F. Grace, G. Selden, J. Leonard, Frank, and Nora Davey
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|------George Sylvester PASWATERS (1850, Indiana - 1933, Nebraska)
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Nora Belle PASWATERS (1881, Indiana - 1947, Nebraska)
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| |---------John F. ELLIOTT (1832, Kentucky or Indiana - 1863, Indiana)
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|------Sara Jane ELLIOTT (1855, Indiana - 1929, CA)
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| |--------Reese (Reece) MORGAN (1810, KY - 1877, Indiana)
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|---------Mary Ann MORGAN (1832, Indiana - 1915, Idaho)
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|--------Cynthia Ann FARRIS (1810, Kentucky - 1882, Indiana)
Nora was born on a farm near Lexington, Ind. As the first daughter after 4 sons, her father was especially pleased.
1887: moved with her family to farm near Raymond, Nebr. in time for Blizzard of 1888. As a child on the farm in Raymond, Nora was deathly afraid of Indians. Her brothers were also concerned.
1888: Her father bought 160 A. farm between Raymond and Woodlawn. She started to Oak Valley school with her 4 older brothers, a distance of 1 1/2 miles, walked both ways, carrying cold lunch in lard pail. One room school, man teacher, 40 students, some boys 18 years old, grades from beginners to 8th. She liked school and was particularly good in arithmetic and language. One of the best batters on the team.
c. 1895:
Her father drove her to the court house in Lincoln to take the 8th
grade examination, which she passed with high grades. 1896-8: Stayed
with brother Ed near Raymond where she finished 10th grade. 1898-9:
Attended Lincoln High. 1899-1900: Attended Lincoln Teachers College at
University Place and obtained teacher's license with excellent
grade. She had a fine voice. Her sister almost 80 years later recalled
her singing ``The Holy City'' one Xmas while sister Cynthia played the
organ. She also sang in a quartet at clubs and in various
entertainments. About this time, her father took her and her sister
back to Lexington to visit cousins. A few of the girl cousins wished
they'd stayed at home as their boy friends liked the
Nebr. cousins. Nora was stylish, wearing corsets, bustles, and ostrich
plumes. But her dress necks were high, her sleeves were long as well
as her dresses, nothing was exposed but her face and hands, and mostly
gloves covered them. Young men came and went: Ralph, Homer, Bill, and
others. Most wore high celluloid collars and hair parted in the
middle, but none seemed important to Nora. Then she met Frank Davey,
and from then on she had no doubt as to with whom she wanted to share
her life. 6-18-1900: Nora sent following letter to Mr. Frank Davey,
Malcolm, Nebr.:
``Friend Frank, I would have been very much surprised
this evening had I not known there was a letter here for me. I saw
Vic down town before I came up, you see. Why, of course I am a friend
of yours and will be pleased to accept your company tomorrow evening.
I had already made arrangements for Vic and I to take supper with Dora
tomorrow evening so it will be alright for you to find us there will
it not? Respectfully, Nora.''
8-27-1900: Nora drew up a ``contract'' with Frank Davey whereby he would work as janitor for her for nine months, during which time he would attend the school house known as the ``Fairview School'' doing and performing all duties as janitor in accordance and in all respects as directed and desired by Nora. She agreed to pay Frank five cents a month, payable each week provided that dues for all days of absence would be deducted. Nora signed the document but Frank did not.
1900-1: at age 19, she taught at Detwiler school, a small country school 5 miles from home. First thru 8th grade. Salary $20 a month, of which she paid $5 for room and board. She was expected to do the janitor work, also. One of her family took turns driving her to and from the school over the weekend.
1901-2: Taught at Westcott school, also in the country, near Malcolm. She boarded with Uncle Ed and Aunt Cynthia Hollenbeck, who lived on a stone mansion, owned by Mr. Converse, on a 150 A. farm.
1902-3: Because of the death of her 18 year old sister, Cynthia, Nora applied for and got permission to teach her home school - Oak Valley. This was considered quite a compliment as it had 40 students, salary of $30 a month. Her siblings Clem and Flora both attended. She was a good teacher and disciplinarian. In the meantime, Frank Davey was driving over more often, and they were secretly married during Thanksgiving vacation, 1902, and she stopped teaching the following April.
After living in Malcolm until c. 1918, the Davey's moved to Lincoln. As Malcolm had no High School at the time, Nora mounted a campaign to move to Lincoln. She had Leonard take two grades each year so that he graduated from grade school the same year as Grace, increasing pressure on Frank to move to Lincoln. Frank eventually succumbed and sold the lumber yard and moved to Lincoln.
Nora was very active in several women's organizations, including Circle 3 of the First Christian Church, and the Hall-in-the-Grove Chatauqua Group. She kept a daily diary from 1934 thru 1942 of activities of entire family. {HLD has a copy}. Nora rented out the upstairs bedrooms to boarders. She was often sick with a variety of medical problems, dying at age 65 of internal hemorrhage from a burst appendix. She owned the South 50 feet of Lot 1 and the South 50 feet of the East 25 feet of Lot 2, Block 181, Lincoln, Nebr. at the time of her death.
Frank's parents were James Ezekial Davey and Rosalie Emma Hornung.
The following biography was written by Frank's grandson, Harold:
1879: born in Lincoln in a house where the Burlington station now stands.
1898: Frank Davey is working at the creamery again. [Malcolm Messenger, 8/11/1898]
Described as an attractive 6 ft. good looking fellow, he had begun calling on a young Lancaster Co. school teacher, Nora Paswaters, c. 1900. He drove a beautiful black mare, Belvedere, with a long tail and wavy mane, to a rubber tired buggy. Her sister, Flora, used to read his love letters that Nora had placed in a bureau drawer. The letters thrilled Flora so much she could hardly wait for the next one to arrive. During Thanksgiving vacation in 1902, Frank and Nora went to Wahoo, Nebr. and were secretly married. She continued to teach until April when Frank decided against her finishing the school one month before it was to close. Frank was working at Malcolm with his father in the lumber yard. For a year they lived in Malcolm with Frank's folks, but later he accepted a job in lumber at Scottsville, Kansas. They returned to Malcolm in time for Grace's birth in 1904.
1905--07 --- Malcolm: lived in Shafer house. 1907--08 --- Malcolm: lived in Myer house. 1908-09 - Malcolm: moved into Davey house on death of Frank's father in March 1908. Frank bought lots 7--10, Block 4, Malcolm from the estate of his father for $3,000 and the lumber and hardware accounts for $3631 (less his $2820 share of the estate). He renamed the firm the ``F.S Davey Lumber & Coal Co.'' When Malcolm was incorporated in June 1915, F.S. Davey was one of the 5 original board members. He also served as postmaster of Malcolm, 9 Sept. 1907 -- 9 July 1908. They subsequently moved to Lincoln, initially to 927 So. 23rd St. After a few years, they bought a house at 919 So. 15th St., just two blocks south of the State Capitol bldg., from which Frank commuted to Malcolm until he retired. They moved to Lincoln so that their 3 children could attend the better high school there. Frank sold the lumber yards to Leland Otterman for a very good price. Frank was also elected Deputy County Treasurer in the early 1920's. His attempt to win election in 1926 as County Treasurer on the Democratic ticket failed. Around 1927 he bought the grain elevator in Malcolm and then re-bought the lumber yards from Leland Otterman for a low price. Frank was a baseball player; he often played second base on the Malcolm town team and could hit the long ball. In a c. 1910 picture of the team, Frank is the only one wearing a white shirt and a straw hat. In a 1917 picture of the team, the players (including Frank) had pin stripe uniforms. [Harold Davey has copies of the photos]. Frank's son Selden could not see his father play because the games were on Sunday and his mother would not let him watch on Sunday. He tried to peek at the field from his front porch but his vision was obscured. In later years Frank used to enjoy watching softball games at the Muny fields. Frank chewed tobacco and could hit the spittoon pretty well. He also used a small can to dispose of the juice. After Nora died in 1947, Frank's daughter Grace and her family bought the South 15th Street house. Frank continued to reside there until he remarried, to Estella Mook, in 1952 and moved to her house. On their honeymoon, Frank drove his new 1952 Mercury from Nebraska to Florida to California and back to see Estella's relatives. Frank never joined a church until Estella made him. But his children had to go to church and Sunday school. Frank died in 1967 at age 88. Cause of death: Ventricular fibrillation and heart ailments.
Sources for this individual: @S179@ @S1148@
