30 Mothers in 30 Days : Martha

Not just anyone could get their name in The Southern Christian Advocate. Published during the 1800's, the Advocate was the official publication for several southern states, including North and South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia. Marriages, deaths and births were sometimes reported to the Advocate and the reporters were Ministers and Pastors, reporting on the lives of their parishoners, and primarily, the most reputable or prominant ones. That made the news.

The April 30, 1863 issue reported:

'Mrs. Davis, wife of Henry Davis, and daughter of James Palmer, died 27th March, near Albemarle, N. C., in her 38th year, leaving a husband and nine children..'


Martha Palmer Davis was my 3rd Great Grandmother. I wish the newspaper would have reported what she died of, leaving them so young. Born in Stanly County, or what would become Stanly County, she was the daughter of James Palmer and Martha Atkins Palmer, who lived along the Salisbury Road north of Albemarle. About 1834, she became the second wife of Henry Davis, oldest son of Job Davis and 5th child of Sarah Winfield Davis. I've previously posted about Patsy Atkins Palmer and Sarah Winfield Howell Davis.









Martha took on 2 stepsons when she married Henry. His first wife, Sarah Kendall, was the daughter of Reuben Kendall of the Rocky River area in Stanly County. She had left sons Benjamin Franklin "Frank" Davis, who would have been about 5 years old, and John Edward Davis, who would have been about 3.

Henry grew up on the Rocky River. About the time he married Martha, he was preaching and conducting some real estate deals, all the time while operating a plantation near the river. He was a big proponant of splitting Montgomery County into two counties, so by the late 1830's, when a new county seat of a new county was being planned, he bought property on Cloverfork Creek to be nearer to town, as he was taking part in its founding. Today, that property is within the city limits of Albemarle.

This put Martha closer to her parents and siblings.

Historic Albemarle

Name:Martha Davis
Gender:Female
Age:33
Birth Year:abt 1817
Birthplace:North Carolina
Home in 1850:Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Line Number:14Dwelling
 Number:942
Family Number:947
Household Members:

Name	Age
Henry Davis	42
Martha Davis	33
Sarah Davis	13
Nancy Davis	12
Hampton Davis	10
Mary Davis	8
Martha Davis	5
Aughton Davis	4
Job Davis	2

Martha appears in two censuses, the 1850, where thier closest neighbors were Henry Marshall, Zack Wallace, Edmund Nash and a Mrs. Hinson.

Henry Davis	54
Martha Davis	44
Mary Davis	18
Martha J Davis	16
Laua Davis	10
Victoria Davis	7

And the 1860, the last for both her and her husband, Henry.

The 9 children of Henry and Martha Davis were;

1835 - 1880 Nancy Baldwin Davis (James Wall)  5 children. Died in Carroll County, MS
1837-1891  Sarah Francis Davis (Woodson D. Crump) 6 children. Died in Stanly County, NC
1840-1896  Henry Hampton Davis (Ann Eliza Allen High) 2 children. Died in Stanly County, NC.
1842 - ?      Mary A "Mollie" Davis (mentioned as having married a Wall in James Palmer's Probate.
1844-1885  Martha Jane Davis (Joseph A. Ingram) 6 children. Died in  Rusk County, Texas.
1846-1906  Horton Hampton Davis (Julina Aldridge) 11 children (including steps). Stanly County.
1848-1933  Job J Davis (never married) Died in Carroll County, Missisppi.
1850-1911  Laura Davis (never married) Died in Stanly County, NC.
1852-1934  Margaret Victoria Davis (William D. Crump) 6 children. Died in Stanly County, NC


It is unknown where she is buried, but speculations have been either at Kendall Valley, where her parents are or  at Prospect Baptist Church.

Happy Mother's Day, Martha. I would have liked to have known you.