Friday, February 17, 2012

Davis Brothers

So in my last post I promised more clues about the photograph of William Hunter Davis taken in New York City in 1865 or 1866.  But first I want to connect the dots between him and myself (and my sibling and cousins).  I'll start with the connection we know about -- my grandpa, George Leander Armstrong Davis (born 17 April 1896), pictured here with his father and three brothers.
George is the one standing at left with the mustache and really dark eyebrows.  But it's the guy standing next to him (his brother, Albert) who aids in dating this photograph.  Albert was born in 1902 (30 April 1902).  My family knew him best as "Unk." He appears to be in his mid to late teens here.  So this was probably take around 1917 or 1919 or 1920. George served in the army during the first World War, so my best guess is this was taken right before or right after the war.  The Norfolk (belted tweed) jackets warn by the men standing were popular between 1880 and 1920, so it makes it difficult to use the clothing to date the photograph.  Next to Albert is his brother Cecil (born 7 Jan 1894).  Seated are at left, oldest son William Armstrong Davis (born 31 December 1892) and his father William Albert Davis (born 11 September 1862).  We saw William Albert Davis in a previous post at age 4.  The bible page shown below serves as one of the sources for the birth dates.