Memoir – Henry Davis Pearce

The Davis Family

The David Family were originaly from Wales. The first Davis came over a young man in the early days of the colonies and setteled in Verginia and the famly later by marage became related to the Woolf family of whom was General Woolf of revolutionary fame also one of the Davises was shot through the body during the revilution of the Colonies, and the tradition is that a silk handchieff was drawn through his body. Also Stone Wall Jackson was brother to Henry Davis’es Mother. They lived Henry Davis & family in Harrison County VA. He was married to Miss Annie Bush. The Bushes wer High Duch, originaly had to leave the father Land for some political trouble they belonging to the aristocracy and wer welthy. Henry Davis was born 1796 and Annie Bush Davis was born June 22nd A. D. 1800. Both in Verginia.

Their oldest child Prudence Davis – Wells – Miller was born Dec 6th 1817.

• George Bush Davis born July 1819.
• Mary Davis Pearce born
• Mahaly Davis born
• Elizabeth Davis Jackson born
• Francis Davis Jackson born
• Marshall H. Davis born 1829.
• Smanthay Davis Layhew born Sept 1831

Henry Davis & family moved to Adams Co Ill. 1832 locating near whare Clayten was afterwards built. Henry Davis was a Baptist Preecher and his ansesters before hime back to the Davis that came from Wales. He moved to Texas Grayson County May 1856, locating near Furgason P. O afterwards Farmington and died March 1870.

The first thing I can recolect is when I got into some trouble a child that my Aunt Ellen Harkness carried me away up stars she was about 7 years the oldest. I can recolect she was a little girl. The next thing I recolect is playing in the lane between Grandmothers and our house which was only about a quater of a mile apart also recolect a butting sheep that was in the pasture between the houses. The next recolection is walking out around the house in town whare my Mother was then living (Kingston about 5 mi from home.) and my Jawes being tied up on account of having the mumps and there was sleet on the ground and my Mother made me come in the house. Can recolect the kind of cooking stove my Mother had while she was a widow a flat stove with and oven on the back end and above something like a drum the present time on a heting stove only across the back end I have never seen one like it sence. When I was about 4 or five years old about 1849 Mother married Benjeman Perkens, and sold out her interest in the old Homestead for I do not know just how much but think 6 or 8 Hundred Dollars. Money was scarce and high at that time, just before the Calofornia mines had been worked. They then moved up in Ioway about 100 miles north of west of Keokuck, in a then wild and frontier country newly setteled and among the Indians as I recalect of seeing quite a bunch Prarrie country with skerts of timber and I do not recolect of seeing but Log houses. We started in some small pole cabbins and I recalect of going with my step father at nite to lay out the place whare he was going to build a log house by the north star setting the stakes sighting them by star so as to get it north and south. I was very much afraid of the Indians and wild animals wich wer plentiful. One day a large black dogg came running over the prarrie to wards the house and Ben Perkens hallowed to me and sister was were playng out side that a Bear was coming we looked up and saw the dog thinking it was bear and was nearly scared to death.

There was a school started probly a mile or mile and a half to wich I went it was in a log house without a flower clabard door and no glass windows. The benches wer logs split open the flat sid hued and legss put into the round side with flat side up for seats. The teecher had a peace of bard one side calered hung by the door by a card one side one side donated same one out and a other could ya out until take one out came in. One day when I was out I came very near stepping on a snake just as I went the corner of the house which so frightened me that I forgot that my person was exposed and run into the house and the school had a good laugh. The teecher went and killed the snake. I must of been 5 going on 6 year old and wend to school by myself after staying there a year or more Perkens sold out and moved back to Illinois and visited Grandfather Davises near Clayten. He had a Brick two story house wich looked to me to be a very fine house. Grandfather had a grate meny bees and the stands set along the fence of the back yard across wich was a horse lot and the bees got disturbed and began stinging a horse tied to the fence with a strong chane or rape that he could not brake and they literally stung the horse to deth before he could be got loose wich was finally done but the horse died. That was the worst bee war that I have ever seen. They just swarmed every whare stinging evry thing they could get at all through the house and barn.

Percans bought a place up in Hancock County 6 or 8 miles out of Warsaw. The York place as it was known and old setteled place on the prarrie. Double Log houses story and a half high with quite and orchard and the most peculaier arranged that I ever saw, it was set out in what we in the army would call a hollow Squair. The outer rows the larger kinds of trees with smaller kinds closing in to the center with hedge on out side had Goose berryes & currents the iner rows wer currents and the garden in the center, we must of lived there a year or more. Percans was a worker and good trader the land was good and new he put lots of new land in cultivation and lots of new comers ever coming in and setteling new places some time in the spring 1851. A woman and some childern came to pay mother a visit, when dinner came in the childern would eat at the first table and Sister and I had to wate, and in time mother went to return the viset taking sister and I along and when dinner came in the same childern rased such a rackett about wating, the table not being large enough for all to eat. That mother told us to wate, wich we did without a word as we knew better than to disobey not ever wer we allowed to protest, but when we got home I asked mother bout it saying that as we wated when they came to hour house they art to of waited when we went to their house. Mother said yes that is so but they are bad childern and are not lerned to mind and I was satisfied. I was six year old and sister five, we had plenty of berries when berry time came and I recollect one day that Mother gave Sister and I a tea spoon each to eat cream and berryes out of a saucer. Silver spoons that she had before she married Benn Perkins. At dinner and when Ben Percans saw it he raised a row about it and taken the spoons and threw them out in the yard and they had quite a disagreement, the spoons wer silver spoons bought by our father. That fall Mother was taken sick and gave berth to a child a girl wich died and she laid sick quite a while and died and was burried near at a grave yard whare afterwards grand Mother Davis was burried in the mean time that same fall Grandfather Davis had sold out near Clayton and moved to Town of Warsaw on the Mississippi River some 6 or 8 miles distant when Mother died Sister and I wer taken there to live Grandfather got Percans to give him $200.00 towards our maintanence wich was all that we ever got out of our Father’s and Mothers property.

Notes made by Byrde V. Hamilton:

Page 1 – “Stonewall” Jackson was a brother of my Great-Great-Grand-mother, Mrs. Davis, – Great-Grandfather, Henry Davis’ mother. Signed Byrde V. Hamilton ^[1]Research has proved this to not be exactly true. “Stonewall” was a cousin but several more times removed. Look at the DAVIS line on my web page – Mary Love Berryman

Written at the end of the manuscript:

100 years ago – the following entries by Byrde V. Hamilton, at Robert Lee, Tex. May 13th 1921, A. D. at the age of 39 years.

My Grandparents on the Pearce side of the House – My Parents

William Pearce, son of Joshui and Sarah Pearce, was born Friday evening, March 23, A. D. 1821.

Mary Davis, daughter of Henry Davis and Anne Bush Davis, was born on Sunday, September 30, 1822

William Pearce and Mary Davis were married August 22nd, A. D. 1844, in Adams County, Ill.

Henry Davis Pearce, (my father) was born Wednesday, the 4th day of June, A. D. 1845. He had only one sister, Amanda Alvira. Sarah Elizabeth Pride was born March 10th, A. D. 1852 in East Texas, Collin Co. (Sarah Elizabeth Pride was born in Limestone, Co. MLB)

Henry Davis Pearce and Sarah E. Pride were married Sunday morning 8:00 a.m. October 11th, A. D. 1868 in Collin County, Texas, near where Van Alstyne is now located; to this union was born the following children:

Hubert Henry Pearce, born March 11th, 1870, in Collin County, Texas.

Mary Elvira Pearce, born December 22nd, 1871. Married to Ben Smith Dec. 25th, 1893. Five children, Laura, Elden, Tarphenus, Henry and Frank were born. Died at Cedar Hill, on Thursday, April 19th, 1906, of bronchial pneumonia. Buried in the cemetery at Cedar Hill, Dallas county, Texas.

William Ivan Pearce, born January 30th 1874. Died March 16th, 1874.

Marshall Elden Pearce, born August 7th 1875. Accidentally shot, which caused his death. The accident occurred on Sunday, in June, when he was past 16 years of age. His remains were laid to rest in the Hayrick cemetery, but 25 years later were exhumed and reburied in the Robert Lee cemetery, Coke County, Texas.

Lillie Elizabeth Pearce, was born Feb. 14th, 1878, died May 10, 1879 near Brownwood, Texas, and the remains were buried in the Brownwood cemetery.

Ethel Annie Pearce was born March 2nd, 1880, on Valley Creek farm in Runnels county. Was married to William Larkin Hayley at home in Ballinger, Texas, at 6:00 P.M. June 28th, 1898. Three children, Hubert Albion, Zelma Elizabeth, and Henry Holiday, all born, in the town of Bronte, Coke County, Texas.

Byrde Viola (Pride) Pearce, was born May 13th, at daybreak, 1882, at the Pearce home in the town of Runnels county seat at that time of Runnels county, Texas. Was married to Wm. B. Hamilton, at the family home in Ballinger, Oct. 22nd, 1902. Capt. W. L. Touner, county clerk, issuing the marriage license. Judge Crosson performing the ceremony. To this union one child Ruth Pearce Hamilton was born, Oct. 18th, 1903; Ruth married Virgil L Durnell.

Martha Newton Pearce was born Sept. 19th, 1884, at old Runnels, Texas.

Olive Edna Pearce was born July 20, 1887 at Runnels, Texas

Pride Kathleen Pearce, was born Nov. 28th, 1890, at Ballinger, Runnels county, Texas. Died at Ballinger, Sept. 1st, 1905. Burial in the Ballinger cemetery.

Hattie Ellen Malinda Pearce was born Aug. 16, 1892 in the town of Ballinger, Runnels county, Texas.

My sisters and brothers all Texans.

Note in a different handwriting:

Hubert Henry Pearce and Miss Lillian Frances Gardner (born Aug 15, 1872) were married nov. 6, 1895 at Gatesville, Texas, at the home of Mr. & Mrs. A. Mathews. To this union was born six children:

• Mary Elizabeth (Bess), Nov. 30, 1896
• Katie Bell, 12-14-97 – Annie Byrd, 9-2-1900
• Pauline, Aug. 16, 1902
• Imogene, Aug. 29, 1904
• H. Herman, June 27, 1906.

The Pearce Family

Writen Feb 17th 1901 & 18

The Pearce Family in America sprang from two Brothers who came over from Wales in the early days of the collines; one of wich setteled in the New Englad states; from wich brother President Pierce came; they changing their spelling of name to Pierce; the other brother located in Verginia from which those spelling their names Pearce came; which was the original way of spelling the name.

Joshua Pearce my grandfather came from Indiannia to Illinois Hande Adams county in the first setteling of that country. He was married April 14th A. D. 1819 to Sarah Golden and died Aperial 20th 1835 aged about 35 years. Sarah Golden was born Aug 5th A. D 1803 and died Dec 10th 1871 and both wer burried in the Pearce burrying ground on the Old Pearce Home sted three ms east of Liberty Adams County Ill.

Grandfather Pearce left Seven children as follows,

William Pearce (my father) born March 23rd A. D. 1821 and died July 6th 1847 and was burried in the Pearce burrying ground on the homested; having married Mary Davis of Clayton, Ill and leving two childern Henry Davis Pearce (myself) born June 4th 1845 and Amandia Alviria Pearce born Sept 18th 1846 and now lives in Sherman, Texas husband J. M. Buchanan.

2nd Peter Pearce born Nove 5th 1822 and died October 2nd 1844 without marring.

3rd Catherine Pearce born Jan 5th 1829 and married John L. Adams, 6 boys and five girls a large famly of childern, Samuel Adams was in the sive war in the northern side and acidentaly killed himself by accident – 1868 a few years after the war. Mary E. Adams married Wallas in Misoria Shelberia, P. O. J. L. Adams moved to Mosuria 1875 and died ther and Aunt Catherine Adams died December 7th 1890, Shelby County, MO.

4th/3rd (on first page says for – second page says 3rd MLB) Elisiabeth Pearce born Nov 16th 1824. Married William Barnard and lived near the old Homested. Died Feb 1895. Raised three boys two girls. One boy Henry Barnard who lives on or near the old place.

4th George W. Pearce born Oct 12th 1826 and Married nov 12th 1872. Always lived on the old homsted had six boys living Nov 11th 1889.

5th Catherine Pearce born Jan 5th 1829. Married John Q. Adams. Died December 7th 1890 in Shelby County, MO after her husband living 5 boys and 5 girls all are married. (Same as listed as 3rd – MLB)

6th Susan Pearce born July 28th 1831 was married to a Barnard and living 4 or 5 ms from the old home in 1866 had some childern.

7th Mary A. Pearce born May 7th 1833 and was married to a man by the name of Deihl.

8th Sarah E. Harkness born March 30th 1838 daughter of Sarah Golden Pearce by a susquient marage to Harkness; was married to William Bacon when I was in Adams County 1866 and had a little girl Emma Bacon.

Joshua Pearce Cr my grate grandfather died 1823 Deborah Pearce my Grate Gran Mother died 1820.

Peter Golden Grate Grand Father died 1816. Elisibeth Golden Grate Grand Mother was born A. D. 1784

Grand father Joshua Pearce was public man belonged to the Masonic fraternety made up a company and went to the black Hawk Indian War as Captain Also commanded a company when the Illinoiens drove the Mormans from Warsaw and made them go west; built a Mill at the old Homested some sign of wich I can remember when I was a small boy he also had a distelery and a store in connection and when Butz out from Penselvania when a young man worked for him puling a saw to saw of saw Lawgs.

Note:

Great Great Grandfather of Byrde Viola Pearce Hamilton.
Great Great Great Grandfather of Ruth Pearce Hamilton
On the Pearce side of the family.

Entry by Byrde V. Hamilton. Copied from a copy of the original on January 27, 2000 by Mary Love Berryman. In the possession of Byrd Hamilton Kirkpatrick