Claude Louis Davis - Born 127 Years Ago Today

Claude Louis Davis  1893 - 1967

The U.S.S. Franklin was a training ship at the Commanding Naval
Training Station in Norfolk, VA. The ship was decommissioned and
sold on October 14, 1915. This photo was said to have been taken soon
after Claude got over the measles. According to historical records,
there was a measles outbreak at the Norfolk Commanding Naval
Training Station in 1915. 

My grandfather, Claude Louis Davis, was born September 28, 1893 in City Hospital, Louisville, Kentucky - 127 years ago today. His mother, Bertha Davis, was young and unmarried. At age six months he may have been given to Isaac Smith and, his wife, Nancy Jane Saunders, for care. 

Claude's mother, Bertha Davis, was the daughter of Olive Caroline Davis. Her father is unknown. Bertha's grandparents were Seth H. Davis and Margaret "Peggy" Jones, both of Edmonson County. The Smith family was somewhat connected to Claude’s family as Bertha’s first cousin, George Page, was married to Nancy Jane’s sister, Clara.

In 1900, both Nancy Jane and Clara were living with their families in the Coldbrook Township in Illinois. Six-year-old Claude D. Smith was living with Isaac and Nancy Jane Smith and his relationship was written as adopted son. It is unknown if a legal adoption took place. 

Granddaddy went by the name of Claude Smith until at least 1910 when he was found on the census living with the Robert Page family. He was identified as a lodger, had no occupation, and was said to have attended school sometime following September 1, 1909. 

My mother reported that her father said he only went to school when he wasn't needed on the farm and made it through 5th grade. He liked school and preferred it to farm labor.  My aunt remembered that he worked in a tobacco warehouse and he indicated he was happy to give his mother some money. 

My grandfather entered the United States Navy sometime before October 1915. Records could not be obtained but family photos indicate that he remained in the Navy until at least June 1920. 

Claude Davis has not been found on the 1920 U. S. Census. He was found as a crew

member in ship records at Ancestry.com between the years of 1922 to 1932. On those records, he was seen as an oiler or assistant engineer on ships classified as cargo and passenger ships. He made trips to London, Panama, and Puerto Rico. 

In 1926, he visited family in Kentucky. Was that the first visit since joining the Navy? To see the identification of some of these Davis and Page family members visit 
Documenting My Davis Family: A Genealogical Challenge

Granddaddy was not working on a ship in April 1930 as the census record indicates that he was living in a New York City boarding house and working in a power station. In June 1932, he and my grandmother, Edith Giddens, were living at 217 North 106th Street in New York City when my mother was born. In June 1933, their second daughter was born. The family was living at 1130 Arnow Avenue in the Bronx and Claude was working in the engine room of the Hudson Laundry. 

No. 2. CAIRO
Tombs of the Califs.
On this postcard sent to my mother in 1939, her father wrote, "Would you like to ride a camel? Not here anyway. Ask mommie to tell you why. Save the stamps."

Mom said the last time Granddaddy worked on a ship was in 1939. She did not know the name of the ship, but knows he went to Egypt and Iraq as he sent postcards.  She remembers the ship came into port in New Orleans where he bought dolls for both Mom and her sister. After that, Granddaddy sold Electrolux vacuums for a very short time and then began working in engine rooms at laundries and hospitals. 

My grandparents bought this newly built house on Rule Street in Franklin Square on Long Island in 1940. Granddaddy had received $400 compensation when a rung broke on a ship's ladder causing him to fall. This gave them money needed to purchase the house. They moved into the house in 1941. The house was purchased for $5000 with monthly mortgage payments of $34. 

Granddaddy retired from the Cascade Laundry in Brooklyn after my grandmother had a stroke. They moved to Virginia in the 1960s where my mother helped care for her.  Granddaddy liked to read newspapers and the encyclopedia. He was always making or fixing things. Mom has a dollhouse he made from scraps of wood and tile in 1940.  He built the furniture and included working lights. 

Claude Louis Davis died on May 26, 1967 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is buried in Woodlawn Memorial Park in Norfolk. 

Claude Louis Davis and his daughters -1936

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2020 

Sources 

Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957.

Ancestry.com. Year: 1900; Census Place: Coldbrook, Warren, Illinois; Roll: 350; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 0083; FHL microfilm: 1240350.

Ancestry.com. Year: 1910; Census Place: Parker, Edmonson, Kentucky; Roll: T624_469; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 0044; Image: 1062; FHL microfilm: 1374482.

Ancestry.com. Year: 1930; Census Place: Manhattan, New York, New York; Roll: 1548; Page: 23A; Enumeration District: 310; Image: 1015.0; FHL microfilm: 2341283.

Family photographs and documents from the collection Elizabeth Bryan. 

Quinn, Diana Bryan. "Moments in Time, A Genealogy Blog: Documenting My Davis Family: Nancy Ellen Davis." Blogger. 2013. Web. https://momentsintimeagenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/documenting-my-davis-family-nancy-ellen.html. Accessed 20 Sep. 2020.

Quinn, Diana Bryan. "Moments in Time, A Genealogy Blog: Friday's Photo: Bertha Davis." Blogger. 2013. Web. https://momentsintimeagenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/fridays-photo-bertha-davis.html. Accessed 20 Sep. 2020.

Quinn, Diana Bryan. "Moments in Time, A Genealogy Blog: Documenting My Davis Family: Olive Caroline Davis." Blogger. 2013. Web. https://momentsintimeagenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/documenting-my-davis-family-olive.html. Accessed 20 Sep. 2020.

United States. Navy Department. Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1928.