Sepia Saturday: The Baby Name Book

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday photo of the man with a ZOOM lens shows we have reached the letter “Z.” As a child, I hated for anyone at school to see any kind of “official” paper like a report card or notice from the principal that might have my middle initial on it: Z. When anyone saw that my middle name began with the letter “Z,” they would react in shock and disbelief that there could be any sensible name starting with “Z.” “What is your name? Zebra? Zipper?” Fits of laughter would follow.

It is “Zoe.” It has become a rather popular name in recent years, but it was just unheard of in my little corner of the world in the 1950s-60s. Surprisingly, on the scale of “weird and unusual” my name doesn’t even come close when compared to some of the names my 2X great-grandparents Mitchell and Martha Willson Davis bestowed upon their 15 children.

Zedekiah. Zephaniah. Zibiah Saloma. And those are just the ones that fit the Sepia Saturday theme. There is also Jerusha and Amaziah.

How did Mitchell and Martha come up with these names? Nowhere in my research do these names show up in the family lineage, so they clearly were not honoring a relative or ancestor. There were no Baby Name books in the 1850s-70s. Or were there? Maybe THIS was their Baby Name book:

Bible belonging to Mitchell and Martha
possibly a wedding gift

This Bible was published in 1846, the same year that Mitchell and Martha married. In it they recorded the usual family stats: births, deaths, and marriages. It is probably not a coincidence that many of the children's names had biblical origins:

Zedekiah – last king of Judah before the destruction of the kingdom by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon

Zephaniah – ninth of the Twelve Minor Prophets who urged the corrupt and disobedient people of Judah to obey God (Yahweh) so that MAYBE He would forgive them

Zibiah – wife of King Ahaziah and mother of Joash who became a just king of Judah thus her being credited for bringing up her son in the fear of the Lord

And about those other names that don’t start with “Z”:

Saloma – beautiful daughter of Herod II who danced at the birthday celebration of her stepfather Herod Antipas and demanded the head of John the Baptist and got it!!

(I don’t know, but if Mitchell and Martha were trying to imbue their daughter with some kind of biblical virtue, these two names, Zibiah and Saloma, seem to cancel each other out.)

Jerusha – wife of King Uzziah of Judah and mother of Jotham; the name itself comes from the Hebrew meaning “possession” or “inheritance”

Josiah – the 16^th king of Judah considered righteous and credited by scholars for religious reforms and for compiling Hebrew scriptures; he is also one of the kings mentioned in the patrilineage of Jesus according to the Book of Matthew

Amaziah – another king of Judah who was considered a just king but not whole-heartedly since he did not remove local shrines and failed to centralize worship

Some births in the Davis Bible

I wonder what happened that most of the other children received more mundane names like Walter, Ida, and Minnie. Surely it isn’t that Mitchell and Martha gave up on the Bible or lost their faith as these and the other ordinary names are sandwiched between the lofty ones.

More births in the Davis Bible

Perhaps the names of noble figures were meant to inspire their children to greatness. Whatever the reason, these biblical names suggest Mitchell and Martha were at least somewhat devout Christians who were well-versed in their Bible. After all, they did not slip up and name any of them Jezebel or Abimelech.

Zip, Zoom or Zigzag over to Sepia Saturday for more “Z” stories from some zealous zanies.

Wendy

© 2021, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - HANDED DOWN: Two Bibles

From the time I became interested in my mother’s family history, I heard there was a family Bible SOMEWHERE. No one seemed to know who had it. Maybe it was written in German. If so, then that would be from my 3X great-grandfather Fielding Jollett and his wife Mary Ann Armentrout. She was among the first generation born in the Shenandoah Valley to German immigrants. I began to imagine all the questions that could be answered if only I could find that Bible. However, none of the Jollett descendants seemed to know anything about it. I began to think maybe a Jollett Bible just did not exist. 

Many years later, my cousin Glenn passed away. As his widow Fran went through some of his things, she decided to return family memorabilia. Glenn had been in possession of 2 old Bibles. Fran sent them to my aunt. When I asked to borrow them, she said I could just have them. Woohoo!

Davis Bibles
Mitchell Davis's Bible on the left
Walter Davis's Bible on the right

It turns out they are not written in German at all. And they are not from the Jollett side of the family. They are Davis Bibles.

MITCHELL DAVIS BIBLE

Mitchell and Martha Davis's Bible

 This is clearly the older of the two Bibles. The publication information on a torn page indicates the Bible was printed in 1846. Perhaps the Bible was a wedding gift for my 2X great-grandparents Mitchell Davis and Martha Ann Willson who settled in Beldor, Rockingham County, Virginia following their marriage in 1846.

The condition is best described as POOR. Pages are crumpled and stained with mildew. 

But here is a sweet find: a dried flower. 

Dried flower in the Davis Bible
Was it a wedding keepsake?

I wonder if it could be a flower Martha carried or wore in what appears to be a wedding portrait (IF indeed this is Mitchell and Martha – identities are not confirmed).

Is this Mitchell and Martha?

Family Bibles are usually good sources for women seeking to join a lineage society like Daughters of the American Revolution because they confirm family relationships and dates. This Bible did not have the “built-in” pages to record births, marriages, and deaths, so someone sewed loose-leaf paper into the binding.

 

Old threads and loose leaf paper

The important dates all relate to Mitchell and Martha’s children, their births, their marriages, and their deaths. When I saw the page listing the deaths of members of the Davis family, I thought, “YES – my ticket to DAR” because there they were: 2 entries for Leonard Davis, who were Mitchell’s father and grandfather. Surely this would help prove my lineage to Revolutionary War soldier Leonard Davis of Albemarle County. Or so I thought.

 

Deaths in the Mitchell Davis Bible
include Leonard Sr and Jr,
Leonard Jr's wife Frances,
Mitchell and Martha

Unfortunately, the Davis Bible did not secure my membership. The DAR genealogist pointed out that even though the pages are old and the handwriting looks of the time, there is nothing to say that one Leonard was Mitchell’s father, or that one Leonard was father of the other Leonard. I would have to find something else to connect the genealogical dots.

Still I find this Bible fascinating. Written on the inside covers are notes one does not typically associate with a Bible. There are no references to favorite books, chapters, verses. Instead there are mathematical calculations and lists. Mitchell was a carpenter by trade. Was he estimating the costs of a building project, creating a bill perhaps? Did he have no scrap paper?

Chimney, Floors, Roof, Doors, Windows,
Mantle, Stairway

Math calculation:
26 times 2 is 52
52 divided by 3 is 17 1/3

WALTER DAVIS BIBLE

Walter Davis Bible
printed before 1890

This Bible displays features of a high-quality publication. The cover is ornate tooled leather. A colorful map and gallery of illustrations of Biblical stories are printed on slick paper. The all-important fill-in-the-blank family records are included. There is even a page for family members to sign their names to the Temperance Pledge. (What does it say that no one signed?)

 

Otherwise the condition is equally poor, and the back cover is missing.

I know this Bible belonged to my great-grandparents Walter Davis and Mary Frances Jollett because the dates begin with them. Their children are included. 

Mary Frances also added pertinent dates about her parents, one grandfather, brothers and sisters, all neatly penned on loose leaf paper stapled onto the Temperance Pledge.

Mary Frances included her parents' dates of birth
and death; her grandfather's date of death,
dates of death for her father and siblings

Scraps of paper found in the Bible

The Walter Davis Bible, like that of his parents, includes some odd bits of ephemera: slice of cardboard with the name and address of one of Walter’s sisters, a scrap of paper containing incomplete addresses and phone numbers with mathematical calculations on the back. It appears someone was figuring out how old someone was at death – I recognize the dates. There is a transcription of births and deaths of the Davis children; apparently someone wanted a copy but failed to take it with them. Loose-leaf papers were inserted with “new information” as someone married or died.

While the Bibles do not answer all my questions, it is gratifying to be able to insert an exact date of birth or death in place of a broad estimate of “before 1830,” “circa 1800,” “after 1880,” and so on and so on. What I appreciate most about this Bible is that this is where Mary Frances saved the newspaper clippings of her sister’s obituaries.

Collection of obituaries

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - STRONG WOMAN: Martha Davis

In my book, any woman who could birth and rear 15 children without sticking her head in the oven is a STRONG woman. Well-done, Martha Willson Davis!

 

Martha Ann Willson Davis
1833-1905

Martha was my 2X great-grandmother. She was born in 1833 in Rockbridge County, Virginia and died in 1905 in Rockingham County at the age of 75. That was really OLD back then.

However, she was just a child of 13 when she married Mitchell Davis who was roughly 13 years older. He was a carpenter and farmer in the Beldor area of Rockingham County, which today is just off the Skyline Drive.

The 15 children were born over the span of 30 years. Sadly, 3 of the oldest children died within weeks of each other in 1863. Zedekiah, the oldest, was just 15. Ann, the 2^nd child, was 13. Jerusha, the 4^th child, was 10.  I do not know the cause of death, but it had to have been something they had in common, something like cholera or typhoid fever, injuries from a house fire, or from some other horrible accident.

Regardless of the cause, it had to have been devastating to bury a third of the children living in 1863. It took a strong woman to keep going.

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2020, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors - LARGE FAMILY: Davis of Beldor

In the days of our ancestors, VERY large families were common, probably because no one had to worry about how many seatbelts they had or how they would pay for each child’s college education. Having built-in farm labor was a bonus. If any of my families had more children than Mitchell and Martha Ann Willson Davis, I do not know about it.

Mitchell Davis 1820-1892

Martha Ann Willson Davis 1833-1905

Mitchell Davis, born 1820 in Rockingham County, Virginia, was the son of Leonard Davis Jr. and Frances “Fannie” Wyant and grandson of Leonard Davis, a Revolutionary War patriot. The Davises and Wyants lived in a community known as Beldor which today is just off Route 33 as you come off the Skyline Drive.

 

Map of the Beldor area 1885
See "F Davis" in lower left, almost center - that would be Frances Davis,
mother of Mitchell Davis. Mitchell's property was probably nearby.

Mitchell’s mother was one of 13 children herself, but Mitchell bested her by 2 with a grand total of 15 born over the course of 30 years. Coming up with names for that many children must have been a challenge, especially without the aid of a Baby Names book. Mitchell and his wife Martha have the distinction of bestowing the most unusual names to the children in my database:

1. Zedekiah DAVIS ( 14 Sep 1847 Rockingham Co, VA - 11 Jul 1863 Rockingham Co, VA )
2. Ann C. DAVIS ( 02 Sep 1849 Rockingham Co, VA  - 15 Jul 1863 Rockingham Co, VA )
3. Zephaniah Leonard DAVIS ( 28 Mar 1851 Rockingham Co, VA -  10 Jan 1929 in Louisa Co, VA ) & m1) Anne E. BELLOMY (April 1850 – 1903) 1874 ; & m2) Mary Frances CRAWFORD 1905
4. Jerusha L. DAVIS (05 Mar 1853 Rockingham Co, VA - 28 Jun 1863 Rockingham Co, VA )
5. Melvina O. DAVIS ( 25 Sep 1854 Rockingham Co, VA - 31 Dec 1925 ) & Grattan MCDANIEL (1857 –  Before 1910 )  08 Oct 1876
6. Josiah P. DAVIS ( 29 Jun 1856 Rockingham Co, VA - 28 Aug 1924 Martinsburg, Berkeley, West VA ) & Elizabeth Frances POWELL ( 25 Aug 1860 – 8 May 1944 Martinsburg, Berkeley, West VA )  30 Nov 1879 Rockingham Co, VA
7. Amaziah Nathaniel DAVIS  ( 20 Feb 1858 Rockingham Co, VA - 22 Feb 1934 ) & Ann C. LONG  (1844 - ) 20 Nov 1879
8. Helena Hester DAVIS  ( 22 May 1860 Rockingham Co, VA - 20 Nov 1902 Augusta Co, VA)   & James L. TAYLOR ( Mar 1861 - ) 15 Jul 1888 Rockingham Co, VA
9. Martha Eugenia DAVIS ( 13 Oct 1861 Rockingham Co, VA  - 16 Mar 1928 Fairfax, VA ) & William H. WYANT ( 21 Oct 1855 Rockingham Co, VA -  16 Dec 1935 Fairfax Co, VA ) 7 Feb 1881 Rockingham Co, VA
10. Zibiah Saloma DAVIS ( 19 Aug 1864 Rockingham Co, VA  - 07 Oct 1936 ) & John Lewis MARSHALL  (17 Sep 1863 – 28 Feb 1943 ) 17 May 1891 Rockingham Co, VA
11. Walter Beriah Sylvester DAVIS  ( 12 Sep 1867 Rockingham Co, VA - 31 Oct 1934 Page Co, VA ) & Mary Frances JOLLETT ( 10 Jan 1870 Greene Co, VA – 22 Feb 1950 Harrisonburg, VA ) 11 Feb 1890 Greene Co, VA
12. Ida Mary Marshall DAVIS ( 25 Jun 1869 Rockingham Co, VA - ) & William Layton MORRIS ( 1874 Greene Co, VA – 3 Feb 1895 ) 09 Dec 1890 Elkton, Rockingham Co, VA
13. Lorenza Ridell DAVIS ( 02 Sep 1871 Rockingham Co, VA - 11 Aug 1947 ) & Chillis Ann SHIFLETT  (29 Dec 1872 Greene Co, VA - ) 22 Aug 1892 Greene Co, VA
14. Justina Ruthella Frances DAVIS ( 08 Jun 1875 Rockingham Co, VA - 02 Oct 1936 ) & m1) William H. BRUCE (3 Nov 1883 Rockingham Co, VA – 13 Aug 1962 Harrisonburg, VA ) 12 Jan 1906 Rockingham  Co, VA ; & m2) Unknown WITTIG
15. Minnie B. DAVIS ( 15 Oct 1876 Rockingham Co, VA - 15 Mar 1957 Los Angeles, CA ) & Fred LEHMAN (1863 York, PA - 03 Jul 1939 Los Angeles, CA) 1902

Sadly, three of the youngest children died within weeks of each other in 1863: Zedekiah (15), Ann (13), and Jerusha (10). I do not know the cause of death, but it had to have been something they had in common whether typhoid fever, injuries from a house fire, drowning, or other horrible thing. Regardless of the cause, it had to have been devastating to bury a third of the children living in 1863.

Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”

Wendy

© 2019, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.