In the blog page ‘Edward Edwards’, I noted that he had two brothers who made it into adulthood, Daniel Edwards (senior) and Samuel Edwards. This page is about Daniel’s daughter Jane Edwards and her descendants. Daniel was born on 7th February 1848 in Darlaston, Staffordshire, UK and he married Lucy Thacker there on 5th April 1868. They had two children, one of whom is unidentified and probably died in infancy. The other was the aforementioned Jane, who is the subject of this page. She was born in Darlaston on 8th June 1868. Darlaston is in the heart of the Black Country, North West of Birmingham, a large coal mining and steel manufacturing area.

Jane married Charles Davis (senior) on Christmas Day 1884. They had seven children and they along with five of their children emigrated to the USA. Charles Davis (junior) was born in 1890 and died the same year in Walsall, Staffordshire. Pamela Davis was born in 1888 and married Charles Osborne in the third quarter of 1908. Charles Davis (junior) and Pamela were the two children who didn’t emigrate to the USA.

Charles Osborne (senior) was killed in France in 1916 in the First World War, which put the family into hardship. Pamela and their three children relocated to an institution on Wandsworth Common in London that helped with the children of orphaned soldiers. It was called the Royal Victoria Patriotic Building, of gothic design and it has now been converted into apartments.

Oldest daughter Rose Osborne was born on 9th September 1908. She had a son, Dudley John Osborne, out of wedlock. Rose, who was known as ‘Granny Roses’ by one of her grand children, died in May 1993. Second daughter, Gwendoline Osborne was born on 20th May 1910 and she married in 1949. There were no children from this marriage and Gwendoline passed away in the third quarter of 1970 from a brain tumour, after having a career at the John Lewis store called Pratt’s in Streatham, South London. Son, Charles E Osborne was born in the first quarter on 1914. He didn’t survive long, passing away in the second quarter of 1951, believed to have been in a road accident.

This chart shows all of these family connections in the UK, as well as the USA that have yet to be covered:

Jane’s and Daniel’s five remaining children were all born in Walsall, Staffordshire and emigrated with them to Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana. Fort Wayne was originally built by the US Army in 1794 for protection as it expanded westwards. It is the second largest city in Indiana after Indianapolis with a population exceeding a quarter of a million. The greater metropolitan area around the city makes a total population approaching half a million. Fort Wayne is situated in the north east of the state about mid-way between Chicago and Detroit. Downtown, the St Mary’s and St Joseph rivers merge into the Maumee River that then flows into Lake Erie at Toledo, Ohio. This confluence sometimes caused downtown flooding, but it gave good transport links to the Great Lakes and beyond and helped to create a manufacturing boom, attracting many immigrants. The Wabash and Erie Canal also runs through Fort Wayne. This canal is the longest in North America at over 450 miles. The Wabash River discharges into the Ohio River that in turn flows into the Mississippi. Thus from Fort Wayne, manufactured goods could reach a huge area with these transport links. Alas, overseas competition caused a decline in industry and Fort Wayne became part of the ‘Rust Belt’ championed by Donald Trump in his ‘Make a America Great Again’ election campaign. The city is now again thriving but in more modern industries like pharmaceuticals. The most impressive building in the city is the Lincoln Bank Tower completed in 1930. Fort Wayne is famous for inventing the gasoline pump in 1885 and the refrigerator in 1913. Where would we be today without these in our lives?

Back to Jane’s and Daniel’s children. Son Daniel Davis (junior) was born on 11th June 1886. He married Edith E Lewis on 12th August 1912. Their marriage was short lived because he died on 12th August 1914. Son William Noah Davis was born on 23rd December 1891. He married Nelly Hosch on 31st December 1917. Son Gordon Davis was born on 9th March 1894. He married Elizabeth Burton on 4th October 1911. They had twins James Davis and Dallas Davis on 24th April 1912. Dallas, unfortunately passed away just short of his eighth birthday on 4th April. Gordon and Elizabeth were divorced and Gordon got married for a second time on 1st October 1919 to Emma Berger whose maiden name was Kerber, this being her second marriage too. Daughter Lucy Davis was born on 23 November 1896. She died young on 12th March 1919. The youngest, daughter Mary Davis, was born in 1907. She married James B Ogden and they had two boys, Charles Ogden in 1933 and James D T Ogden in 1939.

Charles Davis and Jane Edwards Davis lived long lives. Charles died in FortWayne on 5th June 1934 and Jane died on 20th March 1941. They outlived all bar three of their offspring. I have yet to find out what happened to Mary Davis Ogden, Gordon Davis and William Noah Davis, who all appear to have survived their parents.

UPDATE – 9th October 2023: Some further research. James Venzel Ogden (not James B as above), died 0n 10th July 1996 in Pasco County, Florida, which is just north of Tampa. Venzel, is an unusual name and it was passed on to his oldest son Charles Venzel Ogden. Charles was born in Washington, Allen County, Indiana on 20th July 1932 and he too died in Pasco County on 30th August 2011. His brother, James Daniel Ogden, was born on 16th November 1938 in Indiana and was last noted as living in the town of Murphy, North Carolina. He passed away there on 16th July 2019. Charles’s and James’s mother arrived in the USA in 1911. James V Ogden had a sister Adeline Louisa Ogden who died on 12th October 2004. More research needed, but this update fills in some of the blanks above. I have a weak DNA connection to a child of James Daniel Ogden that underpins this research.