davenportn
Transcribed from "An Illustrated History of The Big Bend Country, embracing
Lincoln, Douglas, Adams and Franklin counties, State of Washington",
published by Western Historical Publishing Co., 1904.
NOAH C. DAVENPORT, editor of
the Sentinel, of Wilbur, Washington, was born in Washington county,
Virginia, January 21, 1855, and has been a resident of the state of Washington
since 1898. His early education was obtained in the old-fashioned
"pay" school in his native state. From the first his educational
advantages have been good, and he has made the best of them, having graduated
with honors from the Marion high school, at which school he also won a
medal in oratory. He has had conferred upon him the degree of bachelor
of natural science and English literature. For fifteen years he followed
the profession of teaching in Virginia and Kentucky, and later was engaged
in the mercantile business for four years. Upon coming to Washington
he settled on a quarter section of raw land in Lincoln county, which he
has developed into one of the choicest farms in eastern Washington.
He also taught school intermittently in connection with the management
of his farm. He purchased the Sentinel plant in 1902 and published
the first issue of the paper July 4, 1902. Upon assuming control
of the Sentinel he removed his family to Wilbur to obtain better
educational advantages, and to enable him to devote his entire attention
to his work. His newspaper is considered one of the brightest and
most prosperous journals in the state, and under the direction of its present
owner has increased in circulation one hundred per cent. and three hundred-per
cent. in advertising.
May 15, 1879, occurred the marriage of Mr.
Davenport to Ida F. Hubble, daughter of R. H. Hubble, a veteran of the
Civil War, and one of the leading farmers of Virginia, and Freelove (Blessing)
Hubble, a native of Virginia, and an active worker in church affairs.
Mrs. Davenport has two brothers, J. E. Hubble, M. D., a graduate from the
University of Virginia, and a physician of wide reputation; and Rev.
D. S. Hubble, a prominent Baptist minister.
The family record of Mr. Davenport is one
of which he may justly feel proud. His father was J. T. Davenport,
a native Virginian, a minister in the Missionary Baptist church and a pioneer
preacher of wide reputation throughout his state. He was also an
enthusiastic promoter of education. The subject's mother was Sally
(Wassum) Davenport, born in Virginia of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry, an
ardent assistant to her husband in his church work. His brothers
are Rev. Thomas J. and Prof. Julius T. Davenport, both natives
of Virginia. The former held the degrees of A. B. and A. M. from
Emery and Henry College, in which he won medals for excellence in composition
and oratory, and the Ph. D. degree from the Louisville (Kentucky) Seminary.
He is a Baptist minister of note, and has traveled extensively in Africa
and the Holy land. Julius T. Davenport, also a graduate from Emery
and Henry College, and winner of the A. B. and A. M. degrees, taught for
six years in the Troy (New York) Business College, for three years in Packard's
Business College in New York city, and is now principal of the Millington
(Tennessee) Academy. The other brothers and sisters are Joseph M.,
Edward L., William H., Mrs. Mary Biley, and Mrs. Sarah V. Giesler.
Our subject is an ordained minister.
Mr. and Mrs. Davenport are parents of seven
children, whose names are: Bernard M., now a teacher; Ray L., Ernest H.,
now dead, Noah C., Laila A., Thomas H., and John E.
In politics Mr. Davenport has always affiliated
with the Democratic party, which he once represented in a Virginia state
convention. He is a prominent member of the K. O. T. M., of Wilbur.
In the early 'eighties, Mr. Davenport assisted
both personally and by liberal financial contributions, to found the Virginia
Institute, now located at Bristow, Virginia, and was one of the thirteen
who constituted the first board of trustees. It is now one of the
leading colleges for ladies in the south.
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