49
Gen. Davis Family Papers & Relics [Manuscript - Military - Native American]
Including a group of early manuscript material, notably an official military appointment (1815) and resignation (1818) for General Jonathan Davis Jr.; Plan and survey of 200 acres of "Indian" land in Dudley purchased by Edward Davis (1713-1784), 1763; large vellum land deed documenting the transfer of 2,500 acres in Oxford from Thomas Whatley of London to Ebenezer Learned and Edward Davis, 1754; official appointment of Ebenezer Learned to Justice of Peace for Worcester, 1778; hand-written memorandum belonging to Jonathan Davis, Jr., 1825 to 1841; official ledger for the Massachusetts Central Turnpike Corporation, kept by clerk and original proprietor, Jonathan Davis, Jr., 1830; day book belonging to Jonathan Davis Jr., 1828-1855; ledger belonging to Jonathan Davis Jr. ledger, 1828 to 1850; ledger belonging to Ebenezer Davis (1737-1816), Charlton, 1774 to 1816; ledger belonging to Michael Fellows, Brentwood, New Hampshire, 1810-1829; and a copy William Pain's The Practical Builder (London, 1792) re-purposed as a family cook book with pasted newspaper clippings and hand-written recipes.
Also including dozens of hand-written letters, copies of wills, deeds, notes, newspaper clippings, genealogical notes, and miscellaneous printed ephemera passed down through Davis' children, grandchildren, and so forth; especially material belonging to his grandson Hon. George L. Davis (1816-1891).
Printed items to include the pamphlet, An Address Delivered at the Dedication of The Town Hall in Worcester, by John Davis, 1825; Discourses on the Whole LVth Chapter of Isaiah by Rev. Nehemiah Walter, printed by D. Fowle, Boston, 1755; Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs, printed by Thomas and Andrews, Boston, 1792; All Religions and Religious Ceremonies, printed by Cooke & Sons, Hartford, 1823; facsimile copies of the Declaration of Independence, 1876, and The U.S. Constitution, 1887; NH presidential election ballots for 1884; five copies of Genealogy of Samuel Davis, of Oxford, and Joseph Davis, of Dudley, by George L. Davis, North Andover, 1884; and much more.
Historical and family souvenirs, comprising: a fragment of burnt paper recovered from the Great Boston Fire of November 10, 1872; a piece of wood from the landmark Old Elm on Boston Common, destroyed in a storm in 1876; a fragment of wood from Dr. Isaac Israel Hayes's Arctic expedition of July 1860 aboard the schooner United States, undertaken in search of the "Open Polar Sea"; and a compass formerly belonging to James Amenzo Hays (1870–1934), son of James Buchanan Hays, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Idaho.
General Jonathan Davis (1761-1838) was a prominent Massachusetts civic and military leader. He was commissioned Brigadier General in the Massachusetts militia on October 29, 1802, and later advanced to Major General. Beyond his military service, Davis held significant civic authority, serving as Chief Justice of the Court of Sessions for Worcester County from 1812 to 1814 an Presidential Elector in 1828. He was deeply engaged in educational and economic development as a trustee of Nichols Academy (now Nichols College) in Dudley, Massachusetts, and as founder and president of the Oxford Bank from 1823 to 1833.
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