BAXTER ADAMS LETTERS
9-29-14
Dear Don,
I ran across your information about the Davis house in east Waco on the Web and I have a little information that I
thought I would share with you.
First, Captain Tom Selman and his wife, Margaret Jane (Maggie) were my great grandfather and great
mother. Their oldest daughter, Lula Josephine, was my father’s mother (my paternal grandmother). Jim Davis’s
wife was Tom’s sister and Maggie’s cousin, for Tom and Maggie were first cousins. Tom and Elizabeth’s mother
was named Margaret Selman and she lived with Tom. So, Tom, Maggie, Elizabeth, and Margaret were all
related. The Selmans lived in a typical dog run log cabin next to the Davis home from the Civil War to about 1900.
I have a good picture of all the Davises and Selmans standing in front of the log cabin about 1880. II have another
showing a part of the Davis home taken about 1905. I was told that the foundation (basement?) of the Davis home
was the foundation for the parsonage of a colored church. Further, that the two homes were about where the
Waterworks restaurant now stands in east Waco, on the north side of Waco Drive. I was in Waco recently and
drove there to look.
I have a really good picture of Tom Davis, probably in his thirties, and, of course, all the Selmans. Do you have
pictures of any of the other Davises? I have them all in the log cabin picture that I mentioned, but I can’t identify
the younger Davises or their husbands.
In the last couple of years I have started some genealogy work and do have a lot of information about the Moore
family---Tom, Maggie, Margaret and Elizabeth were all Moores. Lots of them settled in Robertson County.
I hope this is of interest to you. You gave some dates that I have ben trying to fine for months. Death dates for
Elizabeth Davis and Margaret Selman are two that I have looked and looked for. It is a cinch that they are both
buried in the Davis plot at 1st Street, but I have never found them.
Baxter Adams
P.S. Many years ago I lived in Waco and some of our neighbors were Elaine and Winston Davis, who I believe were
descended from Tom Davis. Is that right? That was about 1936.
9-30-14
Don--I’ll send another Portrait of Capt. Thomas Jefferson Selman. Yes, he and Maggie were 1st cousins, he and Elizabeth
were brother and sister and Margaret was their mother. The Davis and Selman houses were quite close together,
separated only by a little pasture which as late as the 1980’s was still vacant, I was told.
From: Don Santo
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 3:57 PM
To: cbadams@stx.rr.com
Subject: Re:
Hi Baxter,
It worked great I got the photo, can't wait for the others.
Thank You SOOOOO Much.
I knew T.J. Selman and mother Margaret lived with J.F. Davis and Brunette from the census, but I didn't
know that T.J. and his wife were first cousins.
The similarity of the names of T.J.'s mother and wife has led to some confusion in the past, but I finally
figured it out.
I am fairly certain that Brunette at least is buried in the Davis Plot, as there is at least one grave with no
headstone next to J.F. Sr. and it would be logical to bury a wife next to her husband, and Tom's grave
also has no headstone so there may be others - the Plot Number is 106 as I recall.
The Selmans are in a different cemetery - Oakwood.
I have attached a photo of their headstone. The photo was taken by Brad Willis
As to your friends Elaine and Winston Davis while they may or may not be RELATED, they are NOT
descended from Tom (or his father James F.) as Tom was the only son of J.F. and my Grandfather J.F.
Davis Jr was Tom's only son, unless there was some fooling around somewhere besides home.
The Waterworks Restaurant closed down in the 1990's and is now long gone.
I have been looking for a street address for it so I can find it on a map and visit the site on Google Street
view, but no luck so far.
I have also attached a picture of the 1856 J.F. Davis brick home that sits behind the Catholic Church on
Dallas St. that is/was still standing as of last year 2013, and was sent to me by Brad Willis whom I
mentioned in my last post - I have several more if you are interested.
I hope the Selman/Moore files I sent you last were useful.
Again Thank You.
Don S.
9-30 -14
OK Don here is a try at the cabin picture.
The couple on the far left are Jim Davis and Elizabeth. The little girls are Rose and Nettie Selman. the boy on the
horse is Tom Jr. (“Thos”), and the one holding the reins is Jim Davis (“Dick”). Then my grandmother Adams,
Lula. Next are Maggie and Capt. Tom Selman. On the right hand side are all Davises, and I don’t know who is who--can you help? In 1880 Mary Ann would have been 31, Maggie 27, Irene 26, and Tom 21. Florence was already
dead.
I date this as about 1880 because Lula looks to be about 11 years old and she was born in 1869.
I will be out of pocket for a few days starting in the morning and be back about Wednesday of next week. If these
picture transmit OK I’ll send more when I get back.
The information you sent me on the Selman clan is red hot. It is pretty much all about Tom’s father, grandfather,
and great grandfather and their various wives and children. It sure filled in a lot of blanks for me. THANKS!! I had
learned that Tom had a half brother by his father’s first marriage, but could not track him. Now I know that his
name was William (for his grandfather) and he died at age 16. There are some errors in the Selman history that I
can correct because I have a transcription of Captain Selmans diaries that he kept from 1861 to 1863 during the
war. In them he writes his mother, Margaret (who was living with the Davises), and gives the dates of their trip
from Mississippi to Texas and it about 10 years later than information on the web has it.
When I get back I can fill you up with Selman family pictures if you want them.
Best regards,
Baxter
MY NOTE:
My speculation on where Tom Davis & Mollie Winship Davis are the couple on the far right rear.
I make this guess because the picture of Tom Davis shows him wearing his hat awry, and the man in the picture is
wearing his the same way – Don S.
12-6-14
MY NOTE:
This was the last letter I received from Baxter and my repeated Emails have gone unanswered
Dear Don,
My sudden and complete silence was due to a bad auto accident that put us out of commission for a couple of
months. This is first tome I have been able to get to my computer since early October. I’ll send some more pics as I
can, but I have a lot of catching up to do. How do your fit in with the Davis clan?
Best wishes,
Baxter