James Davis, son of John Davys, was born 1583-8, probably in Marlborough, Wiltshire County, England.
James was married in Thornburg, Glouster County, England, to Cicely (Or Sissilla) Thayer, daughter of John Thayer and Joane Lawrence.
James, Cicely, and their three older children came to America about 1630, and settled in Newbury, Massachusetts. They moved to Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1640, where James remained the rest of his life. The move to Haverhill came about when James, along with twelve others, secured a grant from the government and settled what is now Haverhill. In 1642, they bought out the rights of the Indians to the land.
James must have been a man of considerable wealth for those times, for in 1643, he was one of three in the settlement that were worth over 200 pounds. In 1646 he paid the largest tax.
James died in 1678/9 and left a will, which was probated in March 1680. A copy of this will is in the book of printed probate records of Essex County, Massachusetts.
Children:
James Davis, Jr., son of James Davis and Cicely Thayer, was born 4 July 1619, in England.
He was married 1 December 1648 probably in Haverhill, to Elizabeth Eaton, daughter of John Eaton, one of the first settlers of Haverhill.
James, Jr., and a Mr. Stanyon, were appointed to lay out the road between Haverhill and Exeter, and in 1667, he was appointed one of the committee to lay out the boundary between Haverhill and other towns.
Elizabeth died 21 January 1683/4, and James was married again, to a woman named Mary. He died 18 July 1694, in Haverhill.
Children:
There are other children.
Elisha Davis, son of James Davis, Jr. and Elizabeth Eaton, was born 30 August 1670 at Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts.
He was married 19 June 1694, probably in Haverhill, to Grace Shaw. They remained there the rest of their lives.
Elisha was honored among his townsmen for gallantry displayed in defense of his town in times of war, and was mentioned in the chronicles of his day as �the intrepid Davis.� He died 18 January 1738/9.
Children:
John Davis (3), son of James Davis, Jr. and Grace Shaw, was born 13 March 1708/9 in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts.
He married his cousin Sarah Barney of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, daughter of Constant Davis and Joseph Barney.
John was described as having red hair and blue eyes, his wife black eyes and dark hair. They lived in Haverhill until about 1750, and moved to Rehoboth.
The oldest children were born in Haverhill, the 7th in Rehoboth.
Children:
John Davis IV, son of John Davis III and Sarah Barney, was born 4 January 1734/5, in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts.
He was married 4 September 1760, in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, to Joanna Hicks (Hix), daughter of Benjamin Hicks and Anna Ormsby. They were married by the Rev. Elder Richard Round.
Governor Bradford called them �One of ye profanest families amongst themn.� Francis had almost blown up the �Mayflower� by shooting �squibs� near the powder kegs and John, his father, had the distinction of being the only Pilgrim Father to be hanged, not only hanged, but drawn and quartered.
There is a small lake, inland from Plymouth, Massachusetts, that was discovered by Francis Billington, and is still known today as Billington Sea.
John Davis IV was a Lieutenant in the Revolutionary War. About 1778, the family moved to Royalston, Massachusetts, where John and Joanna spent the rest of their lives. Their three oldest sons, Squire, Silvester, and John, served in the Revolution from Royalston.
Children:
Sylvester Davis Sr., son of John Davis (4) and Joanna Hicks, was born 13 October 1764, in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts.
He was married in 1768 in Dighton, Massachusetts, to Elizabeth Codding, daughter of William Codding and Deborah Austin.
Sylvester was the first of the line to begin the westward migration. After their marriage, the family lived in various places in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. About 1798, they moved to Farmington, Ontario County, New York, where he built the first blacksmith shop in the village of Manchester. In 1800, there were only two houses in that village, one of which was his.
Sylvester served in the Revolutionary War from Royalston, Massachusetts, and in the War of 1812, he served first as Captain, then Major. His sons, Sardis, Silvester, Jr., and Cyrus Allison also served in the War of 1812 from Ontario County, New York.
�Major Sylvester Davis� died in 1813, and is buried in the Pioneer Cemetery in Canandaigua, New York. Elizabeth died in 1815.
Children:
Silvester Davis, Jr., son of Sylvester Davis, Sr., and Elizabeth Codding, was born about 12 March 1791, either in Massachusetts, or New Hampshire. He served in the War of 1812, as a Corporal and Sargeant. After the deaths of his parents, he went to Freedon, Cattaraugus County, New York, where his brother, Sardis, and his uncle Daniel Davis, were living.
He was married in Freedon in 1817, to Hannah Daggett, daughter of Elihu Daggett and Hannah Briggs. She, also, was a descendant of the notorious John Billington of the �Mayflower.�
In 1817, Silvester and brother Cyrus Allison were two of the first four families to settle on Maple Hill, in what is now Munson Township, Geauga County, Ohio. This is where their 5 children were born.
After the death of Hannah in 1833, son Franklin lived with his grandfather Daggett in China, New York; the other children remained in Ohio, living with their father or other relatives.
In 1844 Silvester purchased land in Lagrange County, Indiana, and in 1850, sons Henry, Harrison and wife Martha, and daughter Mary and Job Gildersleve started out west to Iowa, where they purchased land in Clayton and Delaware Counties.
Silvester died of pneumonia 12 September 1869, at the home of his youngest son, Henry, and is buried in the Grant View Cemetery, at Greeley, Iowa.
Children:
Harrison Davis, son of Silvester Davis, Jr. and Hannah Daggett, was born 13 February 1822, probably in Munson Township, Geauga County, Ohio.
He was married, first, 25 August 1844, in Geauga County, Ohio, to Deliah Hill.
He was married/2, 31 October 1850, in Lagrange County, Indiana, to Martha Stiner.
Harrison and Martha moved to Iowa in 1850, and apparently returned to Lagrange County between 1863 and 1865. Land deeds recorded there show them residing in the county and having several transactions of purchases and sales of land. This would explain the 1864 birth of their son, Elery, as being in Indiana, and the other children as Iowa. 1871 finds Harrison being recorded as one of the first five settlers in Highland Township, Jewell County, Kansas, and a homestead was filed 1 March 1879.
Little is known of Harrison after this time. Land records show numerous transactions, both buying and selling. Old family stories very rarely mention Harrison, but it has been told that �Grandad just walked out on Grandma and the boys,� and �Grandad Davis had to spend a lot of time away from home because he was a sea captain.�
Apparently, the truth must lie behind an unhappy marriage, for records show a third marriage of Harrison�s being recorded on 9 April 1886 to Laura A Van Ness, along with a land transfer on the same date from Harrison Davis to Laura Van Ness. Their ages were listed on the marriage certificate as 63. It is suspected that Harrison may have moved to Mt. Vernon, Skagit County, Washington, around 1890, where it was reported by a granddaughter that he spent the rest of his days. This cannot be verified as land records cannot be found, and to date there have been no death records on Harrison.
Children: