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WHO WAS WHO in PLUM TOWNSHIP
~ Titusville Herald ~
By H. W. Strawbridge

J. A. Davison

This sketch is about J.A. Davison, the grand storekeeper of Sunville during the last third of the 19th century. John Alexander Davison was born at Sunville on Dec. 27, 1836, the third of a family of seven children of W.W. and Bethiah VanDyke Davison.
The father, W.W. Davison, was the founder of Sunville, and was one of the pioneers of the Republican party in Venango County. He was serving as associate judge of Venango County at the time of his death in 1862.
John Alexander Davison, or “Alec”, as everybody knew him, was reared on the homestead farm immediately south of Sunville and educated in the township schools. As a young lad he had experience in the mercantile business in the first store in the young village of Sunville, operated by his father.
On Jan. 19, 1860, Alec was married to Miss Rachel Vandalia Cooper, a daughter of Philson and Margaret Cooper of Cooperstown. Rev. John Abbott, pastor of the Cochranton Methodist Church, performed the ceremony. The bride, born Jan. 10, 1841, had been a member of the Cooperstown Methodist Church prior to her marriage.

Began Housekeeping

The couple began housekeeping either on the old farm or in Sunville proper.
In 1865 Alec and his brothers, Cyrus and Houston, entered the mercantile business in Sunville. Their store sat towards the southern end of the community. The business was known as J.A. Davison and Brothers. Their competitors were Wolfkill and Westlake, who had a store farther north and across the street. After a couple years Houston sold out to his brothers. Alec and Cyrus ran it for several years when Cyrus sold out to Alec. Then, a few years later Alec’s son became a partner and it was known as J.A. Davison & Son.
Alec was a fine storekeeper. He was quiet and modest and he had a disposition that was most pleasing to the general public. He never pressed anyone who owed store bills. In fact, the family said there were thousands of dollars standing in his books at the time of his death. In the spring of 1886 Alec and his son enlarged their store into nearly twice its size. It was widened considerably and probably made longer.
After completion the post office was situated in the right front as one walked in. He kept his general line of groceries and tobacco along the right side. Shoes and boots were at the right rear of the store. Clothing material, threads, buttons, etc., were on the left. Then, the ware room was left of the storeroom where hardware was kept. Old fashioned churns and other larger items were kept upstairs over the storeroom.
It was simply the old fashioned country store with nearly everything available. There were barrels of molasses, kerosene, bolts, nails, besides other numerous items.
Alec had ordered a large shipment of aluminum ware just before his death. He always paid cash for his merchandise. Though he was Presbyterian, he always furnished a considerable amount of groceries to the Methodist parsonage which was then situated in Sunville.
Alec was appointed Sunville postmaster in February, 1875, succeeding Squire W.K. Gilliland. Alec served until May, 1885, when he relinquished the position. Two other men held the position until September, 1897, when Alec again became postmaster. He served until his death.

Had One Son

Alec and his wife, Vandalia, had one son, Otis Cooper Davison, who was born Jan. 10, 1861. He was married to Miss Lura Jane Goodwin on Aug. 22, 1888 at Sunville. They lived on the farm south of the village. Otis was a graduate of the business college at Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Besides being in the mercantile business with his father, Otis also took an interest in farming. His intention was to raise blooded stock. In 1893 he attended the World’s Fair at Chicago and developed pneumonia as a result of the trip. Complications set in and caused his death the next year on Oct. 2, 1894. Doctors called it “quick consumption”. Lura died of heart trouble in Brea, California on April 6, 1929.
Otis and Lura had three children. They were Mrs. Margaret Davison Miller, who now resides in Meadville, Dr. Glenn H. Davison, deceased, whose residence was in Pittsburgh, and Helen Davison who died in early childhood.
J.A. Davison united with the Sunville Presbyterian Church when he was 20 years old. Vandalia transferred her membership there shortly after their marriage. Both remained active members there the remainder of their lives. Alec served as Sunday School superintendent for some time, and also as its treasurer. He was a bass singer in the church choir for about 50 years. He was one of the church’s best financial supporters, too.
He often carried sacks of peppermint and wintergreen lozenges to Sunday School. After Sunday School was over the children would line up and Alec would hand a lozenge to each child.
On Sunday afternoons he used to walk to the farm and sing with his grandchildren., Margaret and Glenn. The song they sang most often was “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks”.
If a child misbehaved, Alec would only have to look at him and he would behave without a word said. Alec was never known to punish a child. He was a man of average height and weight with dark hair and beard.
He was a long-time Republican. In 1870 he was elected Plum Township clerk and he served two years. In 1881 he was committee-man of Sunville borough, and an auditor in 1883. In April, 1890, Alec was elected chairman of the borough council.

Delegate to Session

In 1880 and 1883 he was a delegate from Sunville borough to the Republican County Conventions held in Franklin. Alec must have been a progressive individual because in the fall of l885 he enlightened his end of the village by the erection of new street lamps.
In January, 1873, an oil well was put down on the M. McAlevy farm in Jackson Township. It was in the second sand and produced six barrels a day. The owners were J.A. Davison and his brothers, R.R. Crawford and A. G. Wilkins of Cooperstown, under the name of Belt Oil company.
In January, 1877, M.N. Miles of Petrolia made an oil lease with Alec and his brother, Houston, on the Davison farm. In 1870 Alec took over Miles’ interest in this lease. It is said that Alec’s brother, Cyrus, also had an interest.
It was probably under this same lease that a couple of gas wells were put down, one on each side of the road extending south toward Cooperstown. One, struck on Jan. 9, 1882, gave forth such a tremendous flow of gas at a depth of 840 feet that the drillers were compelled to shut down. If controlled, sources at the time stated, the flow would have run 30 feet into the air.
It was later set afire and it is a fact that a newspaper could be read at night from its light on the hill east of Bradleytown. A huge gas fire can cast a glow over a long distance.
In March, 1883, an announcement appeared in a Franklin newspaper that Alec wanted to sell his store and house because he was planning to locate in the state of Iowa. This idea fell through, and he continued right on in Sunville.
In the spring and summer of 1888, Alec had a large new house built beside his store. He hired William Borger and Charles Messner to carpenter it. The family lived on the farm while it was being built. This two-story structure still stands in Sunville and is owned by a great-granddaughter of Alec, Miss Rachel Miller of Meadville.
In 1895 Alec deeded additional land to the Sunville Cemetery trustees who were A.W. Richey, W.A. Jennings, W.S. Davison, David Matthews, Lowrey Fetterman and David McAlevy.
On Sunday, March 12, 1899, Alec was taken ill while attending church service. He was confined to his house and never out of it again. It was a heart condition. On March 26, he experienced a shock when his brother, Houston died. Then, Houston’s body was brought to Alec’s house prior to the funeral, and the excitement and strain caused Alec to suffer another heart attack the day of Houston’s funeral.
After Alec retired to bed the night of March 29, he asked for a glass of lemonade. His wife complied with his request, and after leaving his room she heard him make an odd noise. She went back into the room and he was just breathing his last.
Alec’s service was conducted on Saturday forenoon, April 1, from the Presbyterian Church with a large number of people present. His pastor, Rev. J.W. Myers, delivered the sermon, assisted by the Methodist pastor, Rev. G.C. Gage.

Chair Was Draped

For quite some time afterward his chair in the choir corner remained draped.
At a meeting of the Christian Endeavor Society of Sunville held the day after the funeral, resolutions were adopted upon Alec’s death and sent to the newspaper. The resolutions were signed by E.D. Proper, president; W.A. Jennings, vice president; Anna Messner, secretary; Mary Gilliland, corresponding secretary; and Jacob Ehrhart, treasurer.
His widow Vandalia, who was an esteemed lady of average height and weight, died Dec. 11, 1911, in the former A.W. Richey house west of Sunville where she had moved some time previously.
Cyrus Davison ran the store a while after Alec died, then closed out. Later, W.A. Jennings ran it. In 1907 James Arters rented it with Wade Jennings clerking. That was probably the last that the store was operated.
For several years the building sat empty. The Plum Township school board bought the building and moved it near the Sunville school in 1932 as a recreational hall for the pupils. It took several days to move the building, the use of a horse and a winch being employed. The horse walked round and round the building. The board sold the old hall in 1956 by sealed bids to a private individual and it was razed in the spring of 1959.

Transcribed by Paula Harry
dharry@pa.rr.com

Disclaimer:there may be errors due to transcription of information from both early and late (current contributors) work.