John B. Davis

It is with great sorrow and regret that we bring to historical society members and friends the sad news of the death of our colleague, friend, and board member, John B. Davis. He died January 28, 2021 of apparent complications from a previous surgery.

 

John was not only a current board member of the Augusta County Historical Society, but a person who played a key role in this organization for more than three decades. He served in the vital post of treasurer for the society from the 1980s to the turn of the 21st century. He worked closely with the late Katherine Bushman and the late Richard M. Hamrick, Jr., in the years that they filled significant roles, Mrs. Bushman as genealogist, officer, and editor of the Bulletin and Mr. Hamrick as archivist.

 

For a number of years the society archives were stored in the basement of the Augusta County Court House, courtesy of John Davis when he was Clerk of the Court, and when it was necessary to move them, John was the lead person in obtaining an office and storage space at the Government Center in Verona for the society. That was our headquarters until the move to the R.R. Smith Center for History and Art.

 

John will be remembered with deep gratitude by any person who has done research in Augusta County records in recent years and by researchers for many decades into the future for his role in preserving the historical riches that these records comprise. Augusta County played a vital role in the history of frontier Virginia and its expansion westward. In its earliest days, the county stretched to the Mississippi River, and its surviving records include vital land and legal documents covering a vast area. Because Augusta County was home for a generation or two to thousands of families that moved west on the Great Wagon Road and settled in the Carolinas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Ohio, and Indiana in the years before the Civil War, its records are among this nation’s genealogical and historical treasures.

 

Elected Clerk of the Augusta County Circuit Court in 1982 (He served from 1983-2015), John oversaw the transformation of local record-keeping from a completely paper-based and hand-or-typewriter-written operation to one that is totally digital today. In his 31 years as Clerk of the Court, John realized fully the value of the county record holdings and took swift and massive action to conserve them. As grants became available through the Commonwealth and from private sources such as the DAR, John was among the most energetic officials to apply for and receive the funds necessary for the costly professional conservation treatment of the rare and delicate 18th and early 19th century records, especially the wills and deeds, but many others as well.

 

A modest man, John sought no recognition for the work he did and always credited his assistant deputy clerk, Carol Brydge. The truth is that the two, whose friendship went back to high school, were a team and together they preserved some of the finest courthouse records in the nation. John’s belief that the records belong to the people and must be made available to them made the Augusta County Courthouse one of the most welcoming and accommodating to all, from attorneys to genealogists to schoolchildren, in Virginia and across the country. He gave freely of his time to open the courthouse in the evening to classes of budding genealogists and personally guided them in the use of the records stored there. That he cared for learners of all ages surely comes from his years as a teacher, counselor, and administrator in Augusta County Schools prior to his election as Clerk of Court.

 

John was a graduate of Wilson Memorial High School, class of 1969, and had wonderful memories and stories of growing up on “The Post.” He is featured in the book and DVD, Hope Reborn of War.

John loved the courthouse and our history with all his heart and soul. He is truly a giant in the annals of Augusta County’s story and will be sorely missed.

 

The Augusta County Historical Society extends its condolences to his wife of 48 years, Patrice, his two sons Andrew and Joseph, and two grandchildren on their loss.

 

Your board looks forward to honoring John Davis in an appropriate manner and would welcome any contributions made in his memory.