Henry Davis and Susannah West (4th Great-Grandparents)

Henry Davis was born December 11, 1794 in North Carolina, possibly in Rowan. Data on Henry=s parents has not been verified. About 1810, when Henry was sixteen, his family moved to Overton County, Tennessee. However, Overton was not to remain their permanent home. Having the pioneering spirit, they were on the lookout for an area which would suit their particular needs in the best possible way. Henry was a man who was in full accord with the great Constitution of the United States which had been framed and ratified only a few years before his birth. To him it was an inspired document and he grew up with the determination to defend its principles. On June 18, 1812 war was declared between Great Britain and the United States. After the Revolutionary War Great Britain maintained the right to interfere with American vessels on the high seas. They stated they had the right to claim American seamen as British subjects and the seamen were taken from the ships and forced to serve in the British Navy or imprisoned. Some were put to death if they refused to serve. Therefore a second revolution occurred to prove the first. Henry had a great loyalty to our country and felt that our newly won freedom and independence must be defended and protected at all costs. This was quickly exemplified when there was a call to arms against Great Britain in the War of 1812. He volunteered for service without hesitation just one day before his eighteenth birthday and continued in the service as long as he was needed. He enlisted as a private in Nashville on December 10, 1812, in the company commanded by Captain Isaac Renshaw in the Second Regiment of Tennessee Volunteers which was under the command of Colonel Thomas Benton. When he first enlisted in December 1812 he was paid $5.00 a month for two months with an additional $17.04 pay for clothing. After the first two months his pay was raised to $8.00 a month. On completing four months of service he was honorably discharged at Columbia, Tennessee on April 20, 1813. He later received 160 acres of bounty land for his service. Bounty land was tracts of land given outright by the states, and later by the federal government as partial compensation (or "bounty") for service in times of military conflict. Such bounty was also occasionally used by the government as an inducement for men to serve in war or conflicts. Also, as a result of his service, in 1872, his widow, Susannah was allowed a pension of $8.00 a month. Not knowing how long the war would last, he felt that he should have the added support of his sweetheart, Susannah West. She was quite young qualities of character similar to that which he possessed and was deeply religious. She would be a source of strength and encouragement to him. This led to their marriage on January 5, 1813, while he was still in service. The marriage took place at the home of Susannah=s parents in Overton County, Tennessee and was performed by Benjamin Stewart, a minister of the Gospel of Christ. This same Benjamin Stewart, in 1818, also performed the marriage of Henry=s older brother, Jacob, to Mary West, the younger sister of Susannah West. The marriage again took place at the home of the bride=s parents. Benjamin Stewart=s own son, Jesse Stewart, married Jemima West about 1812. Jemima was an older sister to Susannah and Mary. Susannah West was born in Lincoln County, North Carolina on May 8, 1798 to Stephen and Mary Belk West. She moved, along with her parents, to Overton County Tennessee when she was still a young girl. Henry was devoted to his family. He wanted a large family and he wanted to instill into them the qualities of character which would make useful citizens in building our nation. Such qualities as honesty, integrity, and dependability were uppermost in his mind. These could only be developed by him being a living example for them to follow. His religious background helped to accentuate these qualitites. The natural instincts of Henry Davis were those of a hard working pioneer, being fearless and freedom-loving. Although Henry had been honorably discharged in 1813, it was not long before he was needed again for active duty. This time it was in a war against the hostile Creek Indians. The Creek Indians supposedly were being incited to riot against Americans by the British. On September 26, 1813, he volunteered as a private in Captain John Kennedy=s Company in the First Regiment of Tennessee Volunteers. While in this service, Henry was stationed at Fort Strother and in November of that year he was in the Battle of Talladega, Alabama. Fort Strother was built by Andrew Jackson as a supply base. After serving three months, Henry=s services as a soldier were terminated in January 1814, when he was honorably discharged at Fayetteville, Tennessee. On returning from the war, Henry and Susannah continued to live in Overton County where their first three children William, Stephen and Celia were born. The latter part of 1819 or early 1820, they moved to White County, Illinois. Henry and his brother, Jacob, who went with him, were there about six or seven years. Their next four children Isaac, Mary (Polly), Jacob and John were born there. While in White County Henry was appointed Constable in 1822 and 1823. On their return his brother, Jacob, and his family stopped in Todd County, Kentucky and located in the northern part just across the border from Muhlenberg County. Henry returned to Overton County about 1827. Here six more children were born: Henry, Anna, Sally, Martha, Nancy and James. About 1840, he moved about four miles southwest of Cookeville, which was then in Jackson County and later became Putnam County. It was here that Henry and his family made their permanent home and their last two children Jackson and Franklin were born. By 1840 Susannah=s parents, Stephen and Mary West were living with them. Mary died in 1848 and Stephen died in 1856. Henry was a deeply religious man. Religion to him meant to be well acquainted with the scriptures. But, in addition, he had the responsibility to live in accordance with the commandments of the Lord. This he did, to the best of his ability. His religious background gave him the opportunity to be of greater service to others and to his church. He became one of the stalwarts in the Hopewell Baptist Church. On September 24, 1845, a subscriber=s agreement for the Hopewell Church was made and was found among the papers on Henry Davis in the National Archives in Washington, D. C. Heading the list of subscribers was the signature of Henry Davis who paid $2.00. A similar agreement had been made earlier in 1844, with the signature of Henry Davis second on the list. In the 1850 Census Henry appears in Jackson County and his occupation was given as that of a Clergyman. This was also an interesting time in his life. Fifteen children had been born to him and Susanna of which thirteen were still living. Franklin, the youngest, had died in infancy and Henry A. had died when about nine years of age. Of the thirteen children, four were still at home, ranging in ages from nine to sixteen. The remaining nine children were all married. William, the oldest, lived nearby. Seven of the other married children all lived close to Henry and Susannah, a tribute to such wonderful parents. It means that there was real family solidarity in the Davis family. Henry continued to preserve the close family ties with his children and grandchildren until his death on August 25, 1867. The same was true for Susannah. She fully supported Henry in his lofty principles of preserving family ties. This was well proven by her acts, for during her lifetime she acted as a midwife for more than 300 of her close kin. Susannah died August 18, 1885 in near Cookeville. A marker was placed in honor for perpetuating the memory of Henry Davis on August 20, 1972 in the West Graveyard in Cookeville, Tennessee by the Nickajack Chapter of the Tennessee Society of the United States Daughters of 1812. At the Memorial Services it was said, Our lives are richer and our inheritance greater, because of Private Henry Davis and his contemporaries who served their country and all future generations during the War of 1812. O beautiful for heroes proved, in liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life.