The Davis/Burton Homeplace

The Home Of William Davis 1819-1887

This wonderful old house with three front doors
is now gone. Clara Burton b. 1908,
daughter of Pete Burton and Flora Davis, and
granddaughter of Thomas Burton and Julia Davis
remembered this old house in
my visit with her on 7 Aug 1995. Clara was born
in this old log house. According to Clary:

William Davis had a big long store across the road from Clary's.
The William Davis house was built of logs.
It was very big and two story.
They later put siding on it to cover the logs.
The house set where Clary's house is now.
They tore down all but the back kitchen rooms
and lived in them while the new house was being built, then
tore the kitchen down. Clary has a photograph of the old house.
The picture has Clary's dad in it as a very young man.
This is that photograph.
She also has a picture of William Davis, and she
will try to find it for me.. (more on that later)
Clary ran across some of the old hemp and flax
that was sold in William Davis' store. She believes she
still has some of the old flax.

According to Clary

her grandparents; Thomas J. and Julia (Davis) Burton, walked right in and took the homeplace while everyone else was ignoring it, and fighting over the rest of William Davis' property. 

(This doesn't fit withthe other rumors that William Davis almost went bankrupt due to the robberies of his store, during the civil war. More research is needed)

This house set across the road from the
Davis/Burton Cemetery, in Johnson County,
on Rte 3385 (via Rte 201, south of old Davisville
near Lawrence Co line.
This are was previously known as
Chandlersville, but the Post Office now is
Stambaugh, Ky

In case your interested, here are the rest
of my notes from my visit with Clary Burton in 1995.

Clary is a beautiful spry little lady,
her only problem seems to be her hearing,
which is bad. She has a wonder jolly disposition.

Willie Davis married Liss Green and is
probably buried by Ray Conley, (she pointed
down the road, away from Lawrence Co).
He had two daughters; Madge and Eve.

I asked Clary if she had ever heard
of my g g great grandmother
Samantha Q. (Rhoton) Nickell Davis,
who was married to William Davis, after her first husband,
Joseph Harrison Nickell was killed during
the Civil War.. Her answer was to call her;
" that Samanthy woman".

Remembering that Samantha was not
the mother of all of his children, including
Julia Davis, from whom Clary descends,
its easy to see where things just might not
have been great for everyone
after William and Samantha married.
But I never dreamed they could be that bad;
"Samanthy's boys hated their stepfather (William Davis).
Samantha's boys tried to kill William Davis, but failed.
One of Samantha's boys was drowned accidentally,
and William Davis was blamed for killing him.
William Davis got on his horse, and left for four days.
He got a affidavit and the case went to trial.
He was found innocent.
During the trial of Samantha's husband; William,
who was,
charged by her son's of killing her son,
Samantha stayed home and cried.
Samantha was German and was a school teacher."

(My notes are scribbles here)
Willie Davis married Sabrie Daniels.
Sabrie Daniels m. 2nd Lafe Chandler,
daughter Lilly. There is the name
Madge Chandler here, but I cannot remember why.

Clary told of adventure she had in the cemetery.
(The Davis-Burton Cemetery).
While weeding around the graves
she ran across a copperhead who coiled up
and was ready to strike her.
She put her hands together as if in prayer,
looked up into the sky and said
" Merciful God Help Me!"
And the snake dropped (dead.)