Does anyone recognize the following?
From a History of Shelby County, OH (unknown which one as a copy of the page was found in my grandmother's papers):
William Davis, deceased, was born near Maysville, Kentucky in 1797, Oct 18. He was a son of William and Elizabeth Davis. His father died when William Davis, the subject of this sketch was yet a small boy. When he had attained the age of 18 years, or in the spring of 1816, he came to Shelby County, Ohio and located in Turtle Creek Township. He entered a piece of land a short distance west of Hardin on which he erected a cabin and cleared some land during the summer and in the fall of the same year, 1816, he returned to his native state and brought his mother with four children, James O., Tubel C., Hiriam A., and Elizabeth to their new home in Shelby County. Mr. D remained on the land with his mother for a number of years and assisted her in taking care of and providing for the younger members of the family. He was a man of unusual strengths. His equal was hardly known in Shelby County. He was considered one of the leading men of the County in his time. He was always found among those who were in favor of anything that was for the benefit of the neighborhood and for the advancement of education or religion. He was elected to different offices but never accepted any of them higher that township trustee. Sep 11, 1821 he married Misses Eliza Robee nee Safford. Miss Safford was born near Concord, Mass in June 15, 1792 and came to Ohio with her first husband, Mr. Robee, in 1819 and settled three miles south of Hardin, Shelby County. Mr. and Mrs. Davis settled on the home farm in Turtle Creek Township near Hardin on which they resided many years. They passed the remainder of their days in Shelby County, most of the time in Turtle Creek Township, with the exception of about one year, which time they spent in Iowa and Illinois. He died Aug 17, 1866 at the residence of his son Hiriam A. Davis. His companion survived him until Mar 15, 1874 when she died at the residence of Hiriam A. Davis. Mr. Davis stood six feet two inches in height and weighed 220 pounds. Many of the citizens of Turtle Creek and adjoining townships well remember his stately form. He reared a family of six children Maria, Caroline, Calista M., Emiline A., Hiriam A., and Adelma Anne, Maria and Adelma A. are now dead.
His move in 1816 is corroborated by R. Sutton & Co, _History of Shelby County, Ohio_, (1883). This source later mentions that he built the firs brick house in Turtle Creek in 1831.
To make the situation more interesting, there are at least two William Davises in the same county about the same time. William A. Davis and William Forest Ray Davis. Both of them are Revolutionary War Veterans and both possibly were Reverends. The information about these men seems to get jumbled and mixed to the point where I have no idea which was which, who did what, and who is buried where or even if there were two or three. For information about the other two:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohshelby/revwar.htmlhttp://www.rootsweb.com/~ohshelby/revwar_2.html#davis