Davant Family
By John Edwin Davant
 

In 1733 five courageous Davants, two men, two women, and one child, embarked from London, after fleeing France for religious reasons. They came to America on the Georgia Experiment. Eighteen months after they arrived in Georgia, only the son John was alive, and he was only thirteen.

One hundred twenty-four years later, in 1909, William Edwards Davant came to Bay City from Butler, Georgia, as a young lawyer. He married Naomi McNeil Brigham, who, it is believed, was teaching in Bay City, and lived on the south corner of Cottonwood and Sixth Street. They had three children, John Edwin, Mary Ann, and Kathryn. Mary Ann married Ted Dunnam of Van Vleck, and later resided in Costa Rica. Kathryn married Jack Dodson of Mississippi, and resided there. John Edwin married Kathryn Cornelius of Blessing in January of 1934. Their children were: Carolyn Fricke of Port Lavaca; James Edwin of Blessing; Cornelia Atwood of Palacios; William Louis of Victoria; Kathryn Higgins of Victoria; and Eugenia Wilson of Sulphur, Louisiana.

William Edwards Davant lived in Bay City for thirty-six years until his death in 1945. His obituary read "Mr. Davant was one of the best known lawyers in this section of the country. He practiced here for years and his last big case was an income tax case tried before the Supreme Court of the United States which he won. Here he represented some of the larger estates and individuals with large holdings. He was considered among the best lawyers in this section and his remarkable memory allowed him to give what is termed “side walk judgment."

Naomi McNeil Brigham Davant died in 1943. Both were buried in Bay City.

John Edwin Davant attended law school at The University of Texas, and, after taking his bar exam, opened a law practice in Bay City. He held the office of County Attorney of Matagorda County for several years. Except for a ten year period when they lived in Port Lavaca, they were residents of Matagorda County.

Kathryn Cornelius Davant was the granddaughter of Fredrick Casper "Fritz" Cornelius, who sailed from Germany in 1870 and settled in Indianola (see Fredrick Casper Cornelius Family). His second son, Louis Casper, was Kathryn's father. Louie bought land in the area and raised cattle. He married Ellen Roberts of Wallis. Kathryn was born in Markham, but Blessing and the surrounding area became their home. Many Cornelius’ descendants remained in the area.

Two of John Edwin and Kathryn's children resided in Matagorda County- James Edwin "Jim," who lived in Blessing; and Cornelia, a widow, who taught school in Palacios. Jim and his wife Sandra had four children: Roxanne, who married John M. Crain and had three children; James Edwin, at student at Texas A & M University; Michael, a student at Tidehaven High School; and Julie Ann, also a student at Tidehaven High School. Jim and Sandra own a feed store and veterinary clinic in Blessing. He was also a rancher. Their feed store and veterinary clinic was located in a two-story building on the main square in Blessing which housed a thriving business in the early 1900's when Blessing was booming.

Historic Matagorda County, Volume II, 1984, page 122
 

Copyright 2014 - Present by the Davant Family
All rights reserved

HOME