[p. 650] who has been a life-long resident of Lawrence County, is at the head of the Wampum Hardware Company at Wampum, Pa., a concern which enjoys the liberal patronage of the people throughout this section. He was born at Mullentown, now the Sixth Ward of the city of New Castle, September 3, 1857, and is a son of James and Lavina (Iddings) Davis.
James Davis was born in Union Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, and was there reared on a farm. In his boyhood days he attended the primitive log school-house, equipped with slab desks and benches, and later engaged in teaching school until his marriage. He bought a farm of 100 acres in Shenango Township, Lawrence County, on which he engaged in farming, and at the same time did considerable teaming, hauling coal which was mined on his farm, to trade in New Castle. He was run down by a train at the railroad crossing in 1881, and his death resulted. He is survived by his widow, who in maiden life was Lavina Iddings. She is a daughter of Joseph and Hannah (Hoopes) Iddings, her maternal ancestors, the Hoopes having come to this country with William Penn. Mr. and Mrs. Davis became parents of the following children: Francis Marion; Ezra Hoopes, who died in infancy; Catherine, wife of Sylvester Sage; James Iddings; Mary, wife of H. V. Brown; Charles W.; Robert Emery; Harry Hibbert and Carrie, wife of H. V. Ailey.
Francis M. Davis was about one year old when his parents moved to the farm in Union Township, and was still a boy when they located upon the home place in Shenango Township, where he grew to maturity. He attended the district schools about four months of each year and worked upon the farm until he was seventeen years of age, when he learned the trade of a plasterer. He followed his trade for a period of twenty-seven years and became widely known throughout various parts of the county. He continued to reside on the home farm until 1905, when, on February 4, he and his brother, Dr. Charles Davis, purchased the business of the Wampum Hardware Company. He then moved to Wampum and has since had charge of the business, being assisted in the store by a daughter, Miss Nancy Davis. They carry a large stock of general hardware and explosives, their store being located on Railroad Street. They also have a large wareroom across the street from the store building and another along the railroad tracks. Mr. Davis is a business man of recognized ability and standing, and enjoys the esteem of his fellow citizens to a marked degree.
Mr. Davis was united in marriage March 22, 1883, with Miss Alice A. Matheney, daughter of Elijah G. Matheney, an old pioneer of the county, and they are parents of the following children: Olive A.; Anna Eleanor; Charles Sherman; Nancy, best known by the name of "Dimple," who assists her father in the store; Elijah, and Alma. In politics he is a Democrat. He and his family are faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Davis is also a stockholder in the First National Bank of Wampum.
20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens Hon. Aaron L. Hazen Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company, Chicago, Ill., 1908
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