which Mattie Lowe tried to get the book. The response was that the book is under lock and key. Mattie paid for a typed copy of the story from the book.

Samuel Davis and his family lived in the fort until he cleared a place and built a house. He traded a horse at Lexington, KY for a bushel of corn to plant around the house, both for food and as protection from Indians. What was left of the corn was used for making bread until the crop was harvested. They had plenty of wild meat; even some parts of buffalo pounded made a substitute for bread.

One morning at daybreak, Sam saw some Indians crouching from one bush to another and soon he saw more at another place by the side of the house. Sam immediately realized that they were preparing to surround the house and attack them. Without even putting on his shoes, he went to the barn, not looking to the right or to the left. Instead of stopping to feed his horses, as the Indians possibly thought, he went through the barn and into the woods. The Indians soon surmised what he had done and ran after him; he began to run and in some way was able to elude them; he continued on to the fort, possibly Fort Logan, five miles away to get help.

Four of the Indians entered the house to show his wife Jane, their hands covered and stained with pokeberry juice. She immediately recognized that it was stain and not blood, as the Indians wanted her to think. They made signs for her to get up and get dressed; somehow she made them understand to turn their backs to her while she dressed. She took as much time as she dared; she put on all of the aprons that she had too; she dressed the children. They made her cook their breakfast and as soon as they had eaten, they wanted to leave. She ripped open her feather bed to shake out the feathers like snowflakes, but they became impatient. In those days every woman had a silk dress for her wedding; she had two bright colored ones. She took them out and spent much time tearing them into ribbons and decorating the Indians. One Indian dipped up a handful of soft soap and thinking it was molasses put it in his mouth; it was a great joke to the others.

Finally, when grandmother had no other way to entertain them, they made her understand that she had to go with them. They asked in their way how far it was to the fort; she held up both hands. She carried the baby, eighteen months old and the oldest boy carried his brother on his back. When they killed his dog, he promised himself that he would kill an Indian; he did, but an Indian killed him and his mule when he was 17 years old.

As they went through the woods, no roads, she tore stripes from her apron and dropped them so her husband could follow. The Indians soon discovered what she was doing and made her quit. She then pulled off a leaf and gave it to the baby, Polly, to play with; as soon as the baby dropped the leaf, she gave Polly another leaf to drop. When the Indians realized that she was leaving a marked trail for the white men, they made her quit. Then the staunch, incredible Jane began walking on the side fo the trail to mash the weeds down, which made an excellent trail to follow.

Toward mid-afternoon the men from the fort came up to them, but could not shoot for fear of shooting the family. The Indian's tomahawk missed Jane as she jumped. She called the children to run in diferent directions; the Indians grabbed the baby from the mother's arms and threw her against a tree, which cracked her skull. The men overpowered the Indians, who then took a silver coin, hammered it to fit the fracture in the baby's skull, and after picking out fragments of the broken skull, put it over the fracture. Evidently it was a successful experiment, as Polly grew up, married a Mr. Welsh of Hanvill, KY and lived to be over seventy; they had no children.

Have any of her descendants inherited her bravery??

More About John Davis:
Died 2: January 27, 1838457

More About John Davis and Elizabeth Helm:
Marriage 1: 1801, Lincoln County, Kentucky.458
Marriage 2: 1801, Lincoln County, KY.

More About John Davis and Kittie Bruce:
Marriage: February 16, 1816, Fauquier County, VA.

Children of John Davis and Elizabeth Helm are:
  1. Jane Marshall Davis, b. December 2, 1802, d. January 1864.
  2. Joseph Helm Davis, b. August 25, 1808, d. 1878.
  3. Samuel Fleming Davis, b. December 27, 1811, Crab Orchard, Lincoln County, KY, d. December 7, 1893, Paris, Monroe County, MO.

Children of John Davis and Kittie Bruce are:
  1. Hannah Morgan Davis, b. July 22, 1820, Crab Orchard, Lincoln County, KY, d. September 15, 1915.
  2. James Henry Davis, b. June 9, 1824, Crab Orchard, Lincoln County, KY, d. November 1833.
  3. Kate Ann Davis, b. May 5, 1822, Crab Orchard, Lincoln County, KY, d. February 16, 1909.
  4. +Martha Susan Davis, b. August 25, 1830, Crab Orchard, Lincoln County, KY, d. February 16, 1899, Ennis, Ellis County, TX.
  5. Mary Elizabeth Davis, b. January 20, 1827, Crab Orchard, Lincoln County, KY, d. May 2, 1882.
  6. +Sarah Ann Davis, b. June 20, 1817, Crab Orchard, Lincoln County, KY, d. August 3, 1887, Monroe County, MO.
  7. William Bruce Davis, b. September 22, 1818, Crab Orchard, Lincoln County, KY, d. September 16, 1861, Monroe Cty, MO458.
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