On April 1, 1858, Blairsville Mayor Chester C. Davis was called to confront a mob of angry Blairsville citizens, both black and white, who had surrounded three slave catchers trying to kidnap a former slave named Richard Newman. Davis intervened for the slave catchers and prevented a probable lynching. Born in Indiana County in 1817, Davis lived there with his wife and seven children and worked as an undertaker, cabinetmaker, and auctioneer. In 1861, he became known in Uniontown after defending the Union against a "burley mountain man" who boasted that he could "lick anyone from Indiana County who supports Lincoln and his unholy war," and Davis reportedly struck the man in the neck hard enough to bring him to his knees. At home, he also faced criticism when he refused to burn his funeral wagon after using it to transport a smallpox victim.