L. D. Davis (1847-1899) - "Little Yankee Devil"

 

Bing AI

L. D. Davis was born about 1847, possibly in New York state.  Although his mother was originally from Maine, she married a Kentuckian and raised her son in the Bluegrass state. 

When the Civil War broke out, the Davis family split along sectional lines.  Davis's mother returned to Maine while his father joined the Confederacy.

Having been raised in Kentucky, young Davis's sympathies lay with the South although in speech and manner, he appeared to be thoroughly Northern. This made him invaluable to the Confederacy as a scout and spy. 

Davis too joined the Confederate army and served under General John Hunt Morgan, where he earned his soubriquet, "the Little Yankee Devil".  At fifteen or sixteen, not only was he a fresh-faced youth, he may also have been small in stature.  He could infiltrate Union camps, hire on to care for the officers’ horses and pass unnoticed while gathering information about troop movements.  He was with Morgan on the latter's ill-fated 1863 raid into Indiana and Ohio and, by his account, was the only Rebel soldier to avoid capture.

After the war, L. D. continued to do what he did best—work with horses.  He was much sought after by the racing set as a horse trainer and driver.  Acquaintances described him as being of a quiet disposition, not speaking much about his background or family.  In recent years, researchers have tried without success to pin down his identity; General Morgan’s command included several L. Davises about whom little is known.  His name might have been L. R., Lewis or Luther.

L. D. is believed to have moved to Phoenix around 1895, possibly for his health.   The November 15, 1895, issue of the Arizona Republican newspaper shows a man by that name registered as a guest at the Commercial Hotel.  Thereafter, Davis found employment locally as a horse trainer.

Davis died of tuberculosis on August 27, 1899, in his lodgings at 229 North Center Street.  Since he had no known family, his funeral was a quiet affair.  He was buried in Rosedale Cemetery, exact location unknown.

Note:  the term "Little Yankee Devil" usually refers to Johnny Clem, a Union drummer boy at the Battle of Shiloh and Chickamauga.  However, it could have been applied to Davis as well.

- by Donna L. Carr

 

 

James B. Lacy (abt. 1847 - 1896) - Owned the Phoenix Illuminating Electric and Gas Works

PCA Archives

James B. Lacy was born January 26, 1847 in Erinsville, Ontario, Canada.   The name of the town is appropriate, since it was founded by Irish, largely Roman Catholic, immigrants.   He was the third of eight children born to Bryan Lacey and his wife, Ellen Clancy.  The Laceys were farmers who had immigrated to Canada from County Wexford, Ireland.

In 1868, James Lacy had emigrated to the United States and was living in Mendocino County, California.  Around 1873, he moved to Virginia City, Nevada, possibly with a cousin named Bernard.  They were employed as miners, working the Comstock Lode.

Like many miners, Lacy followed the latest strikes.  By 1889, he was in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, where he was employed as a watchman at the Contention Mine.  

Lacy eventually moved to Phoenix around 1894, where he purchased the Phoenix Illuminating Electric and Gas Company.  Being a prominent businessman, he was elected to a term on the City council.  He was said to have been genial and well-liked. 

At the age of 49, Lacy passed away rather unexpectedly of heart disease.   Whereas he had always appeared to be hale and hearty, a few days after Christmas 1895, he complained of edema in his right arm.   Soon it became clear that his kidneys were failing, too.  He was attended by Drs. Stroud, Helm and Goodfellow, but nothing could be done for him.

James Lacy died on January 1, 1896, and was buried in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery.  In accordance with his beliefs, his funeral service was conducted by a Free Thinker, not a Roman Catholic as might have been expected.

John F. Kearney, a cousin of Lacy’s, was a miner in Congress, Arizona.  On January 9, Kearney’s wife Katie entered Lacy’s will into probate, and J. W. Jensen was appointed executor.  Lacy’s estate was divided between his mother and his sister.

 - by Donna Carr

 

 

#1 Amos J. Dye (1847-1905) - Judge and Ohio State Legislator

 

PCA Archives

Amos J. Dye was born April 2, 1847, in Marietta, Ohio.  He was the son of Amos J. Dye, Sr., and Maria Taylor.  In 1860, the Dyes owned a large and valuable tobacco farm.

On 18 January 1864, at the age of eighteen, Amos enlisted in the Union army and was assigned to Company H, 77th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  Just a few weeks thereafter, he married Marinda Jane McCowan on February 11, 1864. 

On January 1, 1865, he transferred to Company D, 77th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  He was discharged March 8, 1866 in Brownsville, Texas, with the rank of private.  Possibly his unit went there after the Civil War as part of the Reconstruction effort.

Amos Dye and Marinda had a son, Herbert, in 1867, and a daughter, Ida, in 1868.   He was admitted to the Ohio bar as a lawyer in 1877.  By 1880, the Dyes were living in Huntington, West Virginia, where Amos was practicing law.

Marinda died of stomach cancer in May, 1894, in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she had been active in a fraternal society called the Knights and Ladies of Honor.  Amos Dye himself was by then a Mason, and a Republican state legislator.  Soon, he became an attorney for the Ohio State Dairy and Food Department.

Dye married Ida Selma Schaetzle, a divorcee, on December 12, 1895.  A son named Amos was born in 1897 and a daughter, Selma, in 1901.   Another son, Stelman, seems to have died in infancy.

In 1896, Amos Dye was accused of accepting a $5000 bribe from a representative of the Paskola Company on condition that the state would not prosecute a case against the company.  Dye vigorously denied taking a bribe and countersued.  Apparently he did not lose his state position since he continued to handle cases.

Tiring of Ohio winters, Dye purchased the Rumney house on Grand Avenue in 1902 and thereafter, the Dyes spent their winters in Phoenix.  The Dye family was living a mile and a half north of Grand Avenue when Amos died on December 30, 1905, of cardiac insufficiency.  He was buried in the Masons Cemetery, Block 17, Lot 3, Grave 3.

Dye’s widow Ida was left to raise their two surviving children alone.  She filed for a widow’s pension on February 17, 1906, but her application was rejected on the grounds that Dye’s cause of death was not the result of his military service.  She did not remain alone for long, though.  Sometime in 1908, she married Peter William De Jong.  Ida lived until 1954.

-by Donna Carr

 

Lindley Orme (1847 - 1900) - Lawman

PCA Archives

Lindley Hogue Orme was born in Maryland on December 19, 1848 to Charles and Deborah Orme, who were both part of the original Colonial families of the United States.  He served in the Company B, 35th Virginia Cavalry Regt, Virginia, Confederate States Army as a private, and was admitted to the hospital for measles at one point.  In his early years after the war, he lived in California, and arrived in Arizona in 1870, with his brother John following him in 1877, and his brother Henry in 1879.

During his residency in Phoenix, he became a well known citizen, serving the area in an official capacity for several years.  In 1880, he was elected sheriff, and elected again in 1882.  From there, he served on the Territorial Council, and was elected again as sheriff in 1891, serving two terms. 

During his devoted service to the community, he built the first Phoenix jail with incandescent lamps, conducted quarantines for smallpox, assisted in securing the state capital to Phoenix, and serving justice to civil and criminal offenses alike.

At one point, he even interrupted a plot to rob a bank!

For More information on this loyal lawman, come find out more at the PMMP! - Val W.

Prisoners on a Chain Gang

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA