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Below is a family biography included in The History of Fayette County, Tennessee published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1887.  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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William I. Davis was born in Montgomery County, N. C., July 3, 1821, and is a son of Young and Sarah (Gatley) Davis. The father was born in North Carolina, October 18, 1800, and the mother in Virginia in the same year. The father died in South Carolina in 1864, the mother in 1866. They married in North Carolina in 1819; in 1849 they moved to South Carolina, where they lived until they died. The father followed the blacksmith’s trade in connection with farming. Our subject is the oldest of seven children; by his own efforts he secured a good education. In 1847 he moved to Tennessee and settled in Hardeman County; two years later he moved to Fayette County, and settled ten miles southeast of Somerville, where he lived about twenty-eight years and in 1878 moved to his present farm. Mr. Davis now owns over 900 acres of valuable land in Fayette County. He was married the first time November 29, 1844, to Miss Patience Harris, who died November 20, 1864, leaving eight children. December, 1865, he married Mrs. Pamelia C. (Morris) Snow; no children have been born to this last union. Mr. Davis, his wife and all of the children are members of the Methodist Church. He is a Democrat, and is a man of fine character and unusual energy.

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This family biography is one of 77 biographies included in The History of Fayette County, Tennessee published in 1887 by Goodspeed.  The History of Fayette County was included within The History of Fayette and Hardeman Counties of Tennessee. For the complete description, click here: History of Fayette and Hardeman Counties, Tennessee

View additional Fayette County, Tennessee family biographies here: Fayette County, Tennessee

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