Bryan Holt Davis Jr.
Photo courtesy of the Daily Sentinel
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Bryan Holt Davis Jr. (1935-2017), as he often said, never lived anywhere else except for college. From his earliest childhood adventures at his grandparents' property on Orton Hill through his career as the Nacogdoches County Attorney, Bryan collected stories from Whimpey the Monkey to courthouse scandals. His particular specialty was the ability to recite the family lineage (and all the skeletons too) of many old Nacogdoches families, including his own of which he was the 7th generation in town. A full biography is below the audio clips.
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We have included on this page our full listing of audio recordings for Bryan Holt Davis Jr. Mr. Davis was the subject of several oral history projects (some more formal than others) and we have gone through hours of recordings to select these clips. Unfortunately the sound quality was not always the best and so there were many more great stories that we could not include. We hope that you will enjoy this extended listening opportunity. For more information, please contact Friends of Historic Nacogdoches or the East Texas Research Center at Stephen F. Austin State University which is the permanent repository for many of these recordings.
Davis Audio Clips
Davis Full Biography
Bryan was born in Nacogdoches, Texas on July 15, 1935. His parents were Bryan Holt and Elizabeth Bogard Davis. With the exception of attending school, he lived his entire life in Nacogdoches. Bryan attended the SFA Demonstration School and was a graduate of Nacogdoches High School. He attended Stephen F. Austin State University and received his Bachelor of Arts and Law Degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. He also attended summer sessions at the University of Colorado, the University of Wisconsin, and Duke University as a result of receiving academic scholarships. After his graduation from Law School, Bryan returned to Nacogdoches and briefly operated Holt Davis Insurance and Real Estate Agency prior to turning his full professional attention to the practice of law.
Bryan was married for 54 years to the former Carolyn Richey. Their marriage was a wonderful and true example of love, devotion, collaboration and in the best sense of the word, a partnership. They had two sons, Bryan Holt Davis III and Jefferson Barclay Davis, both of Nacogdoches, Texas. It is hard to imagine a more loving, fun and mischievous husband, father and grandfather.
Bryan swerved as Nacogdoches County Attorney for 35 years. As County Attorney he displayed a unique ability for diplomacy. People often came to his office angry about a given situation, only to leave laughing and with a sensible resolution for their dispute. As a prosecutor, he recognized that each case stood on its own merits and sought to seek justice, not merely convictions. He was instrumental in many projects which bettered our city and county, including the creation of the Nacogdoches County Court at Law, improvements to the courthouse and its various functions, and the creation of Lake Naconiche.
One would be hard pressed to find an individual more knowledgeable about Nacogdoches, its historic places, its stories or its inhabitants, both past and present, other than Bryan Hold Davis, Jr. In short, he loved every single thing about Nacogdoches and Nacogdoches County. He was a seventh-generation resident of the city. He was extremely proud of his family involvement in the community; a heritage which dates back to the early 1830s.
Bryan possessed an immense love for family and friends. He had a unique with and a way with people and was just flat our a lot of fun to be around. He was friend to all and never met a person, dog or cat he didn’t enjoy. He was genuinely interested in people and their station in life and was blessed with an uncanny ability to befriend people from all walks of life. His acquaintance and friendships ranged from politicians, community, and state leaders, to those who were incarcerated. Over the years, he often corresponded with those in prison or those recently released from prison, offering words of hope and encouragement. He was extremely welled and knowledgeable in many fields. He was a brilliant conversationalist and was equally at ease discussing the finer points of British literature with a university professor as he was with discussing the best time to plant turnip greens with a local farmer.
Bryan loved to garden and spent many happy hours at his small farm perched on the outskirts of the loop. There he maintained an orchard, a large vegetable garden and the occasional chicken. He was a surprisingly good horseman and always maintained a barn housing horses. Additionally, he was an early pioneer in local azalea propagation. Bryan was also an avid outdoorsman and hunter, although he had a great love for all of God’s creations.
Bryan was married for 54 years to the former Carolyn Richey. Their marriage was a wonderful and true example of love, devotion, collaboration and in the best sense of the word, a partnership. They had two sons, Bryan Holt Davis III and Jefferson Barclay Davis, both of Nacogdoches, Texas. It is hard to imagine a more loving, fun and mischievous husband, father and grandfather.
Bryan swerved as Nacogdoches County Attorney for 35 years. As County Attorney he displayed a unique ability for diplomacy. People often came to his office angry about a given situation, only to leave laughing and with a sensible resolution for their dispute. As a prosecutor, he recognized that each case stood on its own merits and sought to seek justice, not merely convictions. He was instrumental in many projects which bettered our city and county, including the creation of the Nacogdoches County Court at Law, improvements to the courthouse and its various functions, and the creation of Lake Naconiche.
One would be hard pressed to find an individual more knowledgeable about Nacogdoches, its historic places, its stories or its inhabitants, both past and present, other than Bryan Hold Davis, Jr. In short, he loved every single thing about Nacogdoches and Nacogdoches County. He was a seventh-generation resident of the city. He was extremely proud of his family involvement in the community; a heritage which dates back to the early 1830s.
Bryan possessed an immense love for family and friends. He had a unique with and a way with people and was just flat our a lot of fun to be around. He was friend to all and never met a person, dog or cat he didn’t enjoy. He was genuinely interested in people and their station in life and was blessed with an uncanny ability to befriend people from all walks of life. His acquaintance and friendships ranged from politicians, community, and state leaders, to those who were incarcerated. Over the years, he often corresponded with those in prison or those recently released from prison, offering words of hope and encouragement. He was extremely welled and knowledgeable in many fields. He was a brilliant conversationalist and was equally at ease discussing the finer points of British literature with a university professor as he was with discussing the best time to plant turnip greens with a local farmer.
Bryan loved to garden and spent many happy hours at his small farm perched on the outskirts of the loop. There he maintained an orchard, a large vegetable garden and the occasional chicken. He was a surprisingly good horseman and always maintained a barn housing horses. Additionally, he was an early pioneer in local azalea propagation. Bryan was also an avid outdoorsman and hunter, although he had a great love for all of God’s creations.