Esther Marie Davis

Esther Marie Davis, daughter of John Grant Davis and Jennie F. Church, was born on August 13, 1913, likely in Clarksburg, Harrison County, West Virginia. John and Jennie had four children: Chester Leo Davis, Lavester Otto “Vester” or “Speck” Davis, Esther Marie Davis, and an unnamed daughter.

Esther is my husband’s 1st cousin 1x removed. Their nearest common ancestors are Robert Church and Lucinda Murphy—Esther’s grandparents and my husband’s great-grandparents.

In 1911, the Davis family lived in Clarksburg, where Lavester was born. By August 2, 1915, they had moved to Smithfield in Wetzel County, where five-year-old Chester died of diphtheria. A daughter was born in Smithfield on August 18, 1917. The Wetzel County General Index and Register of Births lists a female child born alive to John G. and Jennie Davis, identified only by the surname “Davis.” She apparently did not survive.

By September 1918, the family was living in Littleton, Wetzel County, when John registered for the World War I draft. He worked as a driller for the South Penn Oil Company in Mannington, Marion County. He was described as medium height and slender, with grey eyes and brown hair.

In November 1919, John had Jennie institutionalized at Weston State Hospital in Weston, Lewis County, West Virginia, for reasons unknown to the family. She remained there for the rest of her life, leaving Esther without her mother’s care. By December, John and the children had relocated to Hood County, Texas, where he enlisted Sarah Isabelle “Belle” (Black) Mitchell to raise Esther and Lavester. Initially, I was unsure of Belle’s connection to the family, but I have since confirmed she was the wife of Charles Marion Mitchell. More on her family ties will follow.

On January 14, 1920, Esther and Lavester were living with Belle in Justice Precinct 6 of Hood County. Both were listed as adopted daughters (an error in Lavester’s case), recorded as “Vesta” (8) and “Esta” (6). Belle, age 63, owned her home and worked as a washwoman. She was literate and shared the household with Uria C. Hidd (or Kidd), his wife Anna E., stepson William M. Davis, and mother-in-law Ellen Johnson.

At some point, John moved to Ranger in Eastland County. The Granbury News reported in July 1928 that Esther and “Vester” were visited by their father. Granbury is about 90 miles from Ranger.

In February 1930, Esther and Belle traveled to Dallas to visit relatives. By April 10, 1930, Esther and Lavester were still living with Belle (enumerated as Sara Mitchell), now a 74-year-old widow, in Hood County. The census listed Esther as 16 and Lavester as 17. Esther was not attending school and was unable to read or write; Lavester was in school and literate. No one in the household was employed. Belle’s home appeared on the census sheet just after the household of William “Will” N. Mitchell, Belle’s son, whose family included Thail Mitchell—later Lavester’s wife. Thail essentially grew up alongside Esther and Lavester.

Esther was 17 or 18 when she was institutionalized at Abilene State Hospital in Taylor County, Texas, a facility originally founded to treat epileptic patients. The Abilene State Hospital was later renamed the Abilene State School. According to the Granbury News on April 17, 1930, “Vester and Ester left Thursday to go to Abilene where they will be near their father.” While her exact admission date is unknown, it likely occurred shortly after their arrival. The hospital, later renamed Abilene State School, operated as an epileptic colony until the late 1940s.

In October 1930, John and Lavester returned to Granbury to visit Belle, who then accompanied them to Abilene to see Esther. Ranger is about 55 miles east of Abilene and 90 miles west of Granbury.

With Esther institutionalized and Lavester now an adult, Belle moved in with her son Will in Thorp Spring in July 1935. She died there on April 5, 1936.

The 1940 census showed Esther, age 27, still a patient at Abilene State Hospital. A sidebar noted that the 40 women listed were all inmates of the hospital for epileptics. Esther had never attended school and had worked three hours the previous week.

On October 23, 1944, Lavester married Era “Thail” (Mitchell) Long in Fort Worth, Johnson County. Their father John lived with them for much of their second year of marriage before eventually relocating to California.

Esther remained a patient at the hospital as of April 22, 1950. She was 37 and had never married. In 1957, the facility was renamed Abilene State School and transitioned into a residential center for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Jennie (Church) Davis, Esther’s mother, died from a cerebral hemorrhage and arteriosclerosis at Weston State Hospital on February 26, 1963, following more than four decades of institutionalization. It is likely that Esther never saw her mother again after Jennie’s commitment in 1919—a separation that spanned nearly Esther’s entire life. Jennie was laid to rest at Thomas Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery in Littleton, West Virginia.

Around 1965, Thail was notified that Esther was her responsibility, as she was her only living relative. In a 1966 letter to Esther’s uncle Ralph Murphy, Thail explained that John had informed the hospital before becoming too ill to continue caring for Esther. He believed Thail would love Esther enough to ensure her well-being—a commitment she and her father had upheld for most of Esther’s life. Thail wrote that her father treated Esther as one of his own children.

Esther became seriously ill in March 1969 and was visited by her sister-in-law Thail in Abilene. 

She passed away on October 7, 1973, at the Abilene State School, where she had lived for 43 years. Her death was attributed to bronchopneumonia caused by aspiration of vomit, a complication of a congenital brain disorder—the exact nature of which was never identified. Before entering the institution, Esther had lived in Granbury, Hood County. She was buried on October 9 in Colony Cemetery on the school grounds, following a service led by Rev. Don Cauble, the school chaplain. Esther was survived by her brother Lavester and several nieces and nephews. She was 60 years old and had never married. Her mother’s name was listed as “Unknown” on her death certificate. Like her mother Jennie, who spent over four decades at Weston State Hospital, Esther lived most of her life within the walls of an institution.

Photo by HuntCoTx, Find A Grave member 46918649

Esther’s life was shaped by early separation from her mother, years of institutional care, and the absence of meaningful support from her father. She spent more than four decades at the Abilene State School, largely isolated from her family. Her passing in 1973 marked the close of a long and often solitary journey—one that unfolded quietly, far from the attention of those who might have offered comfort. Though much of her life was lived in silence, Esther’s story deserves to be remembered.

References

• Abilene State School: History and Services for the Intellectually Disabled, Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas Online; https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/abilene-state-school. 
• Abilene State School; https://www.asylumprojects.org/index.php/Abilene_State_School. 
• Chester Leo Davis, General Index and Register of Deaths—Wetzel County, West Virginia.
• Esther M. Davis Services Tuesday, Abilene Reporter-News, Abilene, Texas, October 8, 1973.
• Esther Marie Davis, State of Texas, Certificate of Death 80995, Taylor County, 1973.
• Jennie F. Davis, Register of Deaths—Lewis County, W. Va., 1963.
• John Grant Davis, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007.
• John Grant Davis, United States, Military Records 1917–1918, FamilySearch.
• Lavester Otto Davis, U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940–1947.
• Letter from Era Thail (Mitchell) Long Davis to Ralph Junior Murphy, October 26, 1966.
• Obituaries, L. O. "Speck" Davis, Hood County News, Granbury, Texas, November 25, 1984.
• Personal memories of Murphy family members.
• September 4, 1944 letter to L. S. Hall of New Martinsville, West Virginia from Thail Long of Thorp Springs, Texas. 
• Thorp Spring News, Hood County News-Tablet, Granbury, Texas, March 6, 1969, July 20, 1928, and April 10, 1930.
• Thorp Spring, The Granbury News, Granbury, Hood County, Texas, February 21, 1930, April 17, 1930, October 30, 1930, and July 19, 1935.
• U.S. Federal Census, Abilene State Hospital, Abilene, Taylor County, Texas, 1940, 1950.
• U.S. Federal Census, Justice Precinct 6, Hood County, Texas, 1920.
• U.S. Federal Census, Precinct 6, Hood County, Texas, 1930.