John Maynard Davis Video Tease!

I recently did a blog post on John Maynard Davis, the first independent insurance agent in the United States. Go check it out here!

Before There Was Geico There Was... John Maynard Davis!

Over the course of this semester myself and a group of my classmates were tasked with researching a Church Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina as a team. We chose the St. John's Lutheran Church cemetery. For the end of the semester we were also asked to research one of the people buried at our Cemetery. Attached is a walk through of the St. John's Lutheran Church cemetery taken by me.

Although there are several notable graves in this Cemetery, I decided to learn more about John Maynard Davis. I chose Mr. Davis because his picture stuck out to me as I was scrolling through Find A Grave for a suitable research choice. Attached to the entry for Mr. Davis' grave on Find A Grave there was not only a photo of his headstone but also a portrait. I decided that I would like to find out more about it.

The miniature of John Maynard Davis
Photo from Find A Grave

The portrait attached to John Maynard Davis' was painted by Vallée, Jean François de la around 1805. It is a miniature water color painting that is currently on display at the Gibbes Museum of Art. It is on credit at the Gibbes Museum as a transfer with the Charleston Museum. 

John Maynard Davis himself was an insurance agent for The Phoenix Insurance Company of London according to North Carolina Business History. He was born in 1755 and was an England nfative. In the The Charleston Museum Quarterly, it states that Mr. Davis was the first agent in Charleston from the Phoenix Insurance company and was appointed on June 19th, 1805. This means that John Maynard Davis was the first independent insurance agent in the United States. Mr. Davis also made out a policy on June 1, 1806 that hangs in the office of the Equitable Fire insurance Company, Number 49 Broad Street. 

In a genealogical record of the Richardson and Buford families it is noted that Cordelia Moncrief married Mr. Davis in Charleston and they lived and resided there, however, they had no children. Cordelia Moncrief was a descendant of Captain William Richardson, however, I was unable to find her grave. 

Photo of John Maynard Davis headstone courtesy of Find A Grave

John Maynard Davis is buried in the St. John Lutheran Church Cemetery with what appears in the photos on Find A Grave under a ledger. However, his grave could also be a box tomb as it looks to be raised. Mr. Davis died on May 27 1827 when he was around 71. There is a long epitaph on John Maynard Davis' grave, however, it is difficult to make out.

Photo of Mary Moncrief courtesy of My Heritage

 A unique aspect of the headstone is that it carries not only the grave of John Maynard Davis but also Mary Eliza Moncrief. There was a Mary Moncrieff but no where is it listed that Mary Eliza may be the wife of John Maynard Davis. Upon looking up Mary Eliza Moncreif  it is listed on my heritage that she was to married Robert Smith McCart. 

Photo of John Maynard Davis headstone courtesy of Find A Grave

In the MOOD to learn about a silversmith?

A belt buckle made by Peter Mood Sr.
Photo from The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts

I'm sure you've heard the expression 'born with a silver spoon in your mouth.' However, when Reverend John Mood was born on January 11th, 1792, he took the expression a little more literally. American silversmiths lists his father, Peter Mood Sr., as a silver smith in Charleston South Carolina. Peter would serve as a master to John when he decided to apprentice as a silver smith. John would eventually join his father as a partner at Peter Mood & Son and then Peter Mood & Sons.

A photo of a silver ladle made by John Mood and Peter Jr. Mood
from The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts website

The Reverend was not the only silver smith in the family; his brother Peter Jr. was also a member of the long line of German silver smiths. The three men, father and both sons, worked together until Peter Sr. died in 1821 and the business dissolved. According to The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts the boys had several short lived partnerships before joining back up in business together in 1834. This partnership was dissolved by financial issues and a robbery by an employee. John decided to go into business for himself while his brother moved to New York.

A slave badge from 1835, made by John and Peter Mood Jr.
Photo from Greenwood

At the time the brothers were living in Charleston, the city required all slaves who were hired out by their owners to wear and carry a slave badge at all times. In 1832, John and Peter Mood Jr. won the contract to make all of the slave badges for the city. The badges, however, were not made of silver, instead they were made of copper or tin. They received the bid for this contract several times over the years.

Photo of John Mood
Courtesy of Patrick Harwood's blog

Greenwood  claims that John Mood was born as a Lutheran but later converted to Methodism and became a Methodist minister. Despite making the badges that marked African Americans as slaves, Mood joined Methodism at a time when many members of the faith was opposed to slavery. He decided to violate strict South Carolina laws by teaching black Methodist ministers to read and write. He also established a Sunday school for black children that he ran by himself. 

Photo of Mood's stamp courtesy of American Silver Smiths

A photo of Mood's grave courtesy of Find A Grave

John Mood lived out his life in Charleston and died on March 1st, 1792 at age 72. He is buried at Bethel United Methodist Church Cemetery in Charleston. Mood's work can be traced by his stamp on the silver works he created. In addition to slavery badges and silver creations, John Mood also produced Calvary and weapons for The American Civil War. In the book, American Silver-Hilted, Revolutionary and Early Federal Swords, Mood's products are advertised as "silver or gilt hilted sabersscabbards."

William Benjamin Durm : Oysterpreneur Presentation Video

I recently did a blog post on William Benjamin Durm, my great grandfather.

Check out the video introduction to my project and the blog post here!