Ellis Davidson

ELLIS DAVIDSON. Twenty-seven years of residence in Cherokee county are sufficient to make one eligible to enrollment among the "Old Settlers," although there are a few that came to the county even before the Civil War. The gentleman whose honored name is mentioned above has been a continuous resident, engaged in farming, since the 18th day of July, 1877, and during the intervening years has established a most enviable reputation for industry, and for integrity of character. He came to the county from Christian County, Illinois, his birth having taken place in Greene County, Illinois, April 11, 1834. He lives at present on a farm in section 12, township 33, range 23, in Salamanca township, owned by Mrs. Anna Lisle.

Mr. Davidson is a son of Ellis and Margaret (Wright) Davidson, both of whom came from the "Blue Grass State," of which the mother was a native. The father removed to Kentucky with his parents, when a child, from the Broad River country in North Carolina, and settled in Barren County. In this county Mr. Davidson's parents were reared and married, and in 1829, with their two children, they removed to Greene County, Illinois. There the remainder of their family of 11 children were born, and there the mother died in the early "seventies," aged 69 years. The father in later years resided in Christian County, Illinois, where he died in 1877, aged 87 years. Of their children, there are now five sons and one daughter living,—all in Illinois except the subject of this sketch, J. W., a former resident of Cherokee County, but now of Colorado, and Elijah, also a former resident of the county, but now of San Francisco, California.

Ellis Davidson was reared to man's estate in Greene County, Illinois, receiving a common-school education. He remained dutifully at home until he was of age, when he began farming on his own account. His marriage took place in Greene County, Illinois. Mrs. Davidson was born in 1843, and is a daughter of Willis H. Springgate. To Mr. and Mrs. Davidson have been born the following children: Lou E. and Lou Allen (twins), the former being the wife of John E. Watts, of the Laflin-Rand powder works and the latter residing at home: Ross W., a farmer of Ross township, a former register of deeds of Cherokee County; Mrs. Effie Taylor, of Sheridan township; Ambrose L., deceased; Hobart, who is in the lumber business near Blytheville, Arkansas; Hazel A., deceased at the age of three years; and Clyde C., a former student at the Manhattan Agricultural College, now preparing for the teaching profession at the State Normal School, who has just reached his majority.

Previous to his locating in Kansas, Mr. Davidson had made two trips to the State. In 1859 he followed the old Santa Fe trail as far west as the famous point known as Pawnee Rock. He crossed the Neosho River at what is now Council Grove, and while visiting there in later years was able to locate the ford by certain landmarks. Again, in 1869, he was in Cherokee and Labette counties, and visited for a period in Oswego. These trips so impressed him that in 1877 he decided to make this section his home. He purchased of a Mr. Brooks a farm in Sheridan township, three miles north of Hallowell. This he cultivated until 1891, when he made a trade for the farm of A. D. Watts in Ross township, consisting of 320 acres, which he sold prior to his removal to his present home. In his different farming ventures Mr. Davidson has always succeeded where others failed, as he is a most observant student of agriculture in its various scientific phases.

Fraternally, Mr. Davidson has been a lifelond[sic] Mason, having been initiated at Mount Auburn, Illinois, in Kedron Lodge, No. 340. He was also one of the organizers of the A. H. T. A. He was formerly a member of the Baptist Church.

Three score years and ten finds Mr. Davidson in the enjoyment of good health, the esteem of friends and neighbors, and the love of his children. The life he has lived has not been spectacular, but it has been that of a good, honest loyal citizen, whose greatest satisfaction is in the high regard in which he is held throughout the county.

History of Cherokee County Kansas and its representative citizens, ed. & comp. by Nathaniel Thompson Allison, 1904, transcribed by Michael Goodrich, student from USD 508, Baxter Springs Middle School, Baxter Springs, Kansas, 5/01/97