Frances Lockwood Davis, Civic Leader and Suffragist

Frances Lockwood was born in Elyria,Ohio in 1849, the oldest daughter of Judge and Mrs. William F. Lockwood. She married Thomas H. B. Davis, a successful businessman, in 1872. They had two children, Thomas H. B. Davis, Jr., and Edith Davis, who later married Clifford M. King.

In 1900, T.H.B. Davis died, at the age of 57. Mr. Davis’s obituary stated that “a son and daughter, together with the wife now left to tread life’s winepress alone, survive him.”

Mrs. Frances Lockwood Davis lived a very full life following her husband’s death. Her obituary, which appears in the 1933 Obituary Notebook, listed her many accomplishments: “Mrs. Davis was active in civic affairs, was the first president of the local Women’s Suffrage association and a member of the Library Building Fund association and of the board of the Sandusky Library association. She was one of the organizers of the Children’s Day Nursery, which later led to the founding of the Erie-co. Children’s Home.” Mrs. Davis passed away on January 22, 1933. She is buried in the North Ridge section of Oakland Cemetery in the family plot.


Mrs. Edith Davis King, daughter of Frances Lockwood Davis, is pictured below. Edith was also the daughter in law of Judge and Mrs. E. B King. Edith was the Assistant Librarian of the Sandusky Library in 1930, according the U.S. Census records for Erie County.