Prosser, Col. William Farrand. "A History of the Puget Sound Country, Its Resources, Its Commerce and its People." Vol. 2. New York and Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1903. pp. 48-51. HENRY C. DAVIS The Davis family has been for half a century intimately connected with the growth and prosperity of Lewis county, its members have filled many of the public offices of the county and state, and they may now be found in the various walks of life not only bringing credit to themselves but reflecting honor upon their community. If ancestry counts for anything in the success of men, the mingling of the Welsh and German stocks in thie family is certainly an excellent heritage. The oldest member of the family who was connected with the history of this state was Lewis H. Davis, the father of Henry C. He was born in Windsor county, Vermont, in 1794, and while in the east he married Susan Clinger, a native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Of this marriage two daughters and five sons were born, who are now identified with the interests of the state of Washington. With this family Mr. Davis crossed the plains to Oregon in 1851, six months being consumed in the journey which now takes less than a week. They remained one year in Portland, Oregon, which was then but a village in the midst of the forest. They next came into Lewis county and settled at a place called Drew's Mill, near Cowlitz. But Mr. Davis, not liking the location, went to Olympia, where he found no suitable place, and then returned to where Chehalis now stands, where he met a Mr. Sanders, who informed him of a spot which would probably suit him. They set out on an Indian trail and reached a beautiful little prairie, shut in by strips of green woodland and with the white peaks of three mountains towering aloft, Mount Takhoma (Mount Rainier), Mount Adams and Mount Hood; here the charm of the scene and the fertility of the soil induced Mr. Davis to locate, and he entered three hundred and twenty acres, while his eldest son, Levi Adrian Davis, took an adjoining half section. After erecting a sawmill and later a grist mill he proposed to the county to build and donate the courthouse if the county seat should be establshed in this locality. This proposition was accepted, and the courthouse was constructed at the cost of one thousand dollars. Upon one corner of the lot was placed a tall, supple flag-staff, the largest ever raised in the state, the upper section of which was arranged to be lowered at need, and the subject of this sketch and his sister Caroline still recall the fact that they solicited donations with which to buy a flag. Here Mr. Davis laid out the town of Claquato, built a cozy church and school and constructed many miles of road leading through the forests to the town, now called Centralia, formerly called Kookumchuch, and south to where the town of Napavine stands. In every way he sought to make it the center of trade and to develop a city of importance in the state. But some time after, when the Columbia and Puget Sound road was built, the courthouse was removed to Chehalis, and the place for which he had worked so hard was deserted, and now only the delightful home of our subject marks the spot, surrounded by the trees which the old pioneers planted, and the little church is also standing as a monument to the zeal and enterprise of its builder. Mr. Davis had been a captain in the war of 1812 and in the Black Hawk war, and when the Indian war of 1855-56 threatened he was foremost in building a fort for protection: it was constructed one hundred feet square, and on the palisade of closely set posts were placed cone-shaped structures from which the sides of the fort could be raked by the guns. One night Mr. Davis and one of his sons were sent to Olympia to secure ammunition, and they made the trip safely. He used his influence in keeping the settlers in the fort during the war and in inspiring them with confidence, and he was thus an important factor in the war. By order of Governor Stevens he also conducted a block-house at Centralia. General McLellan, Governor Stevens, Halleck, Sheridan, Grant, and all the young military officers often stopped and enjoyed Mr. Davis' generous hospitality, and he was much esteemed for his integrity and bravery. He continued to operate his mill until his death, and he passed away in the seventieth year of his life, in 1864; his wife died in her seventy-second year. Before detailing the life of the immediate subject of this sketch a short account of the other children would be interesting. The eldest son, Levi Adrian, and his brothers, were engaged in milling and ran a stage from Olympia to Monticello. He assisted his father in all his pioneer enterprises and shared in much of the credit due to those undertakings. He resided in Claquato until 1888 and afterward for some years at Cora, near Mount Tacoma; he conducted the postoffice there and name the town in honor of his niece, Cora Ferguson. On March 8, 1854, he married Mary Jane King and they had four sons and two daughters. He died October 1, 1901 aged sixty years, and like his father, was one of the esteemed men of the state. He had been elected to the state legislature and was a member of the Republican national convention which met at Indianapolis and nominated Benjamin Harrison for presidency. He was also county commissioner for several terms. The daughter, Melinda, Browning, has also passed away. The second son, Austin Davis, was a farmer and was connected with his father in the pioneer work, being the first postmaster of Claquato and filling the office of treasurer of the county; he died June 16, 1892, in his fifty-fifth year, and he left a wife, three sons and a daughter. The third son, who was named William Henry Harrison Davis because of his father's admiration for General Harrison, was a farmer and died May 6, 1901. The daughter, Caroline E., became the wife of Javen Hall. The youngest son, Luther Tower Davis, was born at Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1848, crossed the plains when three years old and was reared and educated in Lewis county; he is married and has one child and resides in South Tacoma. Henry C. Davis, who is the son of Lewis H. Davis, was born at Fort Wayne, Indiana, July 12, 1845, and was only five years old when his parents made their long trip across the plains. He was educated in the public schools of Lewis county, and the scenes of pioneer life made a vivid impression upon his young mind. When old enough to work he assisted in the farm work, and after his father's death followed various occupations until 1878, when he removed to Tacoma and engaged in the drug business in partnership with Dr. H. C. Bostwick. They suffered severe losses by fire, being burned out three times, and Mr. Davis then quit the business. He built the first three-story brick block in Tacoma, and he still owns this property, which pays him handsome profits in rent. He was elected treasurer of Tacoma and served for three years. In 1888 he returned to his farm at Claquato. For many years Mr. Davis has been interested in the anthracite coal mines at the head waters of the Cowlitz river, where are situated the purest veins of anthracite coal in the state or in the west, and this is destined to develop into a very valuable property. Mr. Davis donated five acres of land at Claquato to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery. This land was worth one hundred dollars per acre. In 1889 Mr. Davis was married to Miss Ida Scott, a native of the state of Pennsylvania; Mrs. Caroline Scott Harrison, the wife of President Harrison, was her father's cousin. Two children were born to them on the hold homestead at Claquato, Ethel Lillian and Donald Jerome. Mr. and Mars. Davis are members of the Presbyterian church and very deservedly rank among the foremost citizens of the county, where Mr. Davis has been reared and has spent his entire life in the active prosecution of many private and public enterprises. ******************* Transcribed by Jenny Tenlen for the Lewis Co., WA GenWeb project.