Davies Family Events
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Previous years: 2010  2009  2007  2006  2005  2001   1999  1998

Mary Margaret Davis Shelton (1919 - 2012)

Mary Margaret passed away on December 22 in North Garden, Virginia. She was very active in researching our family history and attended both Davies Family Reunions in Lynchburg. Please click here to read her obituary describing her long life, her varied interests and her large family.



Mary Margaret with her son Todd and grandson Chuck at the 1998 Davies Reunion

Dr. James David Boyle (1928 - 2012)

Dave passed away on July 19th in Los Angeles, California. He was extremely active in researching our family history, and his genealogy database was used to generate our Davies Family Tree. Please click here to read his obituary describing his long and distinguished medical career, as well as his family and personal life.



Dave and Virginia Boyle (center) at the 1998 Davies Reunion


Edna Himmer Davies (1943 - 2011)

Eddi passed away on August 4th in Charleston, South Carolina, after a long illness. She is survived by her husband Brooke Davies, her son Landon Davies, her daughter Mary Margaret vonRosenberg, and five grandchildren: Emily, Lucy and Teagan Davies, plus Charlie and Caroline vonRosenberg. Another vonRosenberg grandchild is expected later this month.



Landon, Mary Margaret, Brooke and Eddi Davies at the 1998 Davies Reunion


"Eddi's Story" is posted on our Brain Tumor Support Group page. Her biography is also posted on this site.

Still more sad news of a Davies cousin's death from Bob Chope ...

Linda Davies, Tom's wife, phoned me yesterday to tell me that Tom passed away on January 22, 2011. He was 86 years old, but would have been 87 in June. Tom was fighting cancer for about 20 years. It finally overtook him.

Please click here to read the obituary, which appeared in the Lynchburg News and Advance on January 26, 2011.



Tom Davies with his son Jonathan and grandson Peter at the 2001 Davies Reunion
Tom and Jonathan were partners in the law firm of Davies & Davies in Lynchburg, Virginia.

More sad news of a Davies cousin's death from Bob Chope ...

I received a letter today from Marianne Wood, one of Philip Ballard's daughters. She conveyed the sad news that cousin Philip passed away on January 17, 2011 after a brief stay in the hospital. He was 86 years old. He was with Marianne's family over Christmas and was short of breath and taking medication. Marianne was with him, holding his hand, when he passed in his sleep.

Philip is being cremated at the Reading Crematorium at 3:15 on February 2, 2011. Remember him at the right moment. He gave us much.

Editor's note: Philip Ballard was our English cousin who provided us with invaluable information about the boyhood home of Nicholas Davies, which Bob published in the "Old Nick" newsletter. At the 1998 Davies Reunion, Clyde Davies presented an account of his trip to England, when he was hosted by the Ballard family. Dave Boyle adds: "I can well recall the video Clyde Davies recorded of Philip and his wife when Clyde visited London, the closest I came to meeting Philip."

We are indeed traveling through sad times in the family.

News of two Davies cousins' deaths from Dave Boyle ...

Please click here to read the obituary of my second cousin, Thomas Davies Barrow, who wrote an article for the Old Nick newsletter some years ago and who died Thursday at age 86.

Editor's note: The excellent obituary describes Dr. Barrow's long and distiguished career as an engineer, geologist and oil company executive, plus his extensive community service and travel experiences.

Lee Thurston Carleton, my 3rd cousin, and a descendant of Robert E. Lee (which I am not) died a few months earlier, in 2010, in Huntington Beach, Orange Co, CA. He was 96 and is survived by his second wife, Lorraine.

Both were descendants of Mayo Davies.
2010
John F. Davies' Civil War Story submitted to The Charleston Post and Courier

The Charleston Post and Courier is running a series, "Civil War 150 years", that chronicles life in the city throughout the conflict. Readers are invited to email them photos and stories about their ancestors' Civil War experiences, so we told them that John F. Davies was a member of "The Immortal 600" on Morris Island during the bombardment of Charleston in 1864 and sent them the link to his Civil War letters on our site.

Rick Nelson, Assistant Managing Editor for News, replied: "This is really fascinating, and the letters are great.". The 20-part series in the Sunday paper, which began yesterday (Dec. 12, 2010), might contain a future article about the "Immortal 600", because he added "you've given me a story idea for the series". Here is the link to the one already included in the "User-submitted stories" on their site:  John F. Davies, one of 'The Immortal 600'

We are very sad to report that Annette Brooke Monmonier Gilbert passed away on November 14, 2010 in Ocala, Florida. Cousin "Brookie" was born in Maryland, but she was a Florida resident for most of her life. She returned to Maryland to live with her grandfather, John Franklin Davies, while ahe attended the Gunston School in Centreville. She is survived by her husband, Selman Lamar Gilbert of Ocala, and her brother Raymond Fenwick Monmonier, who now lives in Panama.

We are sad to report that Clyde Tinsley Davies died on January 12, 2010 in Crystal Lake, Illinois. A copy of his obituary may be obtained from Legacy.com.



Clyde Davies (left) at the 1998 Davies Family Reunion

2009
Cousin George Sherrill Pitches in the Postseason


George Sherrill was traded from the Baltimore Orioles to the Los Angeles Dodgers in July and is now facing the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series. Click on the link below to read an excellent article about his 2009 season from the Baltimore Sun:
"Sherrill wouldn't trade his 2009 season"

Welcome New Contributors!

The major contributors to this web site have always been Bob Chope (who publishes "Old Nick") and Dave Boyle (our expert genealogist), but we have always hoped that more cousins would share their news and stories with us.

In August, two very enthusiastic Davies cousins contacted us - Ron Wallin and Carol Ritchie. Both have been working with Dave to help expand the tree, and they are contributing biographies, photos and stories. Cousin Ron is especially interested in sharing old photos. He also enjoys locating graves and headstones, and recommends the web site Find a Grave. He hopes that his efforts will encouge more family members to join in. Carol's sister Betty Hansen has their family records and photos, but she is working with Carol to write their "mother's stories" on Ancestry.com, and Carol is sending the Davies ones to us.

In September, Cousin Stuart Scott did join in by submitting a biography of his grandmother, Evelyn Mayo Davies, including photos. He will also be working with Dave to expand the tree.

Welcome Ron, Carol, Betty and Stuart! Please look at the recent entries in the "What's New" table on our Home page to see what they have contributed so far. We are looking forward to more good stuff from all of them.

Orioles Trade Cousin George Sherrill to Dodgers

Baltimore Orioles pitcher George Sherrill, a Davies descendant, has been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two minor league prospects. For more on George's baseball career and the trade, read the archived article from "Old Nick" and the new story in the Baltimore Sun.

2007
Tusculum at Sweet Briar College

We recently received an e-mail from the Director of the Sweet Briar Museum and Assistant Professor of Arts Management at Sweet Briar College. The message reads as follows:

Dear Sirs,

I recently discovered your wonderful family website, and was interested to note the connections with the Crawford family and the historic house, Tusculum.

As you may know, Tusculum has been dismantled and moved to Sweet Briar College, where plans are underway to rebuild the house and use it as a regional preservation center.

I would like to invite you and your family members to attend a special program on Tusculum which will be held on Saturday, September 22, at Sweet Briar College. This date falls during the college's Homecoming, and in fact, the celebration of the Tusculum project will be highlighted all weekend. Speakers include Travis McDonald of Poplar Forest, as well as Kathleen Kilpatrick, the director of Virginia's Department of Historic Resources.

More information about the program, "Moving Tusculum Home", can be found in the on-line version of the Homecoming brochure, which features Tusculum on the cover and gives more details on page 11.

We think it would be very special to have members of your family here, and we invite you to be our guests for a luncheon to be held before the program.

With all best wishes,
Christian Carr

Editor's note:

Tusculum was built by David Crawford. His daughter Elizabeth married Nicholas Clayton Davies, the first son of Henry Landon Davies (and a grandson of "Old Nick").

The Davies Family Organization, led by Bob Chope, has been involved in the effort to preserve Tusculum ever since the 2001 Davies Reunion, and several members of our family have made significant financial contributions to the project. We are very grateful to Sweet Briar College for "Moving Tusculum Home".

If you are one of the many descendants of Nicholas Clayton Davies and Elizabeth Crawford (and their eleven children shown in the Davies Family Tree), and you would like to accept this gracious invitation from Sweet Briar College, please email us: davies@comcast.net (or copy the underlined e-mail address to your message composition window).

After we responded to the e-mail above, we received a second message from Christian Carr as follows:

Dear Mr. Davies,

I'm so pleased to be in contact with you, and have spent quite a while perusing your family's very informative web site. In fact, I came across it while "googling" Tusculum just a few days after attending a reception at Pebbleton. It's a wonderful house.

I have also been in touch with Bob Chope, and hope to get copies of his newsletter that deal with Tusculum. It was also featured in the most recent issue of Sweet Briar College's alumnae magazine (on page 17).

I do hope that some Davies family will be able to attend the September 22 event. If you would like to send along mailing addresses, I will make sure that invitations are sent in early September. The Amherst County Historical Museum has also been an important supporter of this project, and will be running an announcement about the event in their upcoming newsletter, as will the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, which held the house in trust before we assumed ownership of it.

May I keep you apprised of the plans for the house as its reconstruction commences?

With all best wishes,
Christian
2006

The Davies Family Organization extends its most sincere condolences to Cousin Clyde Davies and his children and grandchildren on the loss of Shirley Frances (nee Hofbauer) Davies, Clyde's wife of over 56 years. Shirley passed away on December 17, 2006 at 5:20 a.m. from congestive heart failure. Shirley died at a hospital in Woodstock, IL.

For many years Clyde and Shirley lived in San Diego, CA. They thought that San Diego was the ideal place for them to retire. Clyde had fallen in love with the climate while serving in the Navy and stationed in this southern California city. Eventually, the pull of family became strong and Clyde and Shirley decided to move back to where they raised their children in Crystal Lake, IL. Two of their children and several of their grandchildren still call the Crystal Lake area home.

Shirley made it back to Illinois on December 14, 2006 to join Clyde, who at this time was himself in the hospital in Illinois recovering from a stroke. Clyde returned to Illinois in November to take care of the moving arrangements. On December 15, 2006 Shirley entered the hospital.

Shirley was born on March 14, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois. She was the daughter of Ralph and Margaret (nee Mitchell) Hofbauer. Shirley married Clyde on May 6, 1950 in Pocahontas, Arkansas. She graduated from Hirsch High School in 1948.

Together with Clyde, Shirley was one of the original and most enthusiastic supporters of the Davies of Pebbleton Family Organization. She attended both family reunions in Lynchburg, Virginia with Clyde and was available to provide encouragement in keeping our organization moving forward.

2005
We are very sad to report that Dr Alexander Kossiakoff passed away on August 6, 2005. He was the husband of Arrabelle Davies Kossiakoff. We put a photo of the Kossiakoffs on this page in 2001 (see below).

"Cousin Kossy" was a renowned scientist, author and educator at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The Kossiakoff Conference and Education Center on the APL campus and the Kossiakoff Chemistry Fellowship at JHU have been named for him. His many accomplishments are summarized in The Johns Hopkins University newspaper.

Cousin Kossy was a warm and gracious gentleman who will be greatly missed.

2001
On August 4th and 5th, 2001 more than fifty family members attended the "Davies of Pebbleton Reunion" at the Holiday Inn in Lynchburg, Virginia. Click here for highlights and photos.

On June 23, 2001, a small group of Davies family members met for lunch in Columbia, Maryland and enjoyed some interesting recollections and delicious crabcakes.  Cousin Brooke Davies, his wife Eddi and their son Landon Davies "interviewed" Cousin Arabelle Davies Kossiakoff and her husband Dr. Alexander ("Kossy") Kossiakoff.  They identified the descendants of Seabury Davies who were missing from the Davies Family Tree, and we shared stories about many of the other cousins in our branch of the family.

We are sad to report that Ralph Bryant passed away on January 5, 2000.

Cousin Ralph was very interested in Davies family history and did a lot of research both in the U. S. and in England. He located the Royal Land Grant to Nicholas Davies in the Virginia State Library in Richmond, and he supplied us with a copy for this Web site.

In 1998, Cousin Ralph traveled from his home in Ft. Collins, Colorado to Lynchburg, Virginia for the Davies Family Reunion. He is included in our reunion photos and biography pages.

1999

We received a recent e-mail from Cousin Louie Sell. Louie writes:

"I finished my fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson Center and left the Washington area permanently in August. I am currently spending my time on our farm in Maine and trying to finish a book on Slobodan Milosevic, which Duke University has agreed to publish."

When we saw Louie in Lynchburg at the Davies Family Reunion, he had just retired from the State Department after many years of service as a U. S. diplomat in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Look for Louis Sell on these Web pages:

Online NewsHour: Slobodan Milosevic-- September 23, 1998
Franklin & Marshall College Presidential Distinguished Fellow

1998

In August 1998, descendants of Nicholas Davies gathered from all parts of the nation at the Ramada Inn & Conference Center in Lynchburg, Virginia for the Davies Family Reunion. Click here for highlights and photos.

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