Ahnentafel

I thought I’d dive back into the “On This Day” prompt idea today, as well as fulfilling the alphabetical theme. So today we’re looking at Martin Van Buren Davis, my second cousin 5 times removed, who was buried on this this in 1927. Born 20 September 1840 in Harrison County, (later West) Virginia, his parents were Nathan Gifford and Mary Ann (Davis) Davis. Nathan and Mary Ann were first cousins once removed. He was enumerated with them in 1850 and 1860 in Doddridge County.^{1 2}

On 1 November 1866 in Doddridge County, Martin married his second cousin, Phedora Bonnell. It seems no one could figure out for sure how to spell Phedora’s name. It appears with various spellings throughout the records in which she appears: Phedor, Theadore, Fedora, Phedora, Phedorah, Theadora, Fadorah, and Phedara. She’s also listed alternately as Phedora Bonnell and Phedora Davis.³

From 1870-1920 Martin and what’s-her-name were enumerated in Grant, Doddridge County, West Virginia. The couple had nine children: Mabel, Isabel, Cora, Edith, Gifford Nathan, Elsie, Edward, Guy, and Elizabeth. Mabel and Isabel both died in 1873. Edith died in 1901 at the age of 29, after which her widower (a second cousin once removed) married her older sister, Cora. Cora herself only lived to age 44.^{4 5 6 7 8 9}

On 15 August 1921, Phedora died of paralysis and was buried the following day in the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Salem, West Virginia. Martin survived her by six years, dying on 12 July 1927 of indigestion. He was buried 13 July 1927 in the Odd Fellows Cemetery.¹⁰

1. 1860 Census (n.p: www.ancestry.com, n.d). ↩︎
2. 1850 Census (n.p: www.ancestry.com, n.d). ↩︎
3. West Virginia Division of Culture and History, West Virginia Vital Research Records. ↩︎
4. 1870 Census. ↩︎
5. FamilyHistory Search and/or www.ancestry.com, 1880 Census. ↩︎
6. 1900 Census. ↩︎
7. 1910 Census (n.p: 1910, n.d). ↩︎
8. 1920 Census. ↩︎
9. www.findagrave.com, www.findagrave.com. ↩︎
10. West Virginia Division of Culture and History, West Virginia Vital Research Records. ↩︎