Davenport Family Papers, 1906-1999

Davenport Family Papers

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Collection Overview

Title: Davenport Family Papers, 1906-1999

ID: OGLMC1424

Primary Creator: Davenport, John B. (1951-)

Extent: 16.75 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 08/07/2000

Subjects: Genealogy and Family History, University of North Dakota - Faculty

Languages: English

Abstract

Family papers largely focusing on Sumner and Jessie Burnham, their daughter Margaret (Burnham) Davenport, her husband, Willard E. Davenport, and their son John Brian Davenport. Margaret Davenport was an administrative assistant to the UND Vice President of Academic Affairs, while Willard Davenport was the Head of the Department of Marketing at the UND College of Business Administration.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Davenport Family Papers have been divided into six series as follows:

Series 1: Sumner and Jessie Burnham

Series 2: Margaret (Burnham) Davenport

Series 3: Willard E. Davenport

Series 4: John B. Davenport

Series 5: General Family

Series 6: Photographs and Photo Albums

Three audio cassette tapes were added to the Audio Tape Collection.

Collection Historical Note

The Davenport Family Papers largely focus on Sumner and Jessie Burnham, their daughter Margaret (Burnham) Davenport, her husband, Willard E. Davenport, and their son John Brian Davenport.

Sumner Burnham was born June 23, 1882 near Bushberry, Nebraska, to Horace A. Burnham and Lizzie M. Frost. His family moved to a farm near Westerville, Nebraska, in 1883. After the death of his mother in 1888, he went to live with his uncle and aunt, Sumner W. and Sarah Burnham, on their farm in Yankee Hill, near Lincoln, Nebraska. He was employed by his uncle in the First National Bank of Lincoln as head bookkeeper. On July 15, 1905, Sumner Burnham married Jessie Pearl Dixon at Lincoln, Nebraska.

Jessie Pearl Dixon was born in Indiana on March 19, 1883, to William L. Dixon and Rosa Hedge. At the age of six months, she and her family moved to a farm in Wilbur, Nebraska, where she attended school. Following her marriage to Sumner Burnham, the couple moved from Lincoln to a homestead five miles north of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, where Sumner Burnham worked as assistant cashier in the First National Bank. In 1913, the family moved to York, Nebraska, where Sumner and his brother, Frank Burnham, were associated with the York Brick and Tile Company. In 1918, the family moved back to a ranch in Sioux County, thirty miles northeast of Scottsbluff. In 1920, they moved to the Bayard community, residing first on a farm and later in the town of Bayard.

Sumner Burnham's civic and community interests were numerous. He served on the Sioux County School Board as well as the District 96 school board in Morrill County. He was a director of the Nebraska Beet Growers Association for a number of years. For sixteen years, beginning in 1934, he served on the Agricultural Adjustment Administration County Committee. From 1954 to 1964, he served as crop adjuster and county representative for the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. He helped lay the ground work for the formation of the Chimney Rock Public Power District; he served continuously on the district's board of directors from the time of its organization in 1935 through his death in 1964 and for 22 of those years he was the president of the board. Burnham was a member of the Bayard City Council, treasurer of the Bayard Lions Club, charter member and treasurer of the Bayard Chamber of Commerce, member of the board of trustees of the United Presbyterian Church of Bayard, member of Signal Hill Chapter 282, and member of the Nebraska State Historical Society. Jessie Burnham was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star.

Sumner and Jessie Burnham had two daughters: Frances Marie (Hunt) and Margaret Jane (Davenport). Jessie Burnham died September 20, 1961, followed by Sumner on July 30, 1964. Both are buried at Fairview Cemetery in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

Margaret Jane (Burnham) Davenport was born September 21, 1912, in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. She attended public schools in Bayard, Nebraska, and graduated in 1928. She then attended Chadron State College for one year. In 1932, Margaret Burnham married Willard E. Davenport, a teacher in the Bayard High School, where she worked as a secretary. They lived in Denver, Colorado, where Willard finished his graduate work at the University of Colorado in 1936, while she worked at a bank and insurance company. They moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota, in 1942. Willard Davenport taught Marketing and Management at the University of North Dakota (UND). In 1943, Willard worked for the Institute of Transit Advertising in Chicago, until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1945. During his time in the army, Margaret Davenport returned to Bayard and lived with her parents.

After World War II, the Davenports returned to Grand Forks. From 1947 to 1950, Margaret Davenport worked in several offices at UND, including the Registrar's Office. She resigned when her first son, James B. Davenport (March 28, 1950- June 19, 1950), was born. A second son, John Brian Davenport, was born in 1951. Following Willard Davenport's death in 1963, Margaret returned to UND where she held the position of administration assistant to the Vice President of Academic Affairs until her retirement in 1977.

Margaret Davenport was very active in service and social organizations including the Daughters of the Eastern Star, PEO, Thursday Music Club, Franklin Club, and Roundtable. She was also a loyal member of the First Presbyterian Church of Grand Forks for many years, serving as a deacon, a member of the new organ committee, and the bell choir.

Margaret Davenport died November 11, 1999, in Grand Forks. She is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Grand Forks.

Willard Eugene Davenport was born December 20, 1902, in St. Anthony, Iowa, to Perry Arthur and Sadie Davenport. He received his elementary and high school education at Swea City, Iowa. He graduated from Iowa State Teachers College, Cedar Falls, Iowa, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1929. He was awarded a Master's degree from the University of Colorado in 1936, and attended further graduate study at the University of Denver, 1938-1939, and during the summers of 1940 and 1941.

Willard Davenport's early tenure as an educator included teacher, coach, and superintendent in several high schools in Nebraska and Colorado, prior to serving as Head of the Department of Business Administration at Kansas Wesleyan University, 1940-1942. Davenport first came to UND in 1942 as head of the Marketing Department. From 1943 to 1945 he served with the market research staff of the Institute of Transit Advertising in Chicago. He entered the United States Army in 1945. As an acting Lieutenant Colonel, Davenport taught at American Servicemen's Universities in Shrivenham, England, Biarritz, France, and Bremerhaven, Germany. He returned from Europe as the Head of the Department of Marketing at the UND College of Business Administration.

Willard Davenport was active in social, civic, and church organizations. He was an elder of the Presbyterian Church and a member of the Franklin Club, the Masonic Lodge, and the Lions Club, of which he served as president, 1954-1955. He was also involved in the Sons of the American Revolution, the American Marketing Association, Pi Omega Pi, Delta Sigma Pi, the American Association of University Professors, and the YMCA. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Sales Executives Committee, 1953-1955, and First Federal Savings and Loan Association. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the First Federal Savings and Loan Association, and for ten years, he was named in the Who's Who in Commerce and Industry in the United States.

Willard Davenport died March 18, 1963, in Grand Forks. He is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Grand Forks.

John Brian Davenport was born in Grand Forks in 1951. He graduated from Grand Forks Central High School in 1969. After attending one year at the University of North Dakota, he transferred to Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota. He graduated magna cum laude in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. Davenport attended the University of Denver and received a Master of Arts degree in Librarianship and Archival Studies in 1974.

John Davenport returned to Grand Forks in 1974, and was employed in the Department of Special Collections at UND’s Chester Fritz Library. He moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1976 and worked for one year at the University of Minnesota Immigrant History Research Center, while a part-time graduate student. In 1977, he became Head of Special Collections at the O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library, University of St. Thomas. In 1986, he received a Master of Arts degree in History from the University of Minnesota, followed by a Ph.D. in 1994. His dissertation was entitled John Davenport (1597-1670): A Puritan Clerical Archetype. Since 2002, he has been a Professor of History at North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Subject/Index Terms

Genealogy and Family History
University of North Dakota - Faculty

Administrative Information

Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections

Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Acquisition Source: John Davenport, St. Paul, Minnesota

Acquisition Method: Donation; Acc.2000-2480

Related Publications:

Complete Registry of the Davenports in America. By Sharon Taylor. Halbert’s: 1984.

Davenports Across America. Published by Mary Whitney, Ottsville, Pennsylvania: 1987.

Preferred Citation: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid migrated to Archon in March 2015.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Sumner and Jessie Burnham ],
[Series 2: Margaret (Burnham) Davenport ],
[Series 3: Willard E. Davenport ],
[Series 4: John B. Davenport ],
[Series 5: General Family ],
[Series 6: Photographs and Photo Albums],
[Cassette Tape :],
[All]

Series 4: John B. Davenport

This series contains materials pertaining to John Davenport's personal life, beginning with his youth and education, high school and college papers, and correspondence. The bulk of this series consists of materials collected while writing his doctoral dissertation at the University of Minnesota. These materials are arranged last.

Sub-Series 1: Biography

Box 4

Folder 33: Childhood and Adolescence
Folder 34: Stegosaurus drawing
Folder 35: Elementary School
Folder 36: Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts
Folder 37: Highschool
Folder 38: General TEC
Folder 39: TEC 25
Folder 40: TEC 27
Folder 41: TEC 28
Folder 42: TEC 30
Folder 43: TEC 33
Folder 44: TEC 36
Folder 45: TEC 44
Folder 46: Deaf TEC 1

Box 5

Folder 1: FIAT 3
Folder 2: Journey 2
Folder 3: Genealogical Organizations
Folder 4: Music
Folder 5: UND
Folder 6: Macalester College
Folder 7: Macalester College, notes
Folder 8: Macalester College, Irish Interim
Folder 9: University of Denver
Folder 10: University of Denver
Folder 11: University of Minnesota, Ph.D.
Folder 12: University of Minnesota, diplomas
Folder 13: Foreign Service
Folder 14: Speech Outlines
Folder 15: High School and College Papers
Folder 16: High School and College Papers cont.
Folder 17: The Cathedrals and Prebendaries of York and Durham in the 18th Century
Folder 18: Cathedral Reform in the Church of England, 1832-1885
Folder 19: Christian Morality
Folder 20: Church and Society in England, 1770-1970
Folder 21: Ethnicity and Religion as Factors Determining a Loyalist
Folder 22: GGF CommUniversity, citation
Folder 23: Guide to the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection
Folder 24: The Inclusion of Marxist Periodicals in Standard Library Indexes, Bibliographies, and Abstracts
Folder 25: Martin Luther, 1483-1983
Folder 26: Nature and Evolution of Sterne's Catholic Reference in 'Tristam Shandy' and 'The Sentimental Journey'
Folder 27: North Dakota's Socialist Traditions
Folder 28: Review– Bitburg in Moral and Political Perspective
Folder 29: Saints Anchor Hold in All Storms and Tempests, 1661-1663
Folder 30: Some Reflections on Peter Hebblethwaite's 'The Popes and Politics'
Folder 31: Three Victorian Writers
Folder 32: Eighteenth Century English Notes
Folder 33: Intellectual and Cultural History of Modern Europe
Folder 34: Modern British History, 1846-1901
Folder 35: The Person and Mission of Jesus
Folder 36: Introduction to Religious Studies
Folder 37: Readings in American History
Folder 38: Theological Methods and Resources
Folder 39: American Colonial History
Folder 40: New Testament
Folder 41: Genealogy Background
Folder 42: English History, Winter 1977
Folder 43: English History, Winter 1977
Folder 44: English History, Spring 1977

Sub-Series 2: Correspondence

Box 6

Folder 1: Davenport, Margaret, 1964 - 1989
Folder 2: Davenport, Margaret, 1990 - 1999
Folder 3: Davenport, Rowland and Lillian, 1963 - 1998
Folder 4: Duchschere, Kyle, Kevin, Paul, 1978 - 1998
Folder 5: Freier, Jan S. Weiss, 1976 - 1978
Folder 6: Gudmunson, Lowell, 1979 - 1992
Folder 7: Harriman- Rankin Alliance, 1979 - 1996
Folder 8: Hazen, Robert, 1979 - 1990
Folder 9: Hunt, Frances, Bob, and Cousins, 1973 - 1998
Folder 10: Kazmierczak, Audrey, 1980 - 1991
Folder 11: Munkwitz-Smith, Lisa, 1975 - 1992
Folder 12: Stolt, William and Barbara, 1973 - 1986
Folder 13: A-E misc.
Folder 14: F-J misc.
Folder 15: K-O misc.
Folder 16: P-T misc.
Folder 17: U-Z misc.

Sub-Series 3: Dissertation Materials

Box 6

Folder 18: Davenport, "Hilton Castle Sermons" 1 of 2
Folder 19: Davenport, "Hilton Castle Sermons" 2 of 2
Folder 20: New Haven Sermons, 1 of 2
Folder 21: New Haven Sermons, 2 of 2
Folder 22: Winthrop, "History of NE"
Folder 23: Bacon, "Thirteen Historical Discourses"
Folder 24: New Haven Laws
Folder 25: Preston, John, Saints Daily Exercise, "To the Reader" by Davenport and Sibbes
Folder 26: Norton, "Life of Cotton"

Box 7

Folder 1: Preston, John, "The Saints Qualification" 1 of 5
Folder 2: Preston, John, "The Saints Qualification" 2 of 5
Folder 3: Preston, John, "The Saints Qualification" 3 of 5
Folder 4: Davenport, Amzi Benedict, "Supplement to... Davenport Family"
Folder 5: Davenport, Amzi Benedict, "History and Genealogy of the Davenport Family"
Folder 6: Research Notes- New England (see also "Christ Church")
Folder 7: Davenport Background, Computer Searches, "GNML"
Folder 8: Research in Europe, February - March 1993
Folder 9: Background Papers
Folder 10: Yale– Beinecke Rare Book and Ms. Library
Folder 11: American Antiquarian Society
Folder 12: Folger Shakespeare Library
Folder 13: Connecticut Historical Society
Folder 14: University of St. Thomas- ILL
Folder 15: Massachusetts Historical Society
Folder 16: Dockery, "Christopher Davenport"
Folder 17: Connecticut State Library (contains genealogical material)
Folder 18: Shepard, Douglas, "The Wolcott Shorthand Notebook Transcribed" 1 of 2
Folder 19: Shepard, Douglas, "The Wolcott Shorthand Notebook Transcribed" 2 of 2
Folder 20: Stoever, "Faire and Easy Way to Heaven"
Folder 21: UMI (includes Janet Knight Correspondence)
Folder 22: Mather, Cotton, "Memoirs, Relating to the Lives of the Ever-Memorable..."
Folder 23: Davies, "Worship of American Puritans"
Folder 24: Hill, "History of S. Church"

Box 8

Folder 1: Trumbell, "History of Connecticut"
Folder 2: Hutchinson, "History of Massachuset Bay"
Folder 3: Morse and Parish, "Compendious History of NE"
Folder 4: Short Articles and Reviews on John Davenport
Folder 5: Davis, "Hopkins Grammar School"
Folder 6: Hall, "Antinomian Controversy"
Folder 7: Walker, "Creeds and Platforms of Congress"
Folder 8: Cameron
Folder 9: Calder, "Activities of the Puritan Faction of the Church of England"
Folder 10: Davies, "Worship of the English Puritans"
Folder 11: Hall, "The Faithful Shepherd"
Folder 12: Kendall, "Calvin and English Calvinism to 1649"
Folder 13: Rohr, "The Covenant of Grace in Puritan Thought"
Folder 14: Selement, "Keepers of the Vineyard"
Folder 15: Stearns, "Congregationalism in the Dutch Netherlands"
Folder 16: Toon, "Puritans, the Millennium and the Future of Israel"
Folder 17: Wallace, "Puritans and Predestination"
Folder 18: Larzer, "The Career of John Cotton"
Folder 19: Cragg, "Puritanism in the Period of the Great Persecution"
Folder 20: Battis, "Saints and Sectaries- Anne Hutchinson and the Antinomian Controversy"
Folder 21: Bercovitch, "The American Jeremiad"
Folder 22: Bercovitch, "Typology and Early American Literature"
Folder 23: Braithwaite, "The Beginnings of Quakerism"
Folder 24: Caldwell, "The Puritan Conversation Narrative"
Folder 25: Carter, "The English Reformed Church in Amsterdam"
Folder 26: Cliffe, "The Puritan Gentry"
Folder 27: Collinson, "A Comment: Concerning the Name Puritan"
Folder 28: Foote, "The Significance and Influence of the Cambridge Platform of 1648"
Folder 29: Ford, "Davenport- Paget Controversy"
Folder 30: Gorman, "A Laudian Attempt to 'Tune the Pulpit'"
Folder 31: Hall, "The Half-Way Covenant of 1662"
Folder 32: Huntington, "History of Stamford, Connecticut"
Folder 33: Bercovitch, "Typology in Puritan New England: The Williams- Cotton Controversy"
Folder 34: Miller, "The Half-Way Covenant"
Folder 35: Somerville, "Conversion vs. the Early Puritan Covenant of Grace"
Folder 36: Sprunger, "The Dutch Career of Thomas Hooker"
Folder 37: Caldwell, "The Antinomian Language of Controversy"
Folder 38: Miller, "Preparation for Salvation in 17th Century New England"
Folder 39: Habegger, "Preparing the Soul for Christ"
Folder 40: Palmer, "Reverend William Hooke, 1601-1678"
Folder 41: Elwell, "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology"
Folder 42: Archer, "Puritan Town Planning in New Haven"
Folder 43: Sprunger, "Archbishop Laud's Campaign Against Puritanism at the Hague"
Folder 44: Miller, "Declension in a Bible Commonwealth"
Folder 45: Parker, "The Feoffs of Impropriations"
Folder 46: Freshfield, "Some Remarks upon the Book of Records and History of the Parish of St. Stephen"
Folder 47: Background Papers
Folder 48: Preston, John, "The Saints Qualification" 4 of 5
Folder 49: Preston, John, "The Saints Qualification" 5 of 5
Folder 50: Saloman's Pest House
Folder 51: Scudder, Christians Daily Walk
Folder 52: Sibbes, "Saints Cordials"

Box 9

Folder 1: Davenport, John, AAS MSS. 1 of 2
Folder 2: Davenport, John, AAS MSS. 2 of 2
Folder 3: "Another Essay for the Investigation of Truth, 1663"
Folder 4: Davenport, "An Answer of the Elders of the Several Churches in New England, 1643"
Folder 5: Davenport, "An Apologie of the Churches in New England for Church Covenant"
Folder 6: Davenport, "An Apologetical Reply" (to Paget) 1636
Folder 7: Davenport, "A Chatechisme Containing the Chief Heads of Christian Religion"
Folder 8: Davenport, "Christ's Church and His Government of It" AAS
Folder 9: Knowledge of Christ Indispensably Required 1652
Folder 10: Davenport Notebook 1
Folder 11: Davenport Notebook 2
Folder 12: Power of Congregational Churches Asserted 1645-1652
Folder 13: Davenport, "Reply to 7 Questions" Anti-Synod of 1662
Folder 14: Best, William, "Churches Plea for Her Right" 1635
Folder 15: Davenport, "An Exhortation to the Restoring... Brotherly Communion" (1641)
Folder 16: Cotton, John, "A Discourse about Civil Government in a New Plantation" (1638)
Folder 17: Davenport, "Witches of Huntington"
Folder 18: Mather, Increase, "Mystery of Israel's Salvation"
Folder 19: Mather, Richard, "Church Government and Church Covenant Discussed" (1643)
Folder 20: AAS MSS, Mather Papers, "Apologie"
Folder 21: Mather, Richard, "A Defense of the Arguments of the Synod"
Folder 22: Paget, John, "Answer to the Unjust Complaints"
Folder 23: Preston, John, Breast-Plate of Faith and Love, "To the Christian Reader" 1 of 2
Folder 24: Preston, John, Breast-Plate of Faith and Love, "To the Christian Reader" 2 of 2
Folder 25: Preston, John, "The New Covenant" 1 of 2
Folder 26: Preston, John, "The New Covenant" 2 of 2
Folder 27: Stiles, Ezra, "A History of Three of the Judges of King Charles I"
Folder 28: Notecards
Folder 29: Davenport, John, Dissertation: "John Davenport (1597-1670): A Puritan Clerical Archetype"

Department of Special Collections
Digital Finding Aids