Lou Belle Thomas Davis -- Homemaker and wife of a Farmer

 

Lou Belle Thomas was born on March 10, 1905 in Trigg County, Kentucky.  She was the youngest of eight children of Seldon Trimble Thomas and Martha Elizabeth “Bettie” Bridges. Seldon Trimble was a farmer and both he and Bettie were natives of Trigg County.  Lou Belle was a descendant of Starkie Thomas and Drewry Bridges.

Lou Belle’s siblings were Lillie May Thomas, born in 1888 and died at 2½ years old; Lola Maude Thomas, born in 1890 and married James Edward Rogers; Edwin Doris Thomas, born in 1892 and married Rubye Pearl Sholar; Carlisle Clyde Thomas, born in 1894, and married Willie Grace Stewart; James Garnett Thomas, born in 1895 and died in World War I; Bluford Earl Thomas, born in 1899 and married Mildred Hawkins; and Cecil Seldon Thomas, born in 1902 and married Dorothy Arlene Clark.

On December 30, 1922, Lou Belle married Alfred Leroy “Bill” Davis.  Bill was born on September 1, 1899 in Trigg County, the son of John Forrest Davis and Julia Ella Sumner Davis.  John Forrest was a farmer and both he and Julia were natives of Trigg County.

Bill’s parents purchased a farm on the Old Dover Road and moved their family to the Oak Grove/Dyers Chapel community in 1904 and this was the area where Bill grew up.  Several years later, Bill purchased a farm just down the road from his father’s farm and this was where he and Lou Belle raised their family.  In the early 1920s, Bill and Lou Belle moved to Detroit, Michigan where he worked in the automobile industry and Lou Belle worked in a bakery.  They returned to Trigg County to farm, but returned to Detroit again during World War II to again work in the automobile industry.   After the war, they returned and settled on the farm in Trigg County for the rest of their lives.  Bill was a lover of horses and mules and was very active in the Trigg County Fairs held in the 1940s and 1950s,  He participated in many horse shows during that period.  Lou Belle was a homemaker and also a talented artist.

Lou Belle and Bill were the parents of three children, Carey Thomas Davis, born in 1923 and married Marian Louise Rye; Ruby Joyce Davis, born in 1928 and married John Turner Banister; and Carl Gary “Ned” Davis, born in 1938 and married Martha Ann Rhea.

Lou Belle died on December 14, 1972 at the age of 67 at the Trigg County Hospital in Cadiz.  She was buried in the Lawrence Cemetery in Trigg County.  Bill died on February 10, 1981 at the age of 81 at the Pinecrest Manor Nursing Home in Hopkinsville.  He was buried in the Lawrence Cemetery next to his wife.

Lou Belle and Bill

 

Bill and Lou Belle tombstone

LINEAGE:  (Lou Belle Thomas was the daughter of Seldon Trimble and Martha Elizabeth “Bettie” Bridges Thomas.  Seldon was the first child of James Jasper and Mary Magdaline Cunningham Thomas.  James Jasper was the fourth child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Martha Elizabeth was the seventh child of Drewry and Peachie Ann Tart Bridges. Drewry was the fourth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges. William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)