OHIO STATEWIDE FILES OH-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List Issue 54 *********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *********************************************************************** OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 01 : Issue 54 Today's Topics: #1 Letter written 7 July 1833 by L. [ ["gencon" ] #2 James "Basil" Conaway: Will, 1919, [KJohn59310@aol.com] Administrivia: To unsubscribe from OH-FOOTSTEPS-D, send a message to OH-FOOTSTEPS-D-request@rootsweb.com that contains in the body of the message the command unsubscribe and no other text. No subject line is necessary, but if your software requires one, just use unsubscribe in the subject, too. ______________________________ ------------------------------ X-Message: #1 Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2001 11:35:58 -0700 From: "gencon" To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: Subject: Letter written 7 July 1833 by L. [Llewellyn] Howell DAVIS Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit This is another old letter I have- written 7 July 1833 - 168 years ago - from Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio. The letter was written by Llewellyn Howell DAVIS - He dropped the Llewellyn and went by L. Howell DAVIS. L. Howell DAVIS was abt 23 years of age when he wrote this letter..just these past two years have I been able to find out who all of these DAVIS' were.. thanks to the kind people on DAVIS-@rootsweb.com L. Howell DAVIS wrote the letter to his 1c Mary A. [A. stands for Adams] DAVIS- His father Isaac DAVIS and Mary's father Joshua DAVIS were brothers -Mary was given her middle name from her mother Hannah [ADAMS] DAVIS' maiden name. Hannah DAVIS [I posted her letter a couple of days ago] was Mary Adams DAVIS' sister - WHEW~~ I don't know if L. Howell DAVIS ever married, or if he had children, I don't know what he did for a living, when he died - but I do know his parents and their parents etc-- back to the immigrants from Wales. IF any of you have any knowledge of L. [Llewellyn] Howell DAVIS or any one else mentioned in his letter, I would love to hear from you. We are fortunate that Mary kept this letter and it has been passed down through out the years. FYI- I first came in contact with the letter in 1986 - it was on 7 Nov 1999 that I decided it needed to be preserved - so I typed and put it on a disc.. What gave me goose bumps is that it was 166 years and 4 months between the time he wrote his letter - and the day I recorded it-- and then something else that I found interesting...7 July 1833 and 7 November 1999 have the same days in the same place..He wrote the letter on Sunday the 7th of July 1833 and I typed it on Sunday 7 Nov 1999. It gave me a big grin when I realized that! OK - enough said - here's his letter - I will put my notations between the [ ] brackets- so you will understand [when I do] what he is talking about- ~~~~~ "Hamilton,[Butler co. OH] July 7th, 1833 Dear Cous This morning I devote my thoughts to you without thinking it a loss to write. I received your favors of June 21st. My dear Cous' you can have but a point idea of what rapturous emotions of strange thought pleasant inexpressionable feelings your adress produced, un-known cousin, were the very best choice of words that you could have made discourse on intensions about one that you have never seen and to elicit a determination to see you. I think it natural and allowable for cousins nearly related to love and respect each other. Dear cous, there can exist anything between us but the kindest reciprocations of feelings--- I have often projected plans of visiting our friends in York state but never found it convenient to do so. I have rambled far to the south. I was absent from my friends two years which time I learned the value of friends. Though [crossed out fashion] fortunate on all my enterprises. I now live in the biography of our family as conscientiously as I can. It consists of eight persons, one is not, three of which have moved and left home---father, [Isaac 3) DAVIS of Llewellyn2, Llewellyn 1) Ap DAVID- DAVIS] mother [Elizabeth KENNEDY], sisters, Hannah, Mary and brother Isaac jr compose the family now together. Hannah is the eldest of the family, Isaac and Mary are the youngest. I am one by myself only. When visits are made, Hannah as she is the oldest, she gives good advice and the rest of us must hear it. Isaac is a very industrious, called handsome and loves to live at home. Mary is the pett and some spoiled in that she likes to visit me in town. Sister Nancy lives in Kentucky [Kenton, Kenton county Kentucky] 28 miles from us. she is well situated on a good farm and has children. Mr. [Thomas] Kennedy has been surveying public lands and has improved his fortune very much. Madaline [Magdalene - named after her grandmother Magdalene 3) DAVIS] married to a John VINNIDGE jr., a young buckeye he has a well improved farm of 160 acres---4 miles from Hamilton. They have 4 children and live well at home. We do not regret that we came to this country.... I now have a few lines of unpleasant theme to write. Sister Elizabeth a child who was joy and the lively one of our family is no more. She quit the scenes of this world last September [1832] leaving behind an affectionate husband, Mr John McKOWEN with three little boys to regret an impossible loss. Mr. McKOWEN has a handsome property and will be careful of his boys. Your brother John has a sad narration to give the friends [could that be Quakers?] and us when he returned from the Fa.. [fatherland] if we had then trying times and that same spring quit that country for which we had contracted a settled [hatesed?] was an ungenerous reverse of fortune a discovery of friends who were [--?--] such in prosperous times has poisoned us against our native place as I have said before, we do not regret coming to this country. Pride and ambition were connected with ability to towards our family estate on the country offered many opportunities for industry and enterprise and we were not idle lookers as we have been as fortunate as we were unfortunate. Fath-- time it as so dejected and out of spirits that he thought impossible for us or do more than acquaint a ------ [supos--] and finish a limited education. Isaac and myself are now both of age and have our property so fixed as to be out of the reach of our Fa.. [he has Fa .. with a line over the two dots] persecutors. We have 240 acres of good land with 15 dollars for acre, besides it some capital employed in merchandizing which I attend to. You invite me to visit you. I would do so if I could but scarcely think that I can make it with father [Isaac DAVIS] thinks that he will visit you this fall. I do not remember of seeing him so much elated as when he read your letters he said that he yet had a prospect of seeing his brother [Mary's father Joshua DAVIS] this side of the grave. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is where he put the address there were no envelops, they folded the paper so there was a blank space where they could put the address. The letter was sealed with wax..the address is in beautiful penmanship very fancy writing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1833 MIFS [MISS] MARY A. DAVIS Hartford Trumbull co. Ohio Hamilton O. July ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I did not like that place much. Mary, I expect when you write to me again it will be to invite me to your wedding for the eyes being like the eastern girls you must write soon the very day you receive this letter. I have heard two sermons today. There is a young gentleman waiting to ride a few miles in the country this evening. I wish it was to see you. I would rather see you than anyone that I know this evening." He signed the letter along the left side of the page.."Your affectionate cousin L. Howell DAVIS" Along the edge of the 2nd sheet he wrote "Our family all joins in sending love." Along the edge of left side of the 1st sheet he wrote "Mary as you are not settled yet, I think you and one of your brothers might visit us..do come I want to see you." This last part [below] of his letter is written across the main body of the letter - (Cous--I am not in general an egotist but my excuse is obvious I know that you must have been concerned about us for your brother [John] knows that our prospects were gloomy when we embarked for this country.) I am glad that you have quit the cold and ice country of York [her family moved from Aurelius, Cayuga, New York] but I think that you have not ventured south enough yet. I have been in Trumbul county and Mercer county where your brother Howell has settled." Mary Adams DAVIS was married 2 years later in Trumbull county, Ohio on 3 June 1835 TO Francis 8) HAYNES - They became our 1st great grandparents. Francis was the judge of Trumbull county for many years. Here is another thought - on the heading of his letter he wrote HAMILTON 7 July 1833- was that Hamilton county, Ohio or was that Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio? Wilma Fleming Haynes gencon@harborside.com ______________________________ ------------------------------ X-Message: #2 Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2001 22:19:33 EDT From: KJohn59310@aol.com To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <70.93ed32b.27fbdeb5@aol.com> Subject: James "Basil" Conaway: Will, 1919, Hancock Co., Ohio Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Disposition: Inline Will, #1744-a; Written Aug. 9, 1909 ; Probated June 18, 1919 Location of Children: Effie J. Thomas daughter Findlay, Ohio Wilmina M. Harruff daughter Marion, Ohio Frank A. Conway son Findlay, Ohio Estella C. Roose daughter Ottawa, Ohio Arthur B. Conaway son Lima, Ohio Martha F. McMurray daughter Findlay, Ohio Viola May Bellinger daughter Cincinnati, Ohio Georgia A. Powell daughter Plains, Kansas Benjamin H. Conaway son Cleveland, Ohio Edgar P. Conaway grandchild Findlay, Ohio; Company 5 Barracks 940 South Comp. Tarragut, Great Lakes, Illinois John Clifton Conaway grandchild Clara Belle Messer granddaughter Findlay, Ohio Edna Rose Webb grandaughter Grossee Isle, Mich. Genette Cloretta Conaway grandaughter Lima, Ohio I, Basil Cnaway of the city of Findlay, Ohio, of the age of 69, and being of sound and disposing mind and memory, do make and publish and declare this my last will and testament in manner following to-wit; I give and devise to my beloved wife Rebecca Conaway, and to her absolutely, with right to sell in fee simple any or all of the said property, consisting of all of the real and personal property of which I may be possessed at the time of my decease. After the death of my said wife, I direct that the property remaining unsonld, shall be divided equally between our children then living, if any have died then to the children of such. If a no mutual aggreement as to a division of property remaining unsold at the time of the death of my said wife, I direct that the administrator here in after named shall sell said property at private or public sale as many seem best to him, and divide the proceeds equally among the children above stated, after the necessary expenses have been paid. I direct that my son Arthur B. Conaway, be executor of the above estate if any remains after the death of my said wife, and that he assist her in the care of the property, during her life time. I hereby revoke all other wills by me made at any time. In testamony where of I have herunto set my hand this 9th day of August, A. D. 1909. Attest: T. F. Gillespie Basil Conaway A. A. Gillespie Signed and acknowledged by the said Basil Conaway as his last Will and Testament, in our presence, and signed by us in his presence on the 9th day of August, 1909. T. F. Gillespie residing at Findlay, Ohio A. A. Gillespie residing at Findlay, Ohio -------------------------------- End of OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest V01 Issue #54 ******************************************