Davis Henry Bays

b. 5 March 1839, d. 24 October 1905
  • Davis Henry Bays was born on 5 March 1839 in Texas near Corpus Christi.
  • Green Wood purchased from Israel Allphin 26.10 acres in the Joseph Lindley Survey, 640 acres less 164.5 acres reserved for Davis Bays in the John Hostetter Survey, 116 acres in the John Sadler Survey, and 81.90 acres in the Rodney Hostetter Survey, all for $400, general warranty deed dated 7 March 1853, recorded in Montgomery County, Texas, on 29 March 1853.
  • He married Elizabeth Jane McGahan on 2 January 1862 in Pottawatamie County, Iowa.
  • Davis Henry Bays became a widower at the 23 March 1885 death of his wife Elizabeth Jane McGahan.
  • He married Eliza J. Snyder, daughter of H. A. Snyder and Reliance Bristol, on 9 July 1890 in Battle Creek, Calhoun County, Michigan, with Jay Arthur Ford, MG, officiating. Witnesses were Mr. & Mrs. W. R. Burch, of Battle Creek. The groom was a photographer residing in Iowa, and the bride was a resident of Battle Creek.
  • Davis Henry Bays died on 24 October 1905 at age 66 in Persia, Harrison County, Iowa.
  • He was interred at Valley View Cemetery, Persia, Harrison County, Iowa.
  • The following appeared on 2 December 1905 in the Christian Standard: The world to-day mourns the loss of a grand and noble man, Davis H. Bays, born March 5, 1839; departed this life Oct. 24, 1905, at the home of a daughter, Mrs. James Lang, Persia, Ia. Married to Mrs. J. Shearer in 1861, who died March 23, 1884. Married to Mrs. J. Brown in 1890, who patiently and devotedly cared for him during his prolonged illness. As a minister of the gospel, his activity and ingenuousness could not be excelled. His motto was, "Prepare to meet they God. He was conscious till the end came, as he "walked through the valley of the shadow of death," his Saviour leading the way, truly could he repeat the well-chosen text; II. Tim. iv. 7-8: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith," etc. For the sorrowing, heart-broken wife, children and friends, our prayers go up in tender sympathy, and may they ever remember that "Earth has no sorrows that heaven cannot heal."
  • Last Edited: 27 Mar 2013

Family 1: Elizabeth Jane McGahan b. 6 September 1842, d. 23 March 1885

Family 2: Eliza J. Snyder b. circa 1842