Part III: The Davis Six
The Legacy of Dr. Andrew Russell Davis and Josephine Ryan Davis
Andrew Russell Davis, M.D.
The six children of Dr. Andrew Russell Davis and Josephine Ryan Davis were the generation of my grandfather. I will not trace the genealogy of each. See pages 84-86 of “A Cloud of Witnesses” to see a list of some of the children and grandchildren of The Six.
Appropriately, the eldest of the six was named Edward W. Davis (perhaps after Andrew Russell’s father who died during the Civil War). Uncle Ed was born on April 16, 1881 when Andrew Russell was 24 years old. Ed Davis was in the oil business at
Moundville, Alabama. His first wife was Olive Terry who was born on February 10, 1884 and died on December 27, 1930. He later married Johnnie Mills who lived from August 18, 1885 to May 16, 1962. My remembrance of Uncle Ed was that he was a man who had a wiry frame, a quick wit, an independent spirit as well as a stubborn streak. He lived in a house that was located on the west side of Highway 69. Hale County High School was on the opposite side of the highway. Ed lived near his brother Virgil or Virgil’s son Julian. I always wondered if Ed had to be looked after as he advanced in years. He died on January 10, 1972 a short three months before his 91st birthday. To me he had a compulsive nature and would head off by himself and get a Greyhound bus ticket (one-way) to Leeds, Alabama where his daughter Lillian lived. When zip codes became the U. S. Postal Service newest addition to addresses, Uncle Ed never put a street address on his letters to Lillian. He would print her name and underneath the name he would put her zip code. His correspondence always made it to its destination. I remember Ed living in another house before the one mentioned above. It was south of Moundville. That is where I first met Aunt Johannie, his second wife.
My brother Edward Larry Davis was named after Uncle Edward W. Davis. I assume that the W. in Ed’s name was for William. Uncle Ed’s grandfather had the middle initial W. and that grandfather’s grandfather was possibly the William Davis who was married in 1782 as referenced in Part One of this series on the Davis Family. The names William, Edward, Andrew and Russell have been used as first names in the generation of my Dad’s cousins and their children. These cousins are the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Andrew Russell Davis.
The second surviving child of Andrew Russell and Josephine Davis was Isaac Luther Davis. As stated in previous entries Isaac Luther was my paternal grandfather who eventually settled in Mobile, Alabama, but he grew up like the rest of the Davis Six in Moundville, Alabama which is in Hale County. Moundville, Alabama is right across the county line that separates Tuscaloosa County and Hale County. Visitors to the Deep South and not so Deep South learn very quickly that many southerners identify their home not only with the community in which they live but most often with the county. In fact, to this day, the automobile license plate (or car tag in the colloquial) always has the number which identifies the county of residence. I can still recall some of those numbers that identify various counties. Let’s see...#63 is Tuscaloosa County; #36 is Hale County; #25 is Cullman County; #1A or #1B or #1C is Jefferson County where Birmingham is located. It is the largest in population so has #1 for its designation. The second in population is Mobile--thus the designation #2 for Mobile County. Montgomery is third in population—thus #3 for Montgomery County. I don’t venture too far into this number’s game since I’ve lived away from Alabama for over 34 years and the memory is waning. Well, #5 is Baldwin County…the numbers continue on in an alphabet order for the counties. I can not remember #4…ah! It’s Autauga County which is near Montgomery. I will stop now since there are at least 67 counties in Alabama.
Where was I…Oh yes…Isaac Luther Davis was married twice as were both of his brothers. He married Ellie Cronin Davis on January 30, 1907 in Mobile, Alabama at St. Joseph Church in Mobile. Ellie Davis died on June 26, 1916 and Isaac Luther married Irene Cronin on November 12, 1918. Irene Cronin was Ellie Cronin Davis’s sister. Ellie was born on May 31, 1885. There is some discrepancy in my Grandfather’s birth year. I always thought it was May 16, 1885. But, according to a letter that my father wrote to his sister Mary Lucille Davis Woodliff in the fall of 1984 (a copy of this letter came to me recently via my Cousin Dee from Tennessee), my father told his sister that on his birth certificate (1915) his father Isaac Luther Davis is recorded as being 32 years old. That is either a mistake on his birth certificate or Isaac Luther was actually born in 1883. To add to the interest in my dad’s birth certificate, the certificate records that my dad was born on February 30, 1915. His birth date is actually February 14, 1915. Of course, obviously, there has never been a February 30 at least not in my memory. So, who knows?
I will close this entry and continue at another time with the others in The Davis Six. Down the road I will mention the children of The Davis Six as far as I can safely go with this blogging since most of the 13 cousins who are the grandchildren of Isaac Luther and Ellie Davis are still very much alive. I have childhood and adult memories of some of these cousins, and I may need to get copyright approval before I get into those stories.
There still remains one more son and three daughters of Andrew Russell. Until next time…Happy Blogging…
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P.S. I pray that this Blogging hasn’t gotten you bogged down too much.
P.P.S. I would like to thank my cousin Dee Wienand Boaz for helping with this information. I consider her a “partner in crime.” Thanks, Dee.
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