Mary Elizabeth Buck was the daughter of William Calmes Buck
and Maria Lewright. She was born in
Virginia on September 11, 1819. Her
mother died in Kentucky when Mary was only three years old.
Mary married Rezin Davidge Jr. (1813-1902), a Kentucky
merchant, on June 3, 1839. Rezin was the
son of Rezin Davidge Sr. and his wife, Betsey Bell. Rezin Sr. was a noted attorney in Christian
County, Hopkinsville, Kentucky having been a midshipman in the navy and a
Circuit Court Judge.
Mary and Rezin moved to Richmond, Southfield Township, New
York about 1853 where Rezin continued as a merchant and also became an
importer. They were very
successful. Mary and Rezin were very
supportive of her father, William Calmes Buck, and her siblings during and
after the Civil War. In her diary of
1862-1864, Mary’s half-sister, Emma Buck, while living in McKinley, Alabama,
wrote of receiving letters from Mary that had been brought to them by returning
prisoners.
In 1868, Mary and Rezin were visited by Giddings and Field Buck
in Staton Island, New York. Apparently,
they were attempting to find a publisher for a book by their father, William
Calmes Buck, and stayed in New York for several months. The (proposed?) book was rejected by
Scribners and perhaps others. In his
letter of April 29 to his wife, Mary, Giddings wrote “The half of Sister’s troubles
with Yankees during the war was not told us.”
He also noted that Mary would like to visit Texas.
By 1900, Rezin had retired and they moved to Washington D.C.
to live with their nephew Charles Davidge.
Mary Elizabeth Buck and Rezin Davidge had no children.
Mary Elizabeth Buck Davidge died September 19, 1901 in
Washington, D.C. In his own will, Rezin Davidge noted that his wife wanted to
bequeath funds to her whole and half siblings and that he was fulfilling her
wishes. He therefore bequeathed the sum
of $2100 each to those siblings or their families. Mary Elizabeth Buck Davidge is
buried in Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
near her husband.
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