Bradford Davis Family
Houston County, Houston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1838 Bradford Davis from Mississippi settled in Houston County. He farmed, hunted bees and was killed by Indians as he checked bee bait. His sons John A. (1825-1888), Bradford (1831-1886) and James Jones (1836-1888) and many family slaves are buried here. John A. married Isabella Wingate (1829-1886). He was a farmer, gin operator, merchant, and shipped goods down the Trinity River. Their children were Bradford, James F., Samuel, Laura Irene McCrory, and Addie. James Jones taught at Bumpover (now Rock Hill) and married Mary H. Murchison (1836-1910). Their children were George and Laura.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1838, as the young Republic of Texas drew settlers west, Bradford Davis left Mississippi to farm the Houston County frontier — and, in a detail that captures how raw that frontier was, met his death while checking bee bait. His sons carried the family into the next generation as farmers, a gin operator, a river merchant shipping goods down the Trinity, and a schoolteacher. Family members and the enslaved people they held are buried together on this ground.
Why it matters
The plot preserves the everyday texture of frontier settlement in Republic-era Texas — and, in naming the enslaved buried here, a fuller record of who built these farms than headstones usually admit.
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Related people
- · Bradford Davis
- · John A. Davis
- · James Jones Davis
Themes & tags
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