Mrs. Mary Belknap Davis
Mother of Olivia Davis Halsey, Josephine Davis and Amanda Beard
Descendants: Miss Annie W. Halsey, Mrs. W. B. Hopkins, Corpus Christi,
Mrs. W. T. Wright, Alice, Miss Alma Halsey, Austin, Mrs. Lee Glover, Dallas
Mrs. Mary Belknap Davis, widow of Joseph Davis, a sea captain who died in New Orleans, came to Texas in 1840.
Mrs. Davis was a sister of the wife of Col. John W. Moore of the historic stronghold for Texas Independence-Harrisburg, Texas, now Houston. It would be unfair to the wife and sister-in-law of Colonel Moore, and the leading part they took in the loyal support of the cause of freedom, not to pause for a very brief reference to Colonel Moore. He was from the first a wise and conservative advisor, and as fearless in defense of the liberty as Travis, his friend, and the other signers of the Declaration of Texas Independence.
Some of the offices he held are briefly enumerated: Assisted in driving the Mexicans from Anahuac, and in releasing the patriot, Andrew Brisco; delegate to the Consultation at San Felipe; army contractor; delegate to the Convention at old Washington, March 1, 1836; first sheriff of Harris County.
When Mary Belknap Davis was left a widow, she turned to her sister for advice and comfort, and with her four little children came to Old Harrisburg and the house of Colonel Moore. Mrs. Davis moved for a short time to Victoria with her children: Anna Amanda Davis, William Davis, who was killed by the Indians when en route to California, like hundreds of others who followed the lure of gold fever-Olivia Davis, who married William Halsey of revolutionary ancestry, and Josephine Davis.
Five lovely and cultured daughters survive Mrs. and Mrs. Halsey. Mrs. Davis, their grandmother possessed the grace and hospitable charm of her New Orleans ancestry. Her dignity and high mindedness has been transmitted to her descendants.
In those days, steamboats were just beginning, railroads were unknown in most parts of the nation, stagecoaches, while inconvenient, were the best means of transportation, as there were only a few national turnpikes, over which these could travel. Horseback riding, especially in Texas, was the means mostly used for journeys to and from markets,
for visiting families and friends.
With a desire to please and a willingness to meet the primitive conditions she found away from her native and glamorous New Orleans, she won the respect and admiration of all who knew her.
What has been written of the lovely pioneer settler in Texas territory, Mrs. Mary Belknap Davis, can with equal truthfulness be repeated about her daughter, Mrs. Olivia Davis Halsey, who long and useful life in this community endeared her to everyone so fortunate to call her friend. It is said of her by a dear friend: “Mrs. Halsey was gifted with the faculty of seeing good and beauty everywhere, and she was both tolerant and sincere. Entirely free from malignant cavil, her instinctive sympathy with the good and beautiful developed the sunny brightness of her heart.†Mrs. Halsey has gone, but “her good deeds will long live after her.â€
The grace and charm of the grandmother and mother of the living descendants has been visited on the children to the third generation, yes, to the fourth generation and what more has the Bible promised to them that love the Lord?
Miss Annie Halsey, when asked what she remembered as a child that was beautiful or unique said:
“The most beautiful thing I saw as a child was the Nueces River, with its great trees on the banks, their overhanging boughs, draped with moss. I also remember a box of odds and ends of jewelry; several pieces of handsome cut glass; a large blue and white platter; an old mahogany four-poster bed with carved posts and a tester; also daguerreotypes of the family.
The four-poster bed was carved in pineapple and acanthus leaves. Hand sewing was in vogue when I was a child and I remember piecing quilts as a little girl. I remember that every family I visited as a child had feather flowers, and parlor ornaments. A cut glass bowl, brought by my grandmother, Mrs. Davis from New Orleans in 1840, is now in my possession at 912 N. Carrizo Street, Corpus Christi, another bowl is in possession of Mrs. W. B. Hopkins, wife of Judge Hopkins, 901 Artesian Street.â€
Of Mrs. Davis’ childhood home, the record was not provided. We are assured by her mature character that her infancy and girlhood were surrounded by refining and spiritual influences, which developed in her later years the hospitality and kindness that she ever manifested in dealing with others.
So, in closing it may again be said of the late Mrs. Halsey, her daughter, that her memory is fragrant with the perfume of saintly and harmonious sweetness.
Source:
DeGarmo, Mrs. Frank. Pathfinders of Texas, 1836-1846. Austin: Press of Von Boeckmann-Jones, Co., 1951.
Transcription by: Geraldine D. McGloin, Nueces County Historical Commission