Biographical sketch extracted from:

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887. pp. 961-962.

JOHN R. DAVIS is a native of Wells County, Indiana, born in the village of Murray, March 31, 1839, his parents, William P. and Lucinda (Richey) Davis, being early pioneers of the county. The father being a farmer, our subject was reared to the same avocation, remaining on the home farm until his marriage. He was united in marriage June 23, 1864, to Miss Catherine Falk, a daughter of Albert and Catherine Falk, who were of German birth, both coming from Hesse, Germany, to America before their marriage. They were married in Richland County, Ohio, and in 1849 settled in Rock Creek Township, Wells County, Indiana, where both died, the mother dying in 1856, and the father March 8, 1880. Two of their sons, John and Peter, live in Bluffton; three sons, Jacob, Joseph and Henry, reside in Rock Creek Township; William lives in Kansas; their daughter Mary is married and lives in Kansas; Mrs. Davis is the third child, and was born in Richland County, Ohio, June 5, 1840. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are the parents of two sons, promising young men—William H., who was born April 20, 1865, is a school-teacher, and George E., who was born May 29, 1867. Mr. and Mrs. Davis still occupy the home on section 30, Lancaster Township, where they settled after their marriage. The homestead contains ninety acres of well improved and well cultivated land. His land is thoroughly drained, having 1,400 rods of tile drainage, making it one of the most productive farms in his township. William P. Davis, the father of our subject, was born in Tennessee, a son of George and Susan (Miller) Davis. When he was ten years old he was brought with his father’s family to Indiana, and lived in Union and Henry counties until coining to Wells County. He was married in Henry County, in 1834, to Lucinda Richey, a native of Butler County, Ohio, a daughter of Jacob and Mary Richey, who were formerly from New Jersey. Their eight children were as follows—Leander P., of Union Township; Milton M., living on the homestead on section 30; John R., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Juliette Scotton; George W.; Mrs. Maria Bulger, a widow living in Lancaster Township; Mrs. Ammert I. Bulger, and Marcellus the youngest child, who died in 1861, aged seven years. The parents came to Wells County in 1837, settling in the then wilderness on the present site of Murray among the first six families. William P. Davis was not an ambitious man, as far as acquiring property was concerned, looking only to actual needs for the present, which he always amply provided. He built and made some improvements on section 19, where he owned eighty acres, now the residence property of Rev. J. J. Markley. This was his second home in the county. From there he removed back to Murray in 1852, buying sixty acres of timber land on the southeast part of section 30. There he made his home till near the end of his life. During the last year of his life he lived on a small property near Bluffton, but within the limits of Lancaster Township, dying there in August, 1883, at the age of seventy-one years. His widow still resides on this property, enjoying the respect and esteem of all who know her.