Mr. DAVIS is one of a class of which there are now a great many in Howard county -- thoroughly educated farmers.  Besides a complete course in the common schools, he also attended Central college in Fayette, and Mt. Pleasant college in Huntsville, and so far from harboring the thought that the more advanced education he thus acquired raised him above the occupation of a farmer, he recognizes the fact in all its force that he was thereby only that much better qualified for his chosen pursuit.  His father, Joseph DAVIS, a well-known lawyer of Fayette, Mo., was of Christian county, Ky., and came to Howard county in or about 1818. Mrs. DAVIS, the mother of the subject of this sketch, was a Miss Sarah E. GREEN before her marriage and was a native of Tennessee.  They had four children, of whom Winchester was the second. Winchester was born in Fayette, Mo., June 21, 1844, but was principally reared on his father's farm where he formed that predilection for agricultural pursuits that afterwards determined his calling in life.  In the heated and excited state of the war, feeling in this county it was practically impossible for young men to remain at home in safety, and whatever their inclinations might be, they were compelled to take the side of one party or the other.  Young DAVIS' connections and sense of duty inclined him to the cause of the Union, hence, in 1863, when nineteen years of age, he joined the Union army, entering the pay department with the rank of lieutenant, where he remained nine months and then resigned.  In the fall of 1864, he went to Minnesota and was engaged in the fur trade, buying all over the far northwest, including the western Canadian provinces.  In 1865, he returned to Howard county and, in the spring of 1866, began farming on the home place, where he continued until 1878.  He then settled on his present place, where he owns two hundred and fifty acres of land.  He was married November 29, 1865, to Miss Estelle PREWITT, of Fayette, Mo., an accomplished lady, daughter of R.F. PREWITT, a present member of the Fayette bar.  They have four children living -- Prewitt, Martha, Wendell and an infant.  Mr. DAVIS is a member of A.O.U.W. and of the M.E. church.

Family Group Sheet of Joseph DAVIS & Sarah Elizabeth GREEN