Key Facts

Snapshot:	music teacher
Parents:	164Thomas Davis 165Samantha McLendon
Born:	29 November 1849 Montgomery County, Georgia
Died:	25 April 1929 Militia district 1687, Orland, Treutlen County, Georgia
Buried:	Section B, Red Bluff Missionary Baptist Church, Treutlen County, Georgia Coordinates: N32.39191 W82.68761

82Thomas A. Davis was born 29 November 1849 in Montgomery County, Georgia to parents 164Thomas Davis and 165Samantha McLendon.1 The 1850 and 1860 censuses show him as a child living with his parents.2

1850: 82Thomas' family in Montgomery County, Georgia. Full page.2

1860: 82Thomas' family still in Montgomery County. Full pages: 1, 2.3

82Thomas married 83Penelope Gillis in Montgomery County on 25 February 1871.4

82Thomas' and 83Penelope Gillis' marriage certificate. Full page.4

By 1880 they had four children. Notice that the census lists 82Thomas' occupation as a schoolteacher.5

1880: 82Thomas' family in militia district 340 (map), Telfair County, Georgia. Full page.5

His occupation was further explained in an interview with one of his descendants in 2011:

Retha: Mr. Davis, Piety's Dad, Grandma Davis. Grandma Piety's Daddy. ___ had um, seven daughters, I think it was, and one son. And uh, the daughters all of them musicians, and Grandpa Davis was a music teacher, and uh, so they traveled

[...]

1Bryant: Piety's Dad was a music teacher?

Retha: Yeah, the Dad was the musici, uh, music teacher, and they would go county to county, and the, all of the girls could play an instrument but Pa's ma, but Piety. [...] So they would go make music and sell lessons, and they may stay in that county two or three months, you know. They just come home, uh, periodically. But they began to marry, then the girls all were gettin' grown, um, marryin'.6

An 1890 tax digest includes 82Thomas as a taxpayer for 100 acres in militia district 1221 (map), Montgomery County. (Note: Militia district 1221 lies in what is now Treutlen County.) If you'd like, you can see his tax digest entry here: 1, 2.7

The next year he acquired 85 acres adjacent to other land he already owned. A copy of the survey map is below.8 Pendleton Creek is shown on the master map.

82Thomas' 1891 land warrant. Full page.8

In 1897 82Thomas was "seriously hurt" while drifting timber down the Oconee River with his son-in-law 40Jackson Geiger. Some of their timber was stolen later that same day, and 82Thomas testified in the resulting court case.

He was still in militia district 1221 in 1893,10 1900,11 and 1910.12

1900: 82Thomas' family in militia district 1221 (map), Montgomery County, Georgia. Full page.11

1910: 82Thomas' family still in militia district 1221. Full pages 1, 2.12

By 1920 82Thomas was an elderly widower, and he had moved in with one of his daughters.13

82Thomas with his daughter's family in Orland [militia district 1221], Treutlen County, Georgia. Full page.13

82Thomas died on 25 April 1929. Unfortunately his cause of death is somewhat illegible, even on the amended clarification form: It seems to say "iretis poison," perhaps suggesting an eye infection, although an eye infection seems unlikely to cause death by itself.1

His obituary was published two weeks later.14

82Thomas is buried in Red Bluff Missionary Baptist Church cemetery, Treutlen County, Georgia at coordinates N32.39191 W82.68761. Below is a photo of his tombstone.15

Sources Cited:

1: Treutlen County, Georgia death certificate 17102 for Thomas Davis. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3S4-D6XZ-L?i=184&cc=1385727>. Note the addendum on the next microfilm image.

2: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). District 51, Montgomery County, Georgia. Page 100[A], dwelling 67, family 67, Thomas Davis household. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 78. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6FF7-NVW?i=33&cc=1401638>.

3: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Montgomery County, Georgia. Page 14, dwelling 92, family 92, Thomas Davis household. NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 131. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBF-SSFW?i=13&cc=1473181>. (page 14) and <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YBF-91TZ?i=14&cc=1473181> (page 15).

4: Montgomery County, Georgia. Marriage book C (1870-1883), page 9, marriage of Mr. Thos. Davis and Miss Pennie Gillis. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9BZP-4Q9?i=23&cat=334570>.

5: 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). McVille, militia district 340, Telfair County, Georgia. Enumeration district 92, page 43, dwelling 4, family 4, Thomas A. Davis household. NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 166. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYYJ-STJG?cc=1417683>.

6: Interview with Retha Mae Bennett (daughter of Oscar Geiger, brother of 20Joseph Preston Geiger, son of 41Piety Davis, daughter of 82Thomas A. Davis) at the interviewee's home on West Adkins Street in Starke, Florida on 5 November 2011. A partial transcription of the interview is available.

7: Montgomery County, Georgia. Tax digest for 1890, Lothair, militia district 1221, pages 3 and 4, entry for Thomas A. Davis. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892" / Montgomery / 1890 / images 5 and 6 of 134), accessed 23 October 2021.

8: Montgomery County, Georgia. Ordinary Court Minutes, Volume 4 (1891-1896), pages 22-23. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSR1-2SK6-B?i=43&cat=107252>, accessed 30 July 2019.

9: Montgomery County, Georgia. Superior Court, record of writs, book 8 (1897-1898), page 189 et seq. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3H3-WCN?view=fullText&keywords=Geiger&groupId=TH-909-88295-27516-50>.

10: Montgomery County, Georgia. Tax digest for 1893, Lothair, militia district 1221, page 24, entry for Thomas A. Davis. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/252303-tax-digest-1893-montgomery-county-georgia?viewer=1&offset=0#page=26&viewer=picture&o=info&n=0&q=>, accessed 6 August 2019. Frustratingly, FamilySearch typically redirects the URL back to the first image (i.e., the beginning of the book), so you'll have to navigate to image #26 yourself.

11: 1900 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 1221, Montgomery County, Georgia. Enumeration district 78, sheet 3A, dwelling 47, family 47, Thomas A. Davis household. NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 213. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DZMW-KW9?i=4&wc=9BQV-W3J%3A1030554001%2C1030949701%2C1034179901&cc=1325221>, accessed 23 October 2021.

12: 1910 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 1221, Montgomery County, Georgia. Enumeration district 138, sheet 5A, dwelling 75, family 75, Thomas A. Davis household. NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 201. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRJZ-4TQ?i=8&wc=QZZQ-PL1%3A133641201%2C139479801%2C141056301%2C1589088973&cc=1727033> (sheet 11A) and <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRJZ-4B2?i=9&wc=QZZQ-PL1%3A133641201%2C139479801%2C141056301%2C1589088973&cc=1727033> (sheet 11B).

13: 1920 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Orland district, Treutlen County, Georgia. Enumeration district 126, sheet 10A, family 122, S. Virgil McLendon household. NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 280. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GR6S-QSH?i=18&cc=1488411>.

14: "Death Claims Aged Citizen," The Soperton News (Soperton, Georgia), Friday 10 May 1929, page 1.

15: Tombstone of T. A. Davis, Red Bluff Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, Treutlen County, Georgia at coordinates N32.39191 W82.68761. Photograph taken by 1Bryant Knight, circa 2010.