An Aged Citizen Dies

Mr. Israel P. Davis died last week at his home in Buncombe district in this county. He had a remarkable family history, and lived many years in Polk County. He was one of the first settlers of this region, and spent many of his robust days among the roving children of the forest. He was the paternal head of a large family which numbers some two hundred in its various links of kinship. Through a half century he plodded the unpretentious way of a good citizen, and died at the ripe old age of 86, leaving behind a legacy of honorable citizenship to his community and carrying to his grave the veneration of a large circle of kinsmen. His wife, who is 84 years old, survives him, together with nine living sons and daughters, and three score and ten grand children. His death was the first in his immediate family, the longevity of his days being a marked feature of his family record.

His death was the natural result of an infirm and old age, and his demise was as peaceful as his life had been patient and loyal. One by one the old landmarks are falling by the way, and the pioneers of our earlier civilization are rapidly taking up their quiet abode on the camping ground of the dead. Each departing sage of our primeval history as a country marks a guidepost to the past, and their taking away registers a missing link in the chain that binds us to a time when rugged honesty and strong character were the capstone in the great archway of a noble life.

Mr. Davis was a good citizen, a hospitable neighbor and a kind father. There remain in his community three men who are older than Mr. Davis - Mathew Gentry, William Crow and James Bailey - whose years have reached the border land of ninety. They linger near the sundown of life, patiently waiting the summons that will call them to join their departed comrade.