Lewis Austin Davis [2302]

  General Notes:

In the Heritage Room of the Raleigh County Public Library in Beckley, West Virginia, there is the following: Raleigh County Marriages book that stated Lewis, age 27, "Lewis Oaten Davis" born Fayette County, West Virginia, married Rhoda, age 18, born Fayette County, West Virginia. W. R. Humphreys and O. C. Tyree provided information and signed the certificate of October 15, 1900. John F. Davis was the clerk.


MEMORIES OF PAX


(Words of Susan Davis Dixon). Here is a photo of the barn on my great grandpa's farm. The property sits just outside Pax adjacent to the Pax Community Cemetery.

This barn and the smoke house are the only two of the original buildings left standing on the farm that are safe to walk in. One of the three houses is still there but has been vandalized. The first house that they built was up near the barn and I remember my dad taking me in it when I was small. It was a one room place that he had fond memories of. The other house on the property was also small and now is the foundation that the smokehouse sits on. When we were there in April there were still jars of pickles on the shelves and Sarah and I took pictures inside. It was really interesting. The jars were of course, covered with dust and you can only imagine the "pickling" that those pickles had. The original apple tree was there. It is huge and sits just behind the house that is still standing. One of my cousins took a cutting from it and has planted it in her yard over on Maple Fork . . an area near Pax where the Davis family also lived. In the front yard of the house near Pax, there are huge rocks that project out of the soil sideways. They're kind of flat and you can sit on them. My dad tells stories of jumping off the rocks and playing games out there with his sisters and uncle Tracy. Those rocks are still there and covered with moss and flowers. It's really kind of pretty.

This is the farm that my Grandpa French raised his Christmas trees on. Once, a guy who kept stealing these trees got caught by Grandpa French and he shot him with buckshot. It went to court but in the end they didn't charge him with anything. The thief survived; no harm, no foul. Most people there were glad the thief was taught a lesson.

The prettiest thing is the view of the barn from up the hill, from the house beyond the smokehouse. I've taken photos of it in the spring and the winter. The barn sits on a stone foundation and the floor is dirt. Dirt that's packed from years of use. There's a loft that we never could get the nerve to go into; Granny assured us it was full of rats. When we were there in April, we walked through the barn and as we came out the back, two large white tailed deer took off running through the field and down into the woods. It was a sight I will never forget. They were beautiful.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Family: This photo is of the Davis brothers: Left to Right: Seymour, Lewis Austin, Lawson, Garfield and Buren.

Lewis married Rhoda Ellen Tyree [2303] [MRIN: 694], daughter of Richard Thomas Tyree [4234] and Virginia May Sanner [4346], on 15 Oct 1900 in Raleigh County, West Virginia. (Rhoda Ellen Tyree [2303] was born on 1 Jan 1881 in Fayette County, West Virginia, died on 27 Nov 1963 in Fayette County, West Virginia and was buried in Pax Community Cemetery, Fayette County, West Virginia.)