The Story of Stanley-Davenport Patriarch Henry Campbell Davenport (1832-1905)

In the 19th Century, the Davenport family (ancestors of the Stanley family) owned most of the land south of the Tennessee River, across from Downtown Knoxville. The family farm went from Lindberg Forest (which borders present-day Chapman Highway) on the west, to South Haven Road on the east. It reached south from the river to what is now Woodlawn Cemetery. The family home and farm was located in the center of the property on Davenport Road—as it is today.

What follows is the obituary of family patriarch Henry Campbell Davenport (1832-1905), son of Thomas Harrison Davenport and Sarah “Sally” Thomas Davenport, as it appeared in the Knoxville Sentinel, on August 25, 1905. During his lifetime, Henry amassed 250 acres of land and was arguably the largest landowner in Knox County. As this obituary suggests. he suffered a major financial setback late in life which ruined his health and well being. The founder of Stanley’s Greenhouse, the late Charles Stanley (1920-2018) (photo above), was Henry’s great grandson.

Several hundred people Thursday afternoon stood with heads bared under the virgin oaks of a beautiful grove two miles south of the city, out of respect to the memory of Henry Davenport. Many of those there assembled had gathered at the bier of soldiers and statesmen, but the difference with which they on Thursday demeaned themselves was none the less. Henry Davenport died dispossessed by circumstances, a kind heart and charitable nature of his worldly possessions, with which he had been bountifully blessed. Besides his hundreds of relatives there gathered, he has left a heritage even more precious—a name that was synonymous with kindness and charity. 

Henry Davenport died Wednesday night at the age of 73 years. A general breakdown in health caused his demise. He was practically never sick before. He died in the same room in which he was born in the old Adam Thomas house built 130 years ago. It was the first frame house of consequence built in the Southern part of Knox County, and the old stone chimneys at each end of the house, massive and not affected by time, were viewed with profound interest by those assembled. Reverend R. C. Medaris spoke of the life of the deceased and told the unequivocated story of “dust to dust”, etc.

Perhaps Henry Davenport was at one time the largest landowner in Knox County. He did not know how much he owned. This is perhaps why at one time he refused $75,000 cash for his land and $25,000 for immediate possession and personal property. This was a number of years ago, before Knoxville had begun to grow as it has [since]. He was then standing around a large herd of yearlings with his hand on the back of one, near a large barn, and looking down the meadow where he had followed the plow since a boy. 

The deceased was a son of Thomas Davenport, one of the pioneers of Knox County and who with the Cunninghams, Banthams, Doyles, Fords, and Maxeys, settled the Southern part of the county. The father was a farmer in meager circumstances and married a daughter of Adam Thomas. She came into possession by Will and Testament of the old home where Henry, Adam, Jane, Thomas, and John Davenport were reared. Now only Jacob Davenport survives.

To acquire land was the sole ambition of all and soon the little farm began to expand. First the large farm of John Owens, which is now Woodlawn Cemetery, and hundreds of other acres were acquired. In course of time the large farm of Thomas Henderson was bought, a part of the immense Caleb Powers estate, a strip of the Doyle lands, and lastly the Bantham lands, known as the “old Banty fields” was bought. 

Henry Davenport was by this time a middle-aged man. While illiterate his word in trade was authority, his opinion in the division of an estate or between warring neighbors was the law. He sent herds of cattle to the mountains in the spring and was the largest grower in the county. Henry Davenport was charitable. He kept scarcely any bank account, carried his money with him chiefly, and this was what caused him to throw away large sums every year. He was scarcely ever known to refuse to put his mark on a note as endorser or refuse anyone who wanted to borrow money. 

—Knoxville Sentinel, Friday, 25 August 1905