USA > Maine > Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume I > Part 47
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denly from life's active duties, while in full mental vigor, one who had ever been the soul of truth and honor. Kindly remembered, re- spected and beloved, he sleeps with his loved wife and honored dead upon the hillside at his early home in Middleton, New Hampshire.
"Warm summer sun, Shine kindly here. Warm Southern wind, Blow softly here. Green sod above Lie light, lie light, Good night, dear heart, Good night, good night."
The name Davis, which is of DAVIS Welsh origin, is derived from Davy, a variation of David. In the formation of the patronymic Davidson in many cases became Davison or simply Davis.
(I) John Davis, of Amesbury, Massachu- setts, is first mentioned in a grant of land made to him by his mother-in-law, Mrs. Martha Clough, whose daughter by a former marriage, Elizabeth Cilley, was the wife of John Davis. The grant was made in Novem- ber, 1684. Of the parentage of John Davis nothing is known, but it is probable that he was connected with the large and numerous Davis families of Newbury and Amesbury. His second wife was Bethiah, daughter of John and Mary (Bartlett) Ash, whom he married October 19, 1702. In 1704 his wife and two of his children were probably the ones who were captured by Indians, as re- lated in Pike's journal. Mrs. Davis, at least, was returned alive, as we find that she was liv- ing in Amesbury in 1707. On June 28, 1708, John Davis married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Biddle, of Newbury, preceding the ceremony by an agreement by which he deeded to her his house and land in Amesbury. The date of his death is not known.
(II) Captain John, eldest son of John Da- vis, was born in Amesbury, May 4, 1689. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob Basford, of Hampton, August 2, 17II. He moved to Biddeford, Maine, and was selectman of that town in the years 1723-36 and 1743-49. In 1746 he was ordered to recruit a force for defense against the French and Indians. He died May 12, 1752, and his gravestone is still standing in Lower Biddeford cemetery. In his will he mentions his saw and grist mill on the east side of the Saco river. He had four sons and five daughters.
(III) Ezra, second son of Captain John Davis, was born in Biddeford, Maine, Febru- ary 20, 1719-20. His wife's name was Sarah, and there is strong circumstantial evidence that she was the daughter of Robert Edge-
comb, of Saco. He died July 26, 1800, and was buried in Limington, where his sons had settled.
(IV) Major Nicholas, third son of Ezra Davis, was born in Biddeford, Maine, and baptized there in June, 1753. He served in the revolution under Captain Jeremiah Hill, in Colonel James Scammon's ( Thirtieth ) regi- ment, enlisting as a private May 4, 1775, and serving twelve weeks and five days. He was again with Captain Hill in Colonel Edmund Phinney's regiment at Fort George, Decem- ber 8, 1776, having enlisted January 1, 1776. He removed to Little Ossipee, or Limington, between 1777 and 1778, where he became ma- jor of the "Old Militia." On February 15, 1777, he married Charity, daughter of William and Rachel (Edgecomb) Haley. He died February 14, 1832. She died January 5, 1800. They had five sons and three daughters : John, Nicholas, Noah, Elisha, Charity, Sarah, Will- iam and Perlina.
(V) William, fifth son of Major Nicholas. Davis, was born in Limington, March 5, 1796. He married Mary, daughter of Joseph and Lydia (Harmon) Waterhouse, of Standish, September 26, 1817. She was descended from the Hoyt, Libby, Fernald, Hasty and Moses families. They lived in Limington. He has been described as " a man of great resolution and force of character ; a judicious farmer and a respected citizen." He died September 17, 1864. She died May 29, 1871. They had six children.
(VI) Hon. William Goodwin, eldest son of William Davis, was born in Limington, June 16, 1825. He left home at the age of fourteen and came to Portland, where he was engaged in the baking business for several years. His health becoming impaired by indoor work, he began driving through the Maine towns selling cutlery and other small wares obtained in New York. He continued thus until 1858, when he entered the wholesale trade in general mer- chandise in partnership with James P. Baxter, the firm taking the style of Davis & Baxter. Together they became the pioneers of the can- ning business in Maine, importing many of their goods from England, establishing the Portland Packing Company, and exporting their products to all parts of the globe. In 1881 Mr. Davis ceased his active connection with the packing company, but he by no means ceased to be a busy man, as the offices he held in various institutions gave him plenty of em- ployment. He engaged in building quite ex- tensively, and erected the Davis block, oppo- site the City Hall and the West End Hotel,
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and in conjunction with James P. Baxter built a large store on Commercial street for Milli- ken & Tomlinson. He was president of the National Traders' Bank, Poland Paper Com- pany, Portland Trust Company, and Maine Savings Bank : a director of the First National Bank, the Portland Street Railway and of the Maine Central Railway, and a trustee of the Portland Lloyds until the business of that association was wound up in 1895. For sev- eral years he was vice-president of the Port- land Board of Trade. He was a representa- tive from Portland to the Maine legislature in 1875-76, and served as senator from the Portland district in the session of 1877. He was appointed by President Harrison one of the state commissioners at the Columbian Ex- position in Chicago, 1893. In political mat- ters his was many times the dominating in- fluence, although there, as in business, he never sought the place of leader. Up to 1896 and the nomination of William Jennings Bryan, he was a very enthusiastic Democrat and gave liberally of his time and means to the party, but not approving of the Chicago platform, like other Democrats of the old school, ceased to take an active interest in politics. He never, however, ceased to be a Democrat, but he was a Democrat of the old Jacksonian school.
Mr. Davis was in many respects a very re- markable man. He filled a large place in the arena of business in Portland, much larger in fact than many credited him with filling, and not in the least disposed to push himself to the front. The esteem in which he was held by his associates was voiced at the time of his death by one who was competent to judge, as follows: "Outside of his family there is no place where Mr. Davis' death will prove a greater loss than at the banks." He was so easy to approach, so kindly and patient, and his advice was so sure to be safe and wise that he naturally became the counselor on whom all of the others leaned. Though an exceed- ingly busy man, he seemed to love to give his time to help his friends and especially to keep them from trouble or rescue them from difficulty. He was gifted by nature with the rare ability to quickly comprehend the situa- tion or to see through a financial problem which other men could not master. His mem- ory of events, dates, minute details was re- markable, and proved of great value to all who consulted him. He was a quick and sure judge of the men with whom he dealt and of those who were serving under him. When he
found a man on whom he could rely, he trusted him implicitly, expecting that the full- est measure of confidence would be rendered to him in return. His word was as good as his bond. Though possessed of a commanding presence, and gifted by nature with the faculty of leading men, he never intruded anywhere, never appeared to be offended, and above all never treated anyone except with courtesy and respect. He was a resident of Portland for sixty-four years. In personal appearance Mr. Davis was attractive. He was of majestic stature and noble build, in proportion perfect. His head was large and finely developed, his features regular, his hair and beard abundant, and his complexion ruddy. His general ap- pearance was suggestive of resolute deter- mination, solidity, and force of will. Yet he was genial and social, was frank of speech, and a despiser of all shams. His religious connection was with the New Jerusalem Church, of which he was a long time a leading member.
William G. Davis married, March 4, 1849, Rhoda M. Neal, of Gardiner. Children : I. Helen, born 1849, married Joseph G. Cole, of Paris, Maine; deceased. 2. Walter E., born 1853, died in infancy. 3. Walter Goodwin, born January 5, 1857, mentioned below. 4. William Neal, born February 22, 1860, de- ceased. 5. Charles A., born 1862, died in in- fancy. 6. Edith, born 1865, married George Taylor Files, profesor of German at Bowdoin College. Child, Helen Louise. 7. Florence (twin), born 1869, died in infancy. 8. Alice (twin), born 1869, died in infancy. William G. Davis ( father ) died April 19, 1903, and his wife survived him only four days, dying April 23, 1903.
John Neal, ancestor of Rhoda M. (Neal) Davis, said to have been a Scotch-Irish emi- grant, was in Scituate, Massachusetts, in 1730. He was a potter by trade. The name of his wife is unknown. He had two sons and two daughters baptized in Scituate.
John, eldest son of John Neal, was born May 5, 1728. He settled in Litchfield, Maine, a town largely settled from Plymouth county, Massachusetts, but apparently lived for a time in Topsham, for the Brunswick records show that on January 16, 1762, "Mr. John Neele and Mrs. Abigail Hall both of Topsham" were married. It has been impossible to identify her with any of the Hall families then in Maine. He died August 18, 1799. She died November 22, 1818.
Joseph, son of John Neal, was born March
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24. 1769. He married Sarah, daughter of Captain Adam and Polly ( Hutchinson) John- son. They lived in Litchfield.
Joseph, son of Joseph Neal, was born March 2. 1793. He married, January 30, 1817, Han- nah, daughter of Annis and Sarah ( Hildreth) Spear, and granddaughter of Paul Hildreth, the adventurous first settler of Lewiston. They lived in Gardiner. He died March 11, 1836, while she survived until December 20, 1881.
Rhoda M., daughter of Joseph Neal, was born September 25, 1828, in Gardiner. She married, March 4, 1849, William Goodwin Davis.
(VII) Walter Goodwin, only surviving son of William G. and Rhoda M. (Neal) Davis, was born in Portland, January 5, 1857. He attended the public schools of Portland, and graduated from the high school in 1875. In that year he entered Bowdoin College, from which he graduated with the class of 1879. He immediately entered mercantile life, tak- ing a place with the firm of Davis & Baxter. There he served until 1882, when the founders of the firm retired. Mr. Davis's natural quali- fications seconded by the able training of his father have made his career as a business man markedly successful. Mr. Davis is vice-presi- dent of the Portland Trust Company, a direc- tor of the Traders' Bank, a trustee of the Maine Savings Bank, and has interests in vari- ous smaller institutions. He has no ambition for political honors, and is never active in political campaigns. He is a member of An- cient Landmark Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Royal Arch Chapter ; Portland Coun- cil, Royal and Select Masters; Portland Com- mandery, Knights Templar. He is a member of all the principal non-political clubs of the city, among which are the Cumberland, Port- land. Portland Atheltic and the Country. In religious faith he is a Congregationalist. Wal- ter G. Davis married. December 8, 1880, Mary Howard, born October 9, 1859, daughter of Colonel Asa Waldo and Jane ( Patten) Wildes. of Skowhegan. They have two chil- dren: Walter G., born May 14, 1885, a stu- dent at Yale, class of 1908; and Clinton Wildes, born June 2, 1888, also a student at Yale, class of 19II.
John Wild, immigrant ancestor of Mary Howard (Wildes) Davis, was born in Eng- land in 1618, came to America with his brother, William Wild, on the ship "Eliza- chusetts. In 1639 he served in the Pequot war. About the year 1645 he married Pris- beth" in 1635, and settled in Ipswich, Massa- cilla. daughter of Zaccheus Gould, and moved
to Topsfield, where he entered prominently into the life of the new town, occupying po- litical and church offices. Priscilla (Gould) Wild died April 16, 1663, having borne him three sons and five daughters. He married, November 23, 1663, Sarah, daughter of Will- iam Averill, of Ipswich. In 1692 she was ar- rested on the charge of witchcraft, convicted, and executed on July 19 of that year. The events leading to her arrest and the circum- stances of her trial throw an interesting light on the life and customs of the times, but form a story too lengthy to narrate here. Two daughters of John Wild and a son-in-law were also arrested, but escaped execution. John Wild married Mary Jacobs, June 23, 1693. He died in Topsfield, May 14, 1705.
(II) Ephraim, only son of John and Sarah (Averill) Wild, was born in Topsfield, De- cember, 1665. He married Mary, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Clark) Howlett, March 18, 1688-89. He was a prominent citizen, serving as a selectman, treasurer and con- stable. On the town and county records he is dignified with the titles of Mr. and quarter- master. He died April 2, 1725, his wife sur- viving until May 17, 1758. They had sixteen children, four of whom settled in Arundel, Maine.
(III) Captain John, eldest son of Ephraim Wildes, was born in Topsfield, June 25, 1690, died September 27, 1750. He served the town as selectman for eleven years. He was a car- penter by trade, and made the town stocks in 1720. The name of his wife was Phoebe, probably a member of the Redington family. She died September 30, 1765.
(IV) Amos, sixth son of Captain John Wildes, was born in Topsfield, January 27, 1727-28. He married Hannah, daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Porter) Perkins, February 5, 1750-51. She was descended from the Gould, Dorman and Hawthorne families. He died of small-pox on May 24, 1779, and his wife committed suicide in the following December.
(V) Dudley, third son of Amos Wildes, was born in Topsfield in January, 1759. He married Bethia, daughter of John and Bethia (Toues) Harris, of Ipswich, and a descendant of Mrs. Margaret Lake and the Bradford and Raymond families. He died January 21, 1820, and she died February 25, 1833.
(VI) Hon. Asa Waldo, third son of Dudley Wildes, was born in Topsfield in May, 1786. He graduated from Dartmouth College in the class of 1809, and for a time taught school in Newburyport and Washington. He was
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admitted to the bar in 1820 and began the practice of law in Newburyport. He con- tinued until 1826, when a commission, now known as the county commission, was created and Mr. Wildes was appointed its chairman. He continued a member of the commission, by election and appointment, until 1856, with the exception of one term, 1842 to 1845. He served on the board of selectmen of New- buryport from 1825 to 1827. He married, June 7, 1818, at Newburyport, Eliza Ann, daughter of Captain Abel and Phoebe (Tilton) Lunt, descended from the Essex county fam- ilies of Appleton, Safford, March, Gilman, Batt and Allen. They lived in a large old Colonial house on High street in Newbury- port. Their children were : Rev. George Dudley, Mary Howard ( Mrs. Francis Chase), Colonel Asa Waldo, Colonel Henry, of San Francisco, Caroline Huntington (Mrs. Henry Stanwood), Annie Tilton (Mrs. George Brown), and Francis A.
(VII) Colonel Asa Waldo, second son of Hon. Asa Waldo Wildes, was born in New- buryport, August 2, 1822. At the age of six- teen he began the study of civil engineering in the office of Colonel T. M. Fessenden, then chief engineer of the Eastern railroad. Colo- nel Wildes was engaged in the construction of the Eastern road until its completion, when he was transferred to the Portsmouth, Saco & Portland railroad, having been engaged in the engineering department. In 1850 he was ap- pointed resident engineer of the Maysville & Lexington railroad in Kentucky, where he remained until 1855, when he returned to Maine and took charge of the incomplete por- tion of the Somerset & Kennebec railroad. In 1857 he was appointed chief engineer of the Marquette Ouronagon road, Michigan. In 1859 he became chief engineer of the Grand Rapids & Indiana road extending from Fort Wayne to the Straits of Macinaw. In 1860 he returned to Maine, settled in Skowhegan, and shortly after was appointed an aide on the staff of Governor Washburn. He was appointed colonel of the Sixteenth Maine Regiment in May, 1862. He took an impor- tant part in the transportation of Maine troops to Washington, and was at the front at the first battle of Bull Run. Serious ill- ness, caused by long exposure, rendered him unfit for field duty, and he was finally obliged to resign his command and return to his home to regain his health. In 1862 he had been ap- pointed railroad commissioner, and from that year until his death served the state in that capacity. He married, April 10, 1842, Jane,
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daughter of Johnson and Lucy (Towne) Pat- ten, of Kennebunkport. She died May I, 1877. He married (second) August 12, 1878, Fannie Gray. Colonel Wildes died in Au- gusta. Children by first wife: 1. Francis, died young. 2. George Lunt, born November I, 1847, married Elizabeth Neal Gilman, June 26, 1877; living in Melrose, Massachusetts; three sons. 3. William Henry, born Septem- ber 6, 1850, married Abigail Keene, Novem- ber 26, 1874; four sons ; living in Skowhegan. 4. Annie Waldo, born September 17, 1856, married Charles Douglas Whitehouse, October 17, 1876; two sons; after his death she mar- ried Henry Norman James, of Franklin, Ten- nessee, where she is now living. 5. Mary Howard, born October 9, 1859, married, De- cember 8, 1880, Walter Goodwin Davis.
Robert Patten, immigrant ancestor of Jane (Patten) Wildes, came from the Scotch Pro- testant colony at Coleraine, Derry, Ireland, to America in 1727, accompanied by his wife, their young son and two brothers. The wife, whose maiden name was McGlenthlin, died on the voyage. He appears to have settled in Arundel, on the Saco road, about ten years later. His second wife, whom he married in Scarborough, December 26, 1743, was Flor- ence Johnson, undoubtedly a daughter of James Johnson, of Scarborough, also a Scotch- Irishman. His will, made March 15, 1775, mentions his wife; his son Hector of Tops- ham to whom he bequeathes his sawmill at Topsham; sons Robert, James and John; daughters Margaret, Mary and Rachel.
(II) James, third son of Robert Patten, married Sally Stone in Arundel, December 7, 1775. It has thus far proved impossible to identify her. His second wife was Abigail Meservey. He died in the spring of 1817.
(III) Johnson, son of James and Sally (Stone) Patten, was born April 9, 1782. When a young man he was mate with his brother, Captain Robert Patten, of the schooner "President Jefferson" (1803), and of the "Paulina" (1811). He married Lucy, daughter of Lieutenant Amos and Sarah (Mil- ler) Towne. She was born February 9, 1790, and her father, a revolutionary veteran, was descended from the Towne, Curtis, Smith and Browning families of Topsfield, Massachu- setts. Johnson Patten died June 1, 1848. Mrs. Patten survived him and died in Saco, October 17, 1862.
(IV) Jane, third daughter of Johnson and Lucy (Towne) Patten, was born March 31, 1821. She married Colonel Wildes, April 10, 1842.
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Very Truly yours Cyrus W. Davis
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The name of Davis is a very com- DAVIS mon one all over the United States, it being almost as numer- ous as Smith, Jones and Brown. It has pro- duced candidates for the presidency and judges of the United States supreme court. They have fought on the water and on the land, have tracked the hiding savage in the wilder- ness, and faced the foe in the bayonet charge on the open battle ground. They have never flinched, never shirked duty. The name comes from David, a Biblical name of Hebrew or- igin, meaning "the beloved."
(I) The commencement of the line with which we now have to do may be safely set at Yarmouth, Cape Cod, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. There, Robert Davis came from England about 1638. In 1643 he was on the roll of those able to bear arms. He was admitted a freeman in 1659, and removed to Barnstable about 1650. He was not a weal- thy man .---
"An honest good man, And got his living by his labor, And Goodman Shelly was his neighbor."
His character for honesty and industry was his legacy to future generations. His farm was on the south side of Dead Swamp, which he purchased from the Indians. The name of his wife was Ann. He died in 1693. His will was dated April 14, 1688, and admitted to probate June 29, 1693. To Josiah he gave a house lot. His widow Ann died in 1701. The fact that she refers in her will, dated May 5, 1699, only to the younger children yields ground for the belief that she was a second wife. The children of Robert were: De- borah, Mary, Andrew, John, Robert, Josiah, Ann, Hannah, Sarah, Joseph and Mercy.
(II) Josiah, sixth child and fourth son of Robert and Ann Davis, was born in Barn- stable in 1656, and married Ann, daughter of Richard Taylor, of Yarmouth. Children : John, Hannah, Josiah, Seth, Ruth, Sarah, Jonathan, Stephen and Aura. He had a ven- ture on a trading vessel and was a man of parts. His house was named in the laying out of the county road in 1686; it stood a few feet east of the present dwelling of Lot Esta- brooks. His will was dated April 21, 1709, and the estates inventoried £500. He was in Captain John Gorham's company in King Philip's war. He was in the memorable battle, memorable for its brutal savagery and the stubborn valor of the colonists, fought in South Kingston, Rhode Island, in which the Narragansetts were completely routed and their power as a nation of warriors over- thrown. It was the last stand of the Narra-
gansetts. No more was heard in the midnight watches of their dreadful warwhoop.
(III) Josiah (2), second son and third child of Josiah (1) and Ann (Taylor) Davis, was born in Barnstable, August, 1687, and married Mehitable, daughter of Edward Tay- lor, of West Barnstable. Children: Edward, Mary and Josiah.
(IV) Josiah (3), third child of Josiah (2) and Mehitable (Taylor) Davis, was born in Barnstable, August 2, 1718. He married Thankful Matthews in 1745; (second) Thank- ful, daughter of Ebenezer and Temperance (Haws) Gorham. He resided in the house in which his father had lived. The general court of Massachusetts rewarded the soldiers who served in the King Philip war with grants of land in the province of Maine. In this way Gorham in Cumberland county, Maine, came to be settled, and was called "Narragansett No. 7," it being the seventh town granted away for this purpose. Thither removed many families from the South Shore and Cape Cod as early as 1743, and thither removed Josiah (3) with his family in 1762.
(V) John, son of Josiah (3) and Thankful (Gorham) Davis, was born in Barnstable in 1761. He married Patience, daughter of James and Mary (Gorham-Phinney) Irish, in 1789. Her grandfather, James Irish, served under the famous Indian fighter, Colonel Wentworth, at Penobscot Bay. Her father was also a noted fighter, and served under Washington at Cambridge, Massachusetts. John served in the unfortunate Penobscot ex- pedition in Captain McMellen's company, 1779. The battle of Castine followed, from which the Americans retired without winning the prize of victory. The soldiers made their way back through the wilderness to civiliza- tion the best way they could, each one for himself. They suffered much from want of food and exposure. The family of John and Patience Davis consisted of Sally, Thankful, James, Rebecca, Temperance, Martha, Mary, Solomon and Cyrus.
(VI) Cyrus, youngest son and ninth child of John and Patience (Irish) Davis, was born in Buxton, Maine. He married (first) Martha Chase, by whom was born to him: Cyrus Augustus. He married (second) Harriet A. Pratt ; children: Oscar Pratt, Edward C., Joseph B., Martha G., John C. and Cyrus W.
(VII) Hon. Cyrus W., fifth son and sixth child of John and Harriet A. (Pratt) Davis, was born in Buxton, Maine, and to its schools and Gorham Academy was indebted for his early education. He married Flora E., daugh-
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ter of Joseph Philbrook, of Lisbon Falls, De- cember 25, 1879. Children : Harold P., born March 6, 1887, and Russell Wendell, June 13, 1892. Starting in business with Hon. E. H. Banks, a dry goods merchant of Biddeford, he was later associated with S. Smith, Jr., of Waterville, in the same business. Since he has been senior partner in the brokerage and banking company of Davis & Soule, with of- fices in New York, Boston, St. John and Wat- erville. He is a director in inany corpora- tions, giving particular attention to mining and electric railroads. He is a man of sound busi- ness judgment, successful in whatever he undertakes. Public-spirited, he is loyal to the interests of his adopted city and native state, than whom none of her sons are more deserv- ing of recognition. A man of his stamp and character does not have to wait long without call to political duty. Accordingly in 1900 he was elected on the Democratic ticket to the lower house, and given a re-election in 1903, which itself shows in what regard he was held by the community and how well he gave an account of his stewardship. He served on the committee of ways and means, insurance, and mercantile affairs. He was accorded at both sessions of which he was a member the honor of nomination for speaker by his party, though in the minority it was no less a mer- ited compliment. Mr. Davis was the member who introduced the first resolution in regard to the resubmission of the fifth amendment, touching the manufacture and sale of intoxi- cating liquor. He is a forceful speaker, and what he says carries weight. In 1903 he was mayor of Waterville, and in 1904 and 1906 was candidate for governor of Maine on the Democratic ticket. In politics he is Demo- cratic, and in religion Baptist. He is a thirty- second degree Mason, past master of Water- ville Lodge, a member of Teconnet Chapter, R. A. M., No. 52, and past commander of St. Omer Commandery, K. T.
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