Sarah Louise Davis

b. 26 April 1832, d. circa November 1873
  • Sarah Louise Davis was born on 26 April 1832 in Batavia, Genesee County, New York.
  • William Davis and Emeline Williams appeared in the US federal census of 1 June 1840 in Batavia, Genesee County, New York. Other (counted but unnamed) members of the household apparently included Sarah Louise Davis, Isaac Davis, Eliakim Williams Davis, William A. Davis, Emeline Davis and Lucy Davis. Also in the household were three additional females: one age 60-69, one age 20-29, and one age 10-14.
  • Sarah Louise Davis and Emeline Davis appeared in the US federal census of 1 June 1850 in DeSoto County, Mississippi, enumerated in the large household of Richard C. and Elizabeth A. Guy Hancock (age 45), born in Virginia, just a few households away from their mother and brother William in the household of Jane Hancock (age 44), born in Virginia.
  • Sarah was governess at Greenwood from about six years, probably from about 1860 to 1865.
  • The following appeared on 16 April 1862 in The Tri-Weekly Telegraph:
    Ed. Telegraph--I beg to acknowledge the receipt of the following articles, contributed for the Hempstead Hospital, by the ladies of Danville and Waverly, through Mrs. Major Green Wood, of Danville, Montgomery county:
         278 lbs. lard, 160 lbs. ham, 40 lbs. soap, 6 doz. candles, 88 lbs. butter, 93 doz. eggs, 2 calico spreads, 2 comforts, 12 mattrasses, 30 sheets, 27 pillows, 40 pillow cases, 40 towels, donated by the following persons:
         Mrs. Mayfield, Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Spiller, Mrs. Sessum, Miss Sarah L. Davis, Mrs. Green M. Wood, Mrs. J. M. Leivi, Mrs. Geo. Redding, Mrs. Major Redding, Mrs. Maj. Green Wood, Mrs. McGarr, Mrs. Charles Abercrombie, Mrs. Tryler, Mrs. Dr. Carr, Mrs. W. B. Scott, Miss Thompson, Mrs. Tabb, Mrs. Richard Williams, Waverly; Mrs. Col. Campbell, do; Mrs. Dr. Campbell, do; Mrs. Dr. Scott, do; Mrs. Col. Jno. Hill, do; Mrs. John C. Abercrombie, do; Mrs. Laura A. Scott, do; Mrs. Wm. B. Wood, Danville; Mrs. Wynne, do; Master Solomon Wood; Major Green Wood's servant[s], 31 doz. eggs; Mrs. Green Wood, cash, $10; Miss Sarah L. Davis, $10; Mrs. Dr. Stewart, $5.
                        Mrs. C. A. Groce,
                    Principal Hempstead Hospital.
    Hempstead, April 10th, 1862.
  • On 18 September 1865, Green Wood reported settling with Miss S. L. Davis, paid $240 in Specie and gave her his note for $1240 bearing that date.
         Note: Former Greenwood governess Sarah Louise Davis married John W. Campbell
    on 26 March 1867 in Galveston.
  • She married John Wesley Campbell, son of John Wesley Campbell and Ann Williamson Clark, on 26 March 1867 in Galveston, Texas, by license issued the 25th, at the residence of Col. L. W. Groce, with the Rev. Mr. Eaton officiating.
  • The following appeared on 29 March 1867 in Flake's Bulletin: [Married] At the residence of Colonel L. W. Groce in this city, on the 26th inst., by the Rev. Mr. Eaton, Mr. John W. Campbell to Miss Sarah L. Davis, both of Danville, Montgomery county.
  • John Wesley Campbell and Sarah Louise Davis appeared in the US federal census of 1 June 1870 in Clear Creek, Harris County, Texas. Other members of the household included Ann Williamson Clark, Emeline L. Campbell and John Clark Campbell.
  • Sarah Louise Davis died circa November 1873.
  • Her husband John Wesley Campbell became a widower at her death.
  • Lucie Campbell Lee wrote: "[T]hat big brother of mine . . . aroused my sympathy for the young cousins, Emmie and Clarke, who had been left motherless." . . . "It was the
    'laying to rest' of my frail Aunt Louise, whom I had never known over-well." . . . I do remember a visit I made with my mother to Uncle John's home, across the creek. It meant a ride to the 'Davis Landing' first where Uncle John met us. . . But heavier still was the heart of lily-pale Aunt Louise, whom we found silently sitting by the empty cradle, with its dainty prettiness all unused. Doubtless the cause of this infrequent visit was the very recent loss of another baby. . . . After Aunt Louise's death the usual regime at 'Rest Haven' saw changes, for Uncle John had the 'company room' with its pale lavender and pink."
  • Research Note: In Family Mosaic, Eddie Sue Goree, niece of John and Douglas Campbell paints a sorry picture of her uncles, but it is important to note that her knowledge and/or memory of her Campbell family was quite imperfect. For example, while there is hard evidence that Ann Campbell and sons Clark (and family), John, and Douglas settled in Montgomery County after leaving Louisiana in the mid-1850s, she states that "they settled at Clear Creek, near Galveston, and called their plantation 'Killiecrankie' after a place in Scotland."
  • Research Note: A source of information for the Williams &c families is Families of Dickerman Ancestry: Descendants of Thomas Dickerman, an Early Settler of Dorchester, Massachusetts (1897). Note, though, that comparison to available documentation reveals a number of errors.
  • Last Edited: 19 Sep 2015

Family: John Wesley Campbell b. 12 May 1829, d. 8 December 1915