AMELIA TERRY (1840-1920) Amelia was the second daughter of William and Charlotte (Clark) Terry. A birth record from County Kent, England shows her birth as Jan 2, 1840, possibly Bloombury. She is also listed in LDS record (mother is shown as Amelia, possibly a mistake): England - County Kent page 21, 854 NAME Terry, Amelia FATHER/MOTHER/SPOUSE William Terry/Amelia<?> BIRTH 02 Jan 1840 [town of] Deal Batch # 7223104, serial sheet 12 There are several written accounts of Amelia's life, some with conflicting dates and events. I will compile the story, quoting from Henry E. Davis, Amelia's son, and Catherine Watson, her grand daughter. Accounts have been submitted by Mary Anne Wilson, daughter of Henry E. Davis. "Amelia Terry Davis was born January 2, 1840, in the town of Deal, County of Kent, England. Her mother, Charlotte Ann Clark was born October 5, 1806, in England. She died in Portland, Oregon, November 8, 1890. Amelia's father was William Terry," writes Catherine Watson. "Amelia's mother, Charlotte Ann Clark, was the youngest in her family. Charlotte's eldest sister, also named Amelia, married a sea-faring man, who served in the British Navy during the war with the colonies,* and he and his wife were dubbed Sir and Lady by the King." *[Catherine's comment: Could have been the War of 1812, which was a naval war, but hardly the Revolutionary War. Do you think?]. "Charlotte Ann Clark married against her parents' wishes. The family considered that she had married beneath herself and she was disinherited. William Terry was in trade, a carriage maker. The Clark family were probably upper middle class, or landed gentry, I've heard that term." Henry Davis wrote, "Grandmother's [Charlotte's] brothers and sisters were good to her and sent her silks and satins and other things, but she was disinherited by her father. Amelia was the second child, named after Lady Amelia, Charles the eldest, about four years older." [See the links at bottom of page for Amelia's sisters and brothers and their families.] "In 1848, Charlotte Ann and William Terry sold their wagon and carriage shop in Deal, County of Kent, England and took voyage for the United States." quote from Henry Davis. They sailed from Liverpool and were out 4 or 5 weeks and the captain feared they had yellow fever [another account says small pox] aboard. The captain turned back to Liverpool and they were quarantined until given a clean bill of health by port authorities." "I recall Grandma telling me it was a sailing ship and that the voyage took six weeks." quote from Catherine Watson. "She told me she saw a man being buried at sea during the voyage." They reached the US in 1849, and went first to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where her father was in the carriage making business. They were not there very long as her father's health failed and they moved to Decatur, Illinois, where they located on a farm. William probably died before 1870 in Illinois." In 1860, James Taylor and Amelia Terry , age 20, were married�.." very much against her parents' wishes and I think they more or less disowned her for some years. Her husband was a railroad man and about the time she became pregnant he left her for another woman. His parents did help her before and after the birth of her child, Florence Taylor, in 1861. Never recall her saying that her [own] family helped her. She earned her living by dressmaking and general sewing, nursing, and laying out of the dead, no mortuaries in those days," states Catherine. Amelia married John Wesley Dudrey in Macon County IL, 1871. "I remember her saying that he was a well to do man for those times. They had one child, a boy, who died in early childhood. John Wesley died not long after of "consumption." I do not know the dates of any of these events, think they were married a short time three or four years," says Catherine. Henry Davis says Mr. Dudrey only lived a few months, never mentioned a son. In 1872, the widowed Amelia Terry with her mother and brother, Samuel, moved to Montgomery County, Kansas, near Independence. While there, Amelia met Alexander Davis and on March 24, 1874, they were married. "I can well remember my Grandma speaking of her husband, but always as Mr. Davis. They were married by Rev. William Staples." states Catherine. "Alexander Davis was born December 20, 1836 in Kentucky, I always heard. His father's name was David and his mother's Lucretia Baker. She was said to have been born in Virginia and lived to the age of 103. She died about 1884. His father's family were Welsh and may have come to this country in the 17th or 18th century," relates Catherine. "Alexander Davis died February 12, 1883, of pneumonia. When Amelia married him he was a widower with one son and two daughters in their teens. They didn't care about having a stepmother and soon married and left home. However, my mother seemed to know something about them until they left Kansas for Oregon. A younger son, Marion Davis, lived at home, I remember he lived in or near Gresham, Oregon, and Mother and Uncle Henry saw him now and then." Alexander and Amelia Davis had two children, Sannie Lorena and Henry Ernest. Sannie was born March 11, 1876 on a farm in Elk County, Kansas. Henry was born September 3, 1877, probably on the farm in Elk County, Kansas. Henry has written, "The family left Kansas in 1880 and went onto a farm they owned near Ottumwa, Iowa. Alexander Davis was caught in a blizzard Feb. 5, 1881 while delivering livestock to Ottumwa and never regained consciousness. He died Feb. 12, 1881. [Note the difference in his death date in two accounts.] Amelia Davis sold the Iowa farm and moved with her children to Howard, Kansas, as her mother and brother Samuel lived in that town. She had more opportunity to work and earn a living there. "Mother [Amelia] built a house in 1883. She boarded teachers. She had a small house on the place and that was filled with teachers during teachers' normal summer school." Henry Davis In 1886 on September 5th, Florence Taylor, the daughter of the Amelia's marriage, married Herman Glass. The Reverend Barker of the Methodist Episcopal Church officiated. They stayed in Garden City, Missouri until the fall of 1888. At least one son was born in Missouri. "In 1887, the youngest of the Terry family, Clara Terry Duffield, with her two children, Homer and Effie, came to our house [in Howard, KS] and stayed until the mother died, Feb. 18, 1888. After the father had taken the children home, our mother took us to visit our half sister Rebecca Florence (Taylor) Glass � Garden City, MO. , and just after we left, Herman & Florence moved to Portland, Oregon," states Henry E. Davis. They liked it so well that they urged her mother to move to Portland. Amelia and family left their home in Howard, Kansas on October 20, 1889, arrived in Portland, October 25th. "I found this note," says Catherine. 'On June 1, 1894 moved to their home in Columbia Heights, after four and one half years of unsettled life.' "Herman Glass built their house and a few years ago [1907] it was still standing." The following spring, Uncle Samuel and family and Grandmother Terry arrived in Portland to make it their home. Grandma [Charlotte] Terry � died Nov. 8, 1890. Amelia and her children, Sannie Lorena Davis Watson, Henry Davis and their families moved to Arizona to homestead for a time. They lived in the area of Showlow. Then they returned to Portland, OR, where Amelia lived to the end of her life. She died March 12, 1920 in Portland, Oregon. She is buried in Lone Fir Cemetery beside her mother. |
England General Register Office Births - Dec quarter 1840 #305, Vol. I, page 35 Terry, Amelia (district hard to read) possibly Bloombury |
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Many of the dates in this narrative don't match other documents. We are still searching for further census records. The following is a more likely timeline: 1860 - Amelia married James Taylor in Macon Co IL (have record) 1861 - daughter Rebecca Florence Taylor born Between 1867 and 1871 - James Taylor passed away 1871 - Amelia married Mr. Dudrey, who only lived a few months. (have record) 1872 - Amelia, her brother Sam, and mother Charlotte moved to KS near Independence. 1874 - Amelia married Alexander Davis (have record) 1876 & 1877 - Children born to Davises 1880 - Davises moved to Iowa 1881 - Alexander Davis passed away 1881 or thereabouts - Amelia Davis moves to Howard KS (1881 map shows her land in Montgomery County, KS, but Howard is in Elk Co.) Mother Charlotte and brother Sam lived there too. 1883 - 1888 - Davis and Terry family lived in Howard KS 1889 - Amelia Davis moved to OR, where her daughter Rebecca lived. 1890 - Sam and family and mother , Charlotte, moved to Portland. Charlotte died there in 1890 1920 - Amelia Terry Taylor Davis died in Portland, OR |
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| Henry Davis, Amelia Terry Davis, and Henry's daughter Edna, in Arizona. |
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| Sade Terry, Lizzie Terry Griffin, & Amelia Terry Davis, in Oregon. |
| Links to other Terry Family Pages: Amelia's Parents, William and Charlotte Clark Terry Amelia's Brothers and Sisters: Charles Terry William John Terry Samuel Terry Descendants of Amelia Terry Contact a Terry descendant |