Reuben Davis

Quick Facts

Significance:

Florida Homesteader

Place of Birth:

Florida

Date of Birth:

About 1805

Reuben Davis, at age 65, submitted his homestead application #4738 on July 15, 1870, at the Land Office of Tallahassee for 79.72 acres in Gadsden County, Florida.

Reuben was the head of his household at the time of his homestead application. According to the July 4,1870 census, Reuben was a farmer who lived with his wife Susan Davis and two children, John and Jane Davis. His real estate value was $150.

Susan Davis was born about 1816 in Virginia. They lived together on the homestead with their son Willie. In 1885, Reuben was listed as a widow and lived with his sister, Charlotte Smith.

Reuben Davis settled on the land on July 15^th, 1870. He built a house, plowed, fenced, and cultivated about 30 acres of the land. He also built a tobacco barn, a corn barn, and a stable. On July 13^th, 1877, Reuben submitted his testimony in support of his homestead application. His witnesses were TS Steavens and Cain Buie who was his neighbor. Both men testified that they had known Reuben for eight years.Reuben received his final certificate #1248 on June 24^th, 1878  for 79.72 acres of land.

Patent Details - BLM GLO Records

~ Contributed by Falan Goff

Falan Goff

About the Contributor: Falan Olivia Goff is a genealogist/family historian. She is currently an active member of Mobile Creole Cultural and Historical Preservation Society. She is a 2x graduate of Florida A&M University with her Master of Science in Agriculture. Falan currently works for the United States Department of Agriculture. She has always been drawn to connecting family history, agriculture, and ancestral lands. Falan's primary goal is to continue to educate and connect families through her work with genealogy. She is vested in bridging the gap between agriculture and family history. Her primary areas of research are along the Gulf Coast from Bayou Lafourche and Orleans Parrish, Louisiana as well as Mobile, Alabama and Apalachicola, Florida.