I am trying to track down ancestors of James Davis b. circa 1852 d. 1932. He apparently lived in Desoto county most all of his life. On the 1870 census, Dixie post office (my earliest find) he is the eldest child in the household of M.A. Davis a female white age 33 b. in Tennessee. No husband is listed. There are several children and all the boys (except James) relocated in the 1880's to the area around Nimrod Arkansas, without M.A. Davis or the sisters. I am now trying to find the girls and hopefully M.A. Davis with them in an effort to get more information on her. Both Davis girls married in the 1870's in Desoto county. Martha Davis b. 1857 (from 1870 census) married Bishop Conwell 25 Oct. 1873 with James Dockery as Security. James Davis later worked for Dockery as plantation manager and bought land which he lived on for most of his life. Bishop Conwell is of particular interest as he acted as Security on both of James Davis' marriages, one to Bettie Phillips 14 Aug 1875 and Nannie Hart 12 Jan 1878. There is no indication of decendants from the first wife. Bettie Davis b.1854 (from the 1870 census) married Richard Humphreys 16 June 1874 with W. J. Sanders as Security. On the 1870 census Bettie is at the household next door to M.A. Davis household, the household of J.C. White. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a family conncetion with J.C. White or his spouse whose name isn't clear enough for me to pass on yet. The area where the Davis family settled is near the present communities of Cub Lake and Eudora. Eudora has also been called Dixie (1870 census) and also Ellaville. The specific are is at the area near Trinity Baptist Church Township 3 South, Range 9 West. James lived in Section 28 on what is now Barbee road. I suspect that M.A. Davis' spouse passed away during those years of Mr. Lincon's War. Their youngest child was born in 1863. I obviously don't know if it was in military service, natural causes, or divorce by distance. James Davis oldest surviving son was John William Davis, his youngest son was my father, James R. Davis. I am his oldest son J. Russell Davis II. All of James Davis' sons were farmers, one served in WWI. All of James' daughters were farmers wives. Many of the Davis klan left N. Mississippi with the onset of WWII and located in Memphis. Hope to hear from the Conwell or the Humphrey families! Russ Davis (8-})