I26511: WILLIAM d' AUBIGNY Earl of Sussex (ABT 1175

Notes

of Broad River in the Colony of South Carolina.

Children possibly:
1. Joseph DAVIS, Jr.
2. Nathan DAVIS
The following is possibly Joseph's son, but has not been proven (or disproven, for that matter). The evidence is entirely circumstantial and not convincing — it's my own family's legend that is probably untrue:
3. Isaac DAVIS, b. 1760-65
What is true and what no doubt led to the birth of our family legend is that this Isaac DAVIS and his family lived from ca. 1797 to 1818 in the watershed of the West Fork of the Red River, near Fairview, Christian [now Todd] Co., KY, birthplace of Jefferson DAVIS in 1807/8. The legend is reinforced by the fact that Isaac and his wife's kin had come to the West Fork region from Broad River, in South Carolina, the last certainly known location of Joseph DAVIS.

Commentary
According to Barb (1971: 497): There appears no means of knowing whether or not Joseph was ever married and had issue, but I regard the likelihood of it as very improbable. It is certain that he had not married as late as 1762, at which time he signed a deed which will be cited later [Source 3, below], and which would have required the signature of his wife, had he had one, to make it legal.

Barb's statement that Joseph most likely died without issue is without foundation and a bit surprising, given how well documented and reasoned the rest of his paper is. At present, there is very little known of Joseph DAVIS, certainly not enough to declare with any certainty that he died without issue. All the 1762 indenture suggests (does not prove) is that Joseph had no wife at the time he signed it. It is possible that he had been married before and was a widower with children in 1762 or that he may have married after 1762 and had children later — or both. And it's also possible that Joseph did have wife at the time, but given the length and difficulty of the journey, she did not come with him to Philadelphia and that, rather than delay the proceedings, everyone simply tacitly agreed to go forward without observing the legal niceties, if he even admitted to them that he was married. And the next paragraph describes in what other ways they weren't being terribly punctilious about observing the law…

That one should not place too much emphasis on a single document, especially this indenture, is futher confirmed by the fact that neither Evan DAVIS, Jr., nor his wife or son are mentioned in it. This fact has been taken to mean that Evan DAVIS, Jr., had died before 1762, which I don't believe anyone disputes; however, his wife should have been a party to the indenture as his widow and heir, but she is not mentioned. It may be that Evan's siblings were unaware of her and her son's existence (down in Georgia) or that attempts to locate them had failed or — one is reluctant to believe — that they were simply willing to defraud her and her son of their rightful inheritance. In any case, the fact that they weren't mentioned in the indenture cannot be used as proof they didn't exist, especially as we know that they did exist. Similarly, I cannot accept this document as proving that Joseph never married or had children (ditto his brother Benjamin).

Joseph DAVIS signed the indenture in 1762 in Philadelphia as being "of Broad River, South Carolina." There is a Joseph DAVIS in the Broad River region of NC/SC who deserves some investigation as to whether he is Evan's brother. Below is a timeline (extracted from a larger timeline constructed for a different purpose) of events surrounding one Joseph DAVIS in the Broad River regions of NC/SC . I have included in the timeline here individuals in that region known to have moved to Christian/Todd Co., KY, in the late 1790s. The CLARKs, KUYKENDALLs, WYATTs, FRENCHes, WHITESIDEs, and DAVISes settled in the "West Fork Region" of the Red River watershed in what is now mostly Todd, partly Christian, County, that is, in the region of Fairview, birthplace of Jefferson DAVIS.

Lastly, my family — like many a southern family with DAVIS ancestors — has a tradition of being cousins to Jefferson DAVIS. Most of these traditions are untrue, many without the remotest foundation (e.g., see these bogus ancestries of Jefferson DAVIS). And I should precede my comments with the disclaimer that I am, by nature, a skeptic, and I don't believe any family legend until it is proven true — I've just seen too many proven untrue when exposed to scrutiny. However, our DAVISes were living in the West Fork Region of Christian/Todd Co., KY, near Fairview, from the late 1790s until 1818 — the same time period when Samuel DAVIS, father of Jefferson, lived in the region — so I don't think my family can be faulted for having accepted such a tradition for generations. However, I do not want to believe it if it isn't true, so my starting position is that it is not. The evidence must convince me otherwise and, as it stands, there is only one possible avenue open to us as a connection is through Joseph DAVIS of Broad River, South Carolina.

(Please see Jefferson Davis Home Page for a general discussion of the possibilies for connection to the late CSA President.)

Timeline
Year Location Event Source
1722-29 PA: Philadelphia birth of Joseph DAVIS Barb (1971) birth of Mary WHITE
c1750 Philadelphia to South Carolina Joseph moves, with brother, Evan DAVIS, Jr. Barb (1971:501)
10 Jul 1754 SC marriage of Joseph DAVIS & Mary WHITE Sarrett (nd)
5 Oct 1762 PA: Philadelphia Joseph DAVIS "of Broad River, SC" signs indenture Barb (1971:502)
1766/7 NC [now SC]: Mecklenburg [now Cherokee] Co.:
SW side of Broad R. Henry, Ichabod, and Reyderus CLARK are granted land; Nathaniel CLARK is resident
1768 Tryon Co. is formed from western Mecklenburg Co.
In, NC, Tryon Co. includes all of today's Cleveland, Gaston, and Lincoln Cos.; most of Rutherford and Polk Cos.; and parts of Burke and McDowell Cos. In SC, Tryon Co. includes all of today's Cherokee, Spartanburg, York, Chester, and Union Cos.; most of Laurens Co.; and parts of Greenville, Newberry, and Lancaster Cos.
28 Apr 1768 NC: Tryon Co.: S Fk Catawba R.
[could today be in Mecklenburg, Gaston, or Lincoln Co.] Joseph DAVIS is granted 400 acres. Land is sold some time before 1779.

29 Aug 1768 Both sides of Rudisal's Ck. William WYATT receives grant
6 May 1769 NC: Tryon [now Gaston] Co.: both sides of Dutchman's [a.k.a., Rudisal's] Ck.: Davis's Mill Place Joseph DAVIS (Sr.) is granted land.
1769-1771 Joseph DAVIS, Sr., dies.
9 Feb 1771 NC: Tryon Co.: W side of Dutchman's Creek, by Simon KUYKENDALL's Joseph DAVIS, Jr., sells land to Nathan DAVIS of Tryon Co.
3 Oct 1772 NC: Tryon Co.: Davis Mill Place Joseph DAVIS, Jr., of Tryon Co. sells part of land originally granted to Joseph DAVIS, Sr., now deceased. Among witnesses: Nathan DAVIS.
6 Mar 1773 NC: Tryon Co.: Leeper's Ck. (an alternate name or tributary of Dutchman's Ck.) Samuel KUYKENDALL of Tryon Col. sells land. Witnesses: Jonathan KUYKENDALL and Nathan DAVIS.
1 Sep 1773 NC [now SC]: Tryon [now Union/Cherokee] Co.: Broad R. Henry & Sarah (JONES) CLARK sell land.
3 Dec 1773 Both sides of Dutchman's Ck., part of tract granted to Joseph DAVIES (decd) William ALSTON sell land to Thomas HUNT. Among witnesses: Simon KUYKENDALL.
14 Oct 1778 W side of Dutchman's Ck., by Sarah KUYKENDALL, once owned by Joseph DAVIS Nathan DAVIS sells land.
5 Jul 1782 NC: Mecklenburg Co.: Sugar Ck. Joseph DAVIS buys land

My Southern Family

WILLIAM d' AUBIGNY Earl of Sussex

ABT 1175 - 30 Mar 1221

ID Number: I26511

Notes

Sources

Richard BERNARD III of Stafford

ABT 1636 - 1691

ID Number: I55036

Notes

Sources

Diana CHISMAN

12 Oct 1715 - 30 Nov 1735

ID Number: I51715

Sources

John COCKE

ABT 1620 - ABT 1682

ID Number: I88865

Notes

Sources

Joseph DAVIS

ABT 1726 - AFT 1762

ID Number: I90411

Notes

Sources

Calvin Morgan MCCLUNG

14 May 1820 - 19 Feb 1857

ID Number: I92781

Notes

Sources

Charles Fredrick Lincoln SHIPLEY IV

Elizabeth TOWNLEY

ABT 1600 - ____

ID Number: I42432

Sources