Last updated: November 15, 2021
Person
David Imes
Quick Facts
Significance:
Michigan Homesteader, Civil War Veteran
Place of Birth:
Pennsylvania
Date of Birth:
about 1840
Place of Death:
Joyfield Township, Benzie County, Michigan
Date of Death:
1889
Place of Burial:
Joyfield Township, Benzie County, Michigan
Cemetery Name:
Joyfield Cemetery
David Imes was born around 1840 in Pennsylvania. Born free, he was the eldest son of John and Elizabeth Imes who had six additional children: Mary Belle Imes, born in 1842, James Imes, born in 1844, Esau Imes, born in 1846, Caroline Imes, born in 1847, Sarah Imes, born in 1848, an John Imes born in 1849.
When David Imes was about 23, he moved to Canaan, Ohio with Joseph Brand Davis who was also a free colored man. In 1863, while he was in Ohio, Imes registered to fight in the Civil War. He servied as a Private with Company K, of the 5th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment United States Colored Troops (USCT).
While Imes was serving in the Civil War, Joseph Brand Davis married David Imes’s sister, Mary Belle. Mary Belle and Joseph homesteaded 160 acres of land in Joyfield Township, next to the William Davis homestead.
Following his time in the Colored Troops, Imes moved to Joyfield Township, Benzie County, Michigan. Here, he married his wife Emaline. When they got married is unknown, however, they are counted as a married couple on the 1870 census.
It was in Joyfield Township, Michigan where Imes filed Homestead application #2515, applying to receive 160 acres of land. He received his homestead patent #1289 on August 20, 1873.
Emaline passed away around 1880. The couple did not have any children. Emaline is buried on Joseph Brand Davis’s homestead land and according to family oral histories, she is one of the five graves placed around the tree on his land. Davis's parents (William and Mildred (Brand) Davis) are believed to be the first people of color to homestead in Benzie County, Michigan. David Imes passed away in 1889 and is buried in the Joyfield Cemetery. His homestead land is no longer owned by the family.
~ Contributed by Dr. Shelley Viola Murphy, descendant.
About Dr. Shelley Viola Murphy
Dr. Shelley Viola Murphy is the great grandneice of Joseph Brand Davis. An avid genealogist for over 30 years, Dr. Shelley Viola Murphy, aka "familytreegirl," was born and raised in Michigan, now living in central Virginia. She conducts genealogy workshops at local, state and national conferences.
Murphy, is known for her inspiring & interactive "SO WHAT" with genealogy research, along with interesting problem-solving methodology lectures such as the use of Timelines. Murphy is also a coordinator and instructor at the Midwest African American Genealogy Institute (MAAGI) and serves on the Boards of the Library of Virginia. Albemarle Charlottesville and Fluvanna Historical Societies. She holds membership in AAHGS NGS, APG, DAR, and local genealogy groups.
Dr. Murphy’s personal research focuses on Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia/West Virginia, South Carolina and Tennessee. Dr. Murphy serves on the Board of the Library of Virginia and the Boards of the Albemarle, Charlottesville, and Fluvanna County Historical Societies. She is the President, Coordinator and instructor at the Midwest African American Genealogy Institute (MAAGI). Also, she is the lead researcher for the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers for the University of Virginia, to identify living descendants of the enslaved African Americans who built the University located in Charlottesville.