Davis Smith, 4th great-grandfather of Cyndi Messick, was born in 1802 in Columbia Co., New York, to John Smith IV and Abigail Burrows. John is my first DAR Revolutionary Patriot, and it took a lot of work to put all the pieces together! Davis married Mary Fox in New York and they had five children. Somewhere around 1840 he migrated with his family and his brother Levi from New York to Livingston Co., Michigan – we believe he is not shown in an 1840 census because they were traveling. The family lived in Livingston Co. until the Civil War hit. In 1860, Davis and Mary are living with their daughter Mary Ann and her family, but by December 1861, Davis has sold all his property and enlisted for the war. I am still trying to find out what happened to Mary, because there are no records of her after the 1860 Census. But think about it, it’s interesting to see that Davis went to war, because his father fought in the Revolutionary War! Davis lied about his age when he registered, being too old to go. But off he went! He was a Private with Company K, 1st Michigan Engineers & Mechanics. They marched him down to Kentucky, where he fell ill, spent time in hospital camps, and was finally sent home without seeing any action and discharged in March 1862. Six weeks after returning to Michigan, he married a woman named Tamathy Husted Ensign, and lived in Genesee Co. About 6 weeks after Tamma died in 1872, he married Rosina Blair Harrington Brooks and moved to Tuscola Co. The man clearly did not like being alone! Over the years, his occupation is stated as Farmer, Mechanic, Salesman, and Minister. He never fully recovered from his illnesses from the war, and by the time he died, he was completely invalid, according to his pension file. He is buried in Dayton, Tuscola Co., Michigan, with his last wife Rosina. Davis’ grave is unmarked with the exception of a GAR flag next to his wife’s stone. I was able to narrow his death to the fall of 1889 from pension payment dates, but nothing more specific. I continue to work on this, and when I find a date, I’d like to arrange a tombstone for him.
--Cyndi Messick
--Cyndi Messick