Melvin Davis, one of the pioneer farmers of Monona Township, was born in Lewiston, Me., Feb. 16, 1842, a son of Stephen and Catherine Davis, nee Field. Melvin received his education in his native State, and at the age of twenty he entered the Union army, enlisting in the Seventeenth Maine Volunteer Infantry, Company D. The first engagement particpated in was at Fredericksburg, under General Burnside, and then followed the battles of Chancellorsville and the Wilderness. He was at the surrender of General Lee, serving nearly three years. After the close of the war he returned to Maine, where he remained a short time, and in 1869 came to Clayton County, Ia., where he has followed farming since. On Apr. 25, 1871, he married Esther Olmsted, a daughter of Page P. Olmsted. She was born in this county in 1850. By this union there are four children-- Flora E., Clara A., Frank O. and Lizzie E. Mr. Davis owns a fine residence and a farm of 130 acres, all under cultivation, and valued at $50 per acre. In politics he is a Republican. source: History of Clayton
County, Iowa, 1882, p. 1040 |