“Native of Malad Awaits 90th Birthday”
Idaho Enterprise, March 1962
Mrs. Victoria Williams Davis will be honored Sunday at an open house in observance of her ninetieth birthday.
Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy Davis will host the gala event at their home, 492 North 100 West, from 2 to 6 p.m.
Mrs. Davis was born March 3, 1872 in Malad City, a daughter of John Jones and Mary Jones Williams. She was the sixth child born in a family of 13 children.
She was married to Hyrum Davis Davis on December 19, 1894, in the Logan LDS Temple. Mr. Davis died April 3, 1941.
They resided in Caldwell, Boise, Lewiston, Collinston, Utah and Malad. Davis was in the freight and blacksmith business.
In childhood Mrs. Davis helped her mother make tallow candles, starch from potatoes and soap. School was held during the winter months, and she explained she had wonderful teachers, and enjoyed all subjects.
“When I was fourteen years old,” Mrs. Davis said, “I was asked to be assistant teacher. I taught the lower grades and Eddie Colton, principal, taught the upper grades. I used the stage in the Malad LDS church house for my classroom. Colton occupied the far end of the large room for his classes.”
Play acting was the joy of Victoria Davis’ life. She was leading lady in “Aurora Floyd,” “The Charcoal Burner’s Daughter” and many other plays. She recalled one of her many friends saying, “Victoria, you missed your calling: you should have gone on the stage.”
(Pictures of Mrs. Victoria Williams Davis in 1880 at the age of 18, and a second picture of her as she is today.)
When asked in her 90th year about her desire to be an actress, she exclaimed, “Oh, yes, I wish I could have gone on the stage; I liked acting very much!” Community entertainment and money used in civic and church projects resulted through her gifted theater talents.
When 16, Mrs. Davis was employed at the Evans Co-op Co., with starting salary of $12 per month. She worked six years with salary raises of $15, $20 and top 1894 wage of $25 per month. She quit this job to get married. She explained, “I met my husband in my early teens, and we ‘kept company’ for quite a long time.” Being secretary for 50 years of the John J. Williams family reunion, she is known as “Aunt Victoria” to many generations.
Her oldest sister, the late Mrs. Elvira Williams Harrison, was born on the Irish Channel. The Williams family came to the United States from Wales in 1859.
The nonagenarian completed the project of making a beautiful velvet quilt last year. The “Log Cabin” design quilt contains 42 blocks with 12 pieces hand sewn in each block. She felt the quilt’s softness and said, “I am glad I was able to make this quilt in my ‘late’ years.”
Mrs. Davis said her greatest hobby is reading. She expressed her delight in reading books which total in the hundreds. She said she relives these stories during her sleepless nights.
An active member of the LDS church, Mrs. Davis was Relief Society literature leader in the Malad Second Ward. She was Mutual Improvement Association president from 1906 to 1909 and again in 1920 to 1923. She has been a Relief Society member and visiting teacher for 68 years.
Mrs. Davis makes her home with her only child, Hyrum LeRoy Davis of Malad. Her blue eyes beame when she counts her six grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren. Her only sister, Mrs. Annie Westergard, lives in Idaho Falls.
Mrs. Victoria Williams Davis
“Mrs Victoria Davis Observes 93rd Birthday”
Idaho Enterprise, March 11, 1965
Mrs. Victoria Davis celebrated her 93rd birthday Wednesday.
Those from out of town who came to see her were: James C. Westergard, Mr. and Mrs. Jay Westergard, Elva Bybee, Mrs. Louise Territon, Idaho Falls; Carry Tanner, Oakley, and John Breggard, Logan.
Mrs. Roy Davis served ice cream and cake to the visitors.