The families Greene, Blunt and Davis
The James Thomas and Tressa Lee Blunt Greene Family of Doddridge trace their ancestry as far back as their Great Great Great Grandfather James Greene, who came from England to Philadelphia. The year isn’t known. He married a German girl there whose last name was Rothemeldt. They had two sons, James, and Eli.
Later, James and Eli traveled by covered wagon with their wives to Marion County, Georgia. James was a teacher and he taught school in Georgia for fifty-five years.
James had a son, John Isaac, who was born on the long journey by wagon to Georgia. The date of the journey is unknown. In 1848, John Isaac became the father of James Isaac. James Isaac then became the father of James Thomas June 11, 1876, in Columbus, Georgia.
James Thomas came to Doddridge in 1895 and was a master carpenter and farmer. Upon arrival here he lived with the John Wesley Blunt family until 1907. At that time, he married Tressa Lee, the daughter of John Wesley and Leila Arkansas Davis Blunt.
James Thomas built several homes in Sulphur Township, and also helped in the rebuilding of Doddridge after most of it was destroyed by fire in 1916. James Thomas and Tressa Lee had eight children: Hubert Eugene, Marshall Lafayette, Pearl Irene, Opal Rosalee, Royal Albert, Myrtle Alva, James Doyle, and Junior Boyce.
On the maternal side of the Greene family, the descendants can trace back to Great Great Grandfather Jared Blunt , who was from Georgia. He is known to have been a scout for General Sam Houston, and he fought in the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. In the winter of 183839, Jared Blunt vas an escort for the Indians on “The Trail of Tears’ from the Carolinas, Georgia, and Alabama to the Indian Territory in Oklahoma. This was a mass movement of 15,000 Indians carried out by the United States Government. It was a four-month journey in the cold of winter, and 4,000 Indians are said to have died on this journey. Some of these Indians died and were buried on the high bluffs of Red River just west of Collins Bluff and Spring Bank.
It was during this time also that Jared Blunt married an Indian girl, the daughter of a chief. They had three children: Wesley John, Nelson, and Peggy.
Wesley John had two sons, and then he was killed in a Civil War battle in Tennessee. One of these two sons was named John Wesley, and he is the one who came to Doddridge from Georgia, probably a short time after the Civil War.
On January 19, 1879, John Wesley Blunt and Lelia Arkansas Davis were married. Lelia was the daughter of Jared and Rhonea Martha Philyaw Davis, both originally from Alabama.
According to descendants, Jared and Rohnea Davis left Alabama to come to the Doddridge area at some time in the 1850s. They took a boat down the Tombigbee River to Mobile on the Gulf, then across to New Orleans, and then up the Mississippi and Red Rivers to Mooringsport, Louisiana, which was a lake port just off Red River north of Shreveport. From this location the Davises travelled to Miller County (35-40 miles) where they settled in the Doddridge vicinity.
Jared and Rhonea Davis had six children: Lelia Adeline, who married William J. Westbrook; William Timothy, whose wife’s name is unknown, but they had several children, one whose name was Virgil; Green, of whom nothing is known; Artie Leila Arkansas, who married John Wesley Blunt; Bessie, who married Wayne Whittington and moved to Oklahoma; Mary, who married a Smythe and moved to Lewisville, Arkansas.
John Wesley Blunt owned a store in Doddridge for a brief period, probably in the early 1900s. The store was located between the Hemperley store and the creek just south of that location.
John Wesley and Lelia Arkansas had eleven children: Marthe Narcissue (Mattie), John Nelson, Virgie, Elsie Geneva, Daisy, Tressa Lee, Bamie Valone (Valley), Annie, Wesley Jared, Joseph, and Nora. The Blunt children who remained in or near Doddridge, either most or all of their lives, were Wesley, Virgie, Nora, and Tressa Lee.
Lelia Davis Blunt was widely known and admired for the gorgeous flowers she grew around her home. Her daughter, Virgie Blunt Peek, was also known and admired for the same reason. They both grew masses of flowers in their yards, and even the edges of their vegetable gardens were banked with flowers of every description. They loved to give flowers to anybody who had a need or an appreciation for them.
Virgie Peek gave arm loads of flowers to the Bright Star High School for their banquets and graduation ceremonies. She also gave flowers for church services.
William Timothy (Bill) Davis, Lelia Blunt’s brother, was a farmer, but he also came to be known as “The Bard of Doddridge.” Bill was no ordinary farmer; he was also a scholar in English literature, and a self-educated man. He was a constant reader, had a remarkable memory, and could quote Shakespeare, the Bible, and from works of classical literature “by the hour.” Those who knew him say that he was a most unforgettable character. He spent the final years of hie life in the Blunt home.
The Greens, Blunts, and Davises were families who enjoyed a close association with one another throughout many years. They also left a wholesome effect on the Doddridge community because they were perceived as people whose nature was thoughtful, kind, and gentle.