William A. Davis 1866

William Hunter Davis had two sons.   The oldest, William Albert Davis, pictured at right, was born 11 September 1862.  At that time, his father, William Hunter was in the 5th Georgia Cavalry, Company B.  My first hint that my ancestor was a Confederate cavalryman was in a letter my grandpa wrote to help my mom out with a college assignment.  She needed to write a biography and lucky for us she chose him.  While he got the regiment and company wrong, it led me to look for William Hunter Davis in Georgia cavalry units.  Service records show William H. Davis joined the Chatham Light Horse in February 1862.

Back to the photo-- the pencil inscription on the back says "W. A. Davis  (about 1866).  There is no tax stamp on the back, so it was probably taken after they were no longer required

William Hunter Davis

There he is -- William Hunter Davis, my 2nd great-grandfather.  I found this photo, a carte de visite, sandwiched between the pages of the leather-bound photo album which probably first belonged to my great-grandmother, Florence Armstrong Davis.  Initially, I knew nothing about William Hunter Davis, except the dates of his birth and death written in a family bible.

Below, you can see the back of this photograph.  The revenue stamp indicates the photo was likely taken sometime between 1864 and 1866.  According to the Old Photographic website, blue revenue stamps were used for photos costing up to 25 cents.  There are lots of other clues on the back of this photograph that I'll talk about in my next post.