Nobles County MN Archives Biographies.....Davis, Henry 1847 - 1887
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com October 19, 2006, 10:56 am

Author: Arthur P. Rose (1908)

  HENRY DAVIS (1847-1887). During a residence of sixteen years in Worthington in

the early days Henry Davis ranked as one of the leading spirits of the little

town. He was held in high esteem by the people with whom he was associated, and

is remembered kindly by all the early  settlers.



  Mr. Davis was born in Ohio Jan. 1, 1847, next to the youngest of a family of

nine children. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. David Davis, were born in Wales, came

to America and settled in Ohio, where they were married. They died in Mankato in

recent years. In the early fifties, before the town of Mankato was organized,

the Davis family moved to that frontier village, and there the subject of this

biography grew to manhood.



  In the summer of 1871, when it became known that a town was to be founded on

lake Okabena, Henry Davis came to the site of the proposed town, and before the

land was surveyed started a store and became the first business man of

Worthington. His store building was a sod shanty, located near the present site

of the flouring mill. In that he had his store for a short time, and then built

a frame building on Main street, which was replaced by his brick building a few

years later. When the Black Hills boom was on in the late seventies Mr. Davis

left his wife in charge of the Worthington store and started with a stock of

goods for the new country. In a little town near Deadwood he opened a store and

secured the cream of the business. Although gone only from April to August, so

prosperous were the times during the boom that he made considerable money.

Returning to Worthington he erected his brick store building and the handsome

residence on Fourth avenue, where his widow now resides.



  Mr. Davis was married at Worthington June 1, 1873, to Anna Ulveling, daughter

of Peter and Rosa (Bosting) Ulveling. Mrs. Davis was born in Luxemburg, Germany,

came with her parents to America when a child, and lived in Wisconsin until her

marriage to Mr. Davis. They were the parents of one child—a  boy, who died in

infancy.



  Mr. Davis left considerable property at the time of his death, which Mrs.

Davis, with rare business ability and sagacity, has well taken care of and added

to. She now owns about 1,500 acres of farm land in Minnesota, Canada and the

Dakotas, beside residence property.



  Mr. Davis died at his home in Worthington of consumption Sept. 5, 1887.



Additional Comments:
Extracted from:



AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY

MINNESOTA

BY

ARTHUR P. ROSE



NORTHERN HISTORY PUBLISHING COMPANY 

WORTHINGTON, MINNESOTA 

PUBLISHERS

1908

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