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Below is a family biography included in The History of Greene County, Illinois published by Donnelley, Gassette & Loyd in 1879.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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DAVIS, ARTHUR, farmer and stock raiser, P.O. Roodhouse, was born in Rowan Co., North Carolina, on the 29th of December, 1817; he was the sixth son of a family of eleven children; his father, James Davis, was a native of North Carolina, born in 1780, who married in 1803 Miss Jane Morrow, of North Carolina. During his lifetime James Davis followed farming; in 1835, he emigrated to Greene County, locating on the farm property now owned by Joseph King, and subsequently on Apple Creek Prairie, west of White Hall, where he entered Congress land; with little exception he resided in Greene County until his decease, which occurred on the 18th day of August, 1858, near Springfield, Ill. Mrs. Davis was born in 1780, and died on the 18th of November, 1855, and all that is mortal of both husband and wife now repose in Greene County; the survivors of the family are Allen M. Davis, Thomas, James, Arthur, and Ransom; we have only space to follow the career of him whose name heads this sketch; in 1842 he was married to Miss Rosanna Pruitt, a daughter of James Pruitt, a prominent merchant and agriculturist of Greene County; four children were born of this marriage, three sons and one daughter, all of whom are dead, with the exception of Wm. H. Davis; Mrs. Davis died on the 30th of September, 1851, and on the 30th of August, 1853, Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Margaret P. Rawlings, a daughter of James Rawlings, one of the most prominent and wealthy farmers of this county; of four children born of this marriage two are living, Sarah E., and Arthur W.; Margaret, second wife of Mr. Davis, died Jan. 8,1861, and eleven months later, on the 3d of December, Mr. Davis was married to Miss Amanda M. Denham, of Kentucky, a daughter of Wm. Denham, a native Kentuckian; eight children blessed this union, six of whom are living, and whose names are in order of birth: Douglas A., Minnie L., Julia N., Mary O., Alfred B., and Lillie C. Mr. Davis is the owner of 160 acres of valuable land, and is in possession of one of the best orchards in the State, and makes large shipments of the finest quality of apples, peaches, pears, etc.

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This family biography is one of 744 biographies included in The History of Greene County, Illinois published in 1879.  View the complete description here: The History of Greene County, Illinois

View additional Greene County, Illinois family biographies here: Greene County, Illinois Biographies

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