In Memory of Olin Cecil Davis, 1926-2013

In Memory of Olin C. Davis
28 March 1926 – 29 May 2013

by Jan Davis Markle

It is with great sadness that we note the passing of our eldest member, Olin Cecil Davis, who died May 29 at age 87. Olin was a member of the William Davis DNA Project since 2009, when he was 83.

A double DAVIS

Olin must have been very much a DAVIS because he was a Davis descendant from two lines: his father’s DAVIS line AND his mother’s line.

Olin’s father,  La Verne William DAVIS, was a descendant of Benjamin5 DAVIS (born 1776 CT),  the one with the “22 sons” [only 12, really]. Benjamin5 DAVIS was the son of William Thomas4 DAVIS (born 1752 RI).

Olin’s maternal grandmother was also a DAVIS. Olin’s mother was Ruth Scholtz and Ruth’s mother, Effie DAVIS, was the daughter of Thomas Clayton7 DAVIS, the genealogist who collected much of the history of the DAVIS families. Thomas Clayton DAVIS descended from Annanias5 DAVIS, born 1784 NJ, son of Rev. Nathan4 DAVIS.

When explaining the two DAVIS lines and adding that he was also a double descendant of Roger WILLIAMS, Olin said, “I think that I’m my own grandpaw!”

See Olin’s two DAVIS  lines, both labeled Kit # 152496, on the Proven Lines chart.

FLASHBACKS

Over the years, you learn  a lot from Olin’s emails but after reading his book, “Flashbacks,” you feel like you really knew him. It is a testimony to the value of writing a diary or autobiography to pass down to your descendants, to let them know who you really were.

Some excerpts from emails with Olin between 2009 and 2013

” I have published a book, FLASHBACKS, which contains many pictures and my stories about my growing up years during the Great Depression and World War II in the 30s, 40, and 50s.  It is now in the second printing.  I am still accumulating more true life stories which may or not be published in another volume of flashback memories.”

“FLASHBACKS… is a collection of my personal true life-story memoirs, with anecdotes about family and country living in the days of the Great Depression and World War II.  I was pleased the other day when I received a letter from someone I have never met.  She said in part,  ‘We enjoyed reading your Flashbacks book so much.  The stories were so meaningful and memorable. We laughed and we cried.’   Those were humbling words to an author!”

“I am 83 years old [in 2009] and live alone.  I grew up on a dairy farm here in NYS. Most of my working life was involved in sales of farm equipment both at the retail and the wholesale level.  In retirement I enjoy gardening with several large flower gardens decorating my five acre lawn which surrounds the old country home.  I also enjoy reading and writing. “

Olin said of his Benjamin Davis ancestor:

“Our family has always told that this Benjamin had two wives and twenty-one sons, no daughters.”

Olin was referring to Benjamin5 Davis, born 1776, in Farmington, Connecticut, son of Thomas  and Polly West. Benjamin DAVIS died in Watson, Lewis, New York and actually had 12 sons. Including his daughters, his total number of children was 19. Perhaps there were 3 other children who died as infants and the number 22 was accurate.

Says Olin: “I have never ventured up to Watson where family info says that  GGgrandfather Benjamin is buried. He DID have a first and a second wife to mother all those sons!!” [And a third wife, actually.]

“I know that in that time frame there was a Seventh Day Baptist Church (now defunct) in the hamlet.  That location in New York State is still covered with snow at this time of the year.  I’ll try to get my daughter to take me there in summer.  It would be nice to clear up that mystery for all concerned.”

“My Great Grandfather on my mother’s side, Thomas Clayton Davis, was an old man I remember seeing as he sat at an old Underwood typewriter working on his genealogy.  Of course, I suppose that is what he was doing.  I can’t remember him anywhere except at the clattering old machine.  Wouldn’t he have enjoyed computers?”

“Ancestors of Olin C. Davis” posted on the
William Davis DNA Project Ancestor Photos Page

Olin and Marilyn (Osborn) Davis, July 1958

Olin’s parents: La Verne and Ruth (Sholtz) Davis, 1958

The La Verne and Ruth Davis family in 1948
Back: Duane, Ruth, LaVerne, Olin
Front: Willis, Kenneth, Roger

Olin’s father: LaVerne William Davis, 1903-1977

LaVerne’s father: Henry Eugene Davis, 1856- 1920

Olin and his pony, Silky, abt 1938

Olin standing, and (L to R) Kenneth, Roger, Duane

Ruth (Sholtz) Davis and son, Olin, abt 1929

Grandmother Effie, mother Ruth, baby Olin
and great-grandfather, Thomas Clayton Davis, abt 1926

Olin’s great grandfather, Thomas Clayton Davis, great grandmother Eliza Babcock, with Olin’s grandmother, Effie Davis (back row, second from left), and siblings, Ruby, Pearl, Iva, Lola, Bert, abt 1890

Obituary from Legacy.com

Published in The Oneida Daily Dispatch,  June 2, 2013

Olin C. Davis(1926 – 2013)

ONEIDA >> Olin C. Davis, 87, Randel Road, died Wednesday evening, May 29, 2013, in the Oneida Healthcare Center, from injuries sustained when a tree fell on him at his home. Born in Verona on March 28, 1926, he was the son of LaVerne and Ruth Sholtz Davis. A lifelong resident of the Town of Verona, he was a graduate of the Verona High School, Class of 1943, and was the salutatorian. He married Marilyn Osborn on July 27, 1958 in the Verona Seventh Day Baptist Church. Mrs. Davis died on Oct. 23, 1997.

Prior to his retirement in 2000, he was employed with Cummings and Bricker. He owned and operated his own farm and Davis Equipment Center. Mr. Davis was a graduate of Reisch American School of Auctioneering in 1947 and was an independent auctioneer.

Olin was a member of the Seventh Day Baptist Church, where he served as the church clerk for over 20 years, Sabbath School teacher for over 60 years, served as church treasurer and served on the National Board of Christian Education. He was a member of the Oneida Area Civic Chorale for over 40 years and served on the board for 29 years.

Mr. Davis authored two books, collections of True Lifestories and Flashbacks and Recollections and was a member of the Canastota Writers Group. He also enjoyed gardening.

Surviving are two daughters, Lois S. Davis of Rome and Joan C. Davis of Ashburn, Va.; one son and daughter-in-law, Dwight W. and Monica Davis of Durhamville; three grandchildren, Dylan Davis, Quinn Davis and Riley Davis; special sister-in-law, Della Fern Davis of Verona, and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by five brothers, Donald Davis, Willis Davis, Kenneth Davis, Rev. Duane Davis and Roger Davis.

Funeral services will be held 10:30 a.m., Monday at the Verona Seventh Day Baptist Church, with the Rev. Dr. Kenneth Chroniger, officiating. Interment will be made in New Union Cemetery. Friends may call at the Campbell-Dean Funeral Home, Inc., 260 Main St., Oneida, 1-5 p.m., Sunday.

Contributions, in his memory, may be made to the Verona Seventh Day Baptist Church Memorial Fund, 6754 Blackmans Corners Road, Verona, N.Y. 13478. To leave a message of condolence, please visit www.campbell-dean.com
CAMPBELL-DEAN FUNERAL HOME, INC., ONEIDA

Pedigree of Olin Cecil Davis

(See extended pedigree, with Roger Williams lines,  at William Davis DNA Project Members’ Tree)

New DAVIS Matches

Lynch Furniture Company, Canandaigua, New York, abt 1905
-Courtesy lynchfurnitureny. com
Canandaigua, NY is hometown to one of our matches below.

Since the last post, the K87577 Davis Surname Project subgroup has had 5 new matches, and 6 non-matches, bringing our total Davis matches to 20 since the first I2a1b DAVIS test result was posted in fall of 2007 (thanks to my brother, “K87577,” who agreed to participate).

NEW MATCHES

We have five new matches to learn about, compare and analyze. The analysis will come in a later post. Thanks to all those who have researched, funded and participated in these tests. The matches are:

1. son of Hayward F.9 DAVIS 1926-2000, Salem, WV (Nathan Gifford6 DAVIS line)

2. son of Sammie Charles9 DAVIS, 1932-1981, WV, ARK, TX (George Johnston5 DAVIS line)

3. son of Gerald R.9 DAVIS, 1920-2004, Troupsburg, NY (Isaiah Satterly4, b 1814, DAVIS line)

4. son of Harry Edward10 BURNETT, 1930-2007, Sussex County, NJ to Brookfield, OH (William Harrington BURNETT line)

5. son of Charles Edward MURRAY, 1924-2001, Canandaigua, NY (Joseph Edward MURRAY line)

See the updated Proven Lines Page for all 20 matches and recent non-matches.

Three of our new matches were Davis men who were expected to be matches.

FIRST MATCH

Hayward Ferrill DAVIS, 1926-2000, son of Gifford Nathan8 DAVIS, abt 1945
-courtesy DAVISDANIELS Family Tree

Our first expected match, #275199, is the son of Hayward Ferrill9 DAVIS, and grandson of Gifford Nathan 8 DAVIS, 1873-1929, WV (Nathan Gifford6 line). “Gifford” is a name that runs in the WV Davis lines and it refers to the wife of Rev. Nathan4 DAVIS , Anna GIFFORD, who was born in Shrewsbury, NJ. Rev. Nathan and Ann Davis were married in 1761 in New Jersey, raised their children in N.J. and migrated with some of their adult children to Salem, WV by 1795.

The current match’s line descends from Rev. Nathan4 DAVIS to his grandson, Nathan Gifford6 DAVIS, b.1814 WV, and then to his grandson, Gifford Nathan8 DAVIS, b. 1873 WV.  Gifford Nathan8 DAVIS’ grandson is our current tester. That’s 3 grandfathers back, as in, “my grandfather’s grandfather’s grandfather.”

Gifford Nathan DAVIS had an unusual life. He was born in Doddridge County, WV and later lived in Ten Mile, Harrison County, WV.  His first wife died when she was 20 years old. He had 2 children with his second wife in 1904 and 1905. In 1925, at the age of 52, he married a third wife who was 33 years old and had 2 more children in 1926 and 1928. He died in 1929, at age 56, and his third child of that marriage was born shortly after he died.

Death certificate Gifford Nathan DAVIS, 1873-1929. Note the names of the attending physician and the undertaking company (see lower right corner; click twice to enlarge).                                  -courtesy DAVISDANIELS Family Tree

Rev. Nathan4 DAVIS is the ancestor in common for this match and for two of our previous matches. The current match descends from Rev. Nathan’s son, Stephen C.5 . The other two matches descend from Rev. Nathan’s son, William Gifford5  “Jersey Billy,” (#145542) and from Rev. Nathan’s son, Annanias5, (#201748).

SECOND MATCH

Historical Marker, Doddridge County, West Virginia

The second expected match, test #268239, proves the line of the son of Sammie Charles9 DAVIS, born in 1932, Lockesburg, Arkansas, who was the son of Franklin Harvey8 DAVIS. Franklin Harvey was from Union, Doddridge County, WV, and descends from George Johnston5 DAVIS and William “Greenbrier Billy”4 DAVIS.

This line of the DAVIS family migrated over the years from NJ to Doddridge County, WV, to Arkansas, to Texas and to New Mexico. Our tester says that his grandmother Rosie was a Pentecostal Holiness preacher and was 26 years younger than his grandfather, Harvey DAVIS when they had their 2 daughters and their son. Before Rosie, Harvey had 4 sons and 3 daughters with his first wife, Ellen.

Third Match

Main Street, Woodhull, N Y   -courtesy Steuben Co., NY GenWeb site

The third expected match, test#268239, proves the line of Gerald Robert9 DAVIS, 1920-2004 Woodhull, NY, descendant of Isaiah Satterly6 DAVIS, born 1814.

Isaiah Satterly DAVIS was one of the four sons of Rev. David Rogers Jr.5. DAVIS. We had already tested a descendant of another of those four sons, Jesse L.6 DAVIS, resulting in the matching Russell DeForest9 line, test #166819.

Isaiah Satterly’s son, Richard, was born in Troupsburg, Steuben County, NY, as were Richard’s six sons and his grandson, Gerald Robert DAVIS. Gerald Robert DAVIS died in Woodhull, NY, 13 miles from Troupsburg.

Troupsburg, NY is on the border of NY and PA, and was named after Colonel Robert Troup, Esq, a land agent for the Pulteney Estate, a large tract of land stretching from Sodus Bay on Lake Ontario, south to the Pennsylvania border.

NON-DAVIS  SURNAME MATCHES

Two of our matches carried surnames other than Davis. These non-Davis matches were complete surprises and makes one wonder just how pervasive the Davis clan is.

First non-DAVIS match

Main St., Canandaigua, New York
-Ontario County Historical Museum

The first non-Davis match carries the surname MURRAY. The line of his father Charles Edward MURRAY, 1924-2004, leads back to Canandaigua, Ontario County, New York (28 miles south of Rochester, NY) and before that, his Scottish family, Patrick MURRAY, a shoemaker, and his wife and son, immigrated from Scotland to Canada in 1880 and then down to Rochester, NY in 1886. Our Murray tester and his sister are studying their complex Murray family tree to see where their clan might overlap the known Davis family tree, in recent times or in distant Scottish days.

Second non-DAVIS match

Peter H. BURNETT (son of William Harrington BURNET) and wife, Bethsheba AXTELL  -Photo courtesy of Burnett Baum Family Tree

 The second non-Davis surname is BURNETT. Harry Edward BURNETT, 1930-2007, the father of our BURNETT tester and his two researcher sisters, came from Brookfield, Trumbull County, Ohio and before that his ancestors came from Sussex County, New Jersey.

William BURNET, the oldest male ancestor on their line, was born in 1771 in NJ and was believed to be a HARRINGTON  who was adopted by the family of Grace BURNET, William’s mother.

The William Davis clan had left Rhode Island and lived in Shrewsbury, NJ from 1745 to 1787, so the Davises and the Burnets were in the same vicinity around the time William Harrington Burnet was born. It is not inconceivable that he might have been a DAVIS from those earliest years but such a theory is only proven by testing more men in each generation on his line.

William Burnet migrated with his wife and children and 2 uncles from NJ to Ohio in 1801. They were the quintessential settlers, clearing the land with hand tools and building a log cabin from the cleared trees. William had two wives and 11 children. One of William’s sons, born shortly after their arrival in Ohio, was the first male child born in Hubbard township.

The History of Trumbull & Mahoning Counties, Ohio said that William was 91 when he died in 1863 and there were “now living in 1882, as his descendants–4 sons, 2 daughters, 56 grandchildren and 79 great-grandchildren and sixty-two great-great-grandchildren, a total of three hundred and three persons.” That was 1882. How many descendants might there be now?

It is interesting that the Burnett tester is an exact match to two other previous Davis matches: first a match to the Benjamin West DAVIS line, who came from Caneandea, Allegany, New York, and second a match to the Henry Raymond DAVIS line who migrated from Lincklaen, NY to Breed, Wisconsin and later, Washington State. The significance of these three lines matching exactly is yet to be determined as their records do not overlap in any discernible way.

Non-matches

1. Leon Horace DAVIS 1920-1969 (Nathaniel and Benjamin DAVIS line, Warwick, Orange Co., NY, ): #B3799=R1b1a2.
This result disproves the connection, claimed by some online, between William DAVIS b 1663 and Nathaniel DAVIS or his brother, Benjamin DAVIS, b 1757, of Warwick, Orange County, NY.

Those claiming to be descended from William b 1663 via Benjamin Davis of Orange County, NY will have to consider that William Davis most probably isn’t an ancestor of Benjamin since descendants of William show Ia2 haplogroup and Benjamin’s brother, Nathaniel, shows a different haplogroup, R1b1a2. This infers that William and Nathaniel (and brother Benjamin) descend from different ancestors.  Definitive proof of this theory would require more testing of other generations of Nathaniel and Benjamin Davis’ line.

2. Billy Joseph DAVIS, 1933-2006 (William DAVIS line, NC): #259886=R1a1a

More non-matches (special thanks to Tim Davis for research and funding):

3. James Arlo DAVIS 1923-1994 (Seth DAVIS 1796-1864, s/o David DAVIS and Betsey Hammond of Long Island, NY of the Foulke DAVIS line): #268769=R1b1a2
This result disproves the claim that Seth DAVIS was a descendant of William DAVIS, b 1663, and instead connects Seth to Foulke DAVIS of Long Island, NY.

4. Elgan Allen DAVIS  (John O. DAVIS line, Wales) : #235851=haplogroup G

5. Earl DAVIS, 1912-2007 (Charles E. DAVIS line, Monmouth, NJ ): #231719=haplogroup I

6. Alburn Wesley DAVIS (Ebenezer DAVIS b 1741 line): #224681= haplogroup R1b1a2

See the Proven Lines page for the complete lines of matches and non-matches.

The Odds of Testing

Check back or subscribe to feed (top of page, on left)  for news on the latest tests from our unique cluster of Davis family members. I say unique because on the DAVIS Surname project, the other haplogroups (like R1b1a2) outnumber us (I2a) 15:1. So I2a DAVIS men are a less common haplogroup amongst the sea of R1b1a2 DAVIS men.

This is unfortunate because if you test a random DAVIS man, without some written records indicating a relation, the odds might be 15 to one he is not a match to you.

But this is fortunate because, if you do find a man who carries the DAVIS name and who tests Ia2 at 12 markers, you can be confidant that they are in the DAVIS clan. So far, that is. With many more tests, that may not prove to remain so, but for now it has.  With other surnames, a match at 12 markers often no longer matches when the 25-67 markers are tested.

If you or members of your family carry the DAVIS name and you wonder if you are a descendant of  William DAVIS b 1663, Wales, write a comment, or email me, with your line from father or grandfather to your oldest known ancestor, preferably with their birth and death dates and places, and I’ll see if I can find out more about your family and how you might be connected.

-Jan Davis Markle
jrmarkle at gmail dot com

New Match: Annanias Davis line

NEW MATCH

We have a new Davis member of the William Davis DNA Project. He is Kit #201748 on the FTDNA Davis Surname Project. He descends from Annanias Davis, born 1784, the son of Rev. Nathan Davis, Sr.

His line is Rev. William1,  John2, Rev/Capt Thomas William3, Rev. Nathan4, Annanias5, Nathan6, Marion C.7, Edward H.8, Edward H. Jr.9, living Davis10.

Annanias came from Salem, WV to Ohio and then to Sullivan County, Indiana and Annanias’ son, Nathan, continued northwest from Indiana to Welton, Clinton County, Iowa.

MATCHES

Our new match closely matches (1 step off at 67 markers) three of our other William Davis DNA Project members.

Our new member first matches Kit #145542  who descends from Annanias’ brother, William Gifford “Jersey Billy” Davis, both sons of Rev. Nathan Davis, Sr.

William Gifford “Jersey Billy” Davis  was the oldest,  born in NJ in 1762 and was 22 years older than Annanias Davis (and Annanias’ twin brother, John) who were the youngest, born in NJ in 1784. (See their lines on the far left of the  “Proven Lines” chart.)

This first match shows the same marker results at DYS 391, both of them=10, which sets them off from the rest of the group, who all have DYS 391=11. Although they match at DYS 391, their match is not exact because they differ 1 step at DYS 576, considered a “fast” changing STR (short tandem repeat) marker, more likely  to change within a genealogical time frame. Our new member shows DYS 576 =21 and our older member shows 576=22. Even with only one marker one step off, their common ancestor is still 7 generations ago.

Our new member’s other close match is Kit #151841. This member descended from Rev. David Rogers4 Davis, Sr., first cousin to Rev. Nathan 4 Davis, Sr. The one step off at 67 markers for this match is at DYS 391, our new member with 10, and our old member with 11. These two matching lines are 8 generations away from an ancestor in common.

The third match is Kit #141978, an identical match to #151841, but we don’t have any genealogical conclusions from the match because it is as yet unplaced on the Davis family tree.

One thing we can observe from these two matches is that two Davis men can match 1 step off and still not have an ancestor in common for 7 generations.  When predicting ancestry in common, this is a fact we can rely on, rather than guessing with statistical probability.

UPDATE: Our new member also matches one of our current members, Kit #152496, with a genetic distance of four steps off.   Their Davis ancestors in common are Rev. John2 Davis, b. 1692, and Elizabeth Maxson, 7 generations ago.

Four steps off is not usually close enough to comment on but this same current member’s mother’s line descends from the same ancestors in common as our newest member, just 5 generations ago: Annanias Davis, b 1784, and Rebecca Clayton.

Our current member’s line on his mother’s side is: Rev. Wm1, Rev. John2, Thomas3, Nathan4, Annanias5, William Clayton6, Thomas Clayton7, Effie Irene8 Davis, Ruth Marie Sholtz9 [who married LaVerne W.8 Davis], Living10 Davis, Kit #152496. Ruth Marie Sholtz9 and La Verne W. 8 Davis were 6th cousins, once removed.

LaVerne8 Davis’ line, Kit # 152496′s father’s line, is: Rev. Wm1, Rev. John2, John3, Thomas4, Benjamin5, William6, Henry Eugene7, LaVerne8, Living9Davis.  This is the line that is 4 steps distant from our newest member.

Unfortunately the Y DNA test only tests the male line so we cannot see how close our current and newest members are via Annanias5.

See all these lines on the proven lines chart.

DAVIS STORIES

Our new Davis member comes with stories from his Davis ancestry which he  is happy to share with us. Here is an excerpt from the Sabbath Recorder about Annanias Davis and his wife Rebecca Clayton.

The Sabbath Recorder; Feb. 19, 1852

Western Correspondence

(Letter to the editor, dated Jan. 18, 1852)

In this place, Sullivan, the county seat of Sullivan County, I have incidentally met with a number of Sabbath-keepers, adhering to the law of the Lord; and testifying to all around of the obligation of all men to remember the Sabbath of Jehovah. the head of this interesting group is Annanias Davis, a son of Nathan Davis, Once of Salem, Virginia, whose family was part of the colony that removed from Squan River, in New Jersey, to western Virginia, Sixty-one years ago (1791), at which time the subject of these remarks was nine (born abt. 1782) years of age. The family name of his wife , who is in like manner zealous for the sabbath observance, was Clayton, and she belonged to a family who were formerly connected with the same Christian Fraternity. Annanias Davis removed from Vireto, Warren Co., Ohio forty-three years ago(1809), and thirteen years ago (1839) to this place, at that time, a dense and almost unbroken forest. It being the center of the county, by vote of the inhabitants, the county seat was removed here five years ago( 1847), which has given increased value to their lands, and importance to their location. During the whole thirteen years of their residency here, they have not heard a Sabbath Keeper preach nor even seen a single person of their own faith nor read a Sabbath publication, the Bible alone excepted; and yet they have steadily kept to the “Ancient and Honorable Way”. The posterity of this worthy couple now number Sixty-five souls; their own children are five sons and four daughters, with their families, most of them observers of the Sabbath. From the I gave them, they have concluded to send for the Sabbath Recorder. Having no public gifts among them, for nine years they lived without any church privileges; but for four years past, most of them have united with the Christian Church in this place, with the express agreement, that they may keep Jehovah’s holy day, and be subject to neither censure nor discipline for pursuing their worldly business on the first day of the week, so that they do not habitually neglect public worship in the church to which they belong. Their learning is chiefly the “one-book” learning; and that they have “right smart.” Although they have no public gifts, their honest and Christian behavior has gained for them a good report of all men where they are known. They have often been assailed by the opponents of the seventh-day Sabbath, but have so successfully used the armor of righteousness as to put to silence their opposers; and a considerable portion of the community around them have learned to say, “If there is any day of rest binding by Scripture now, it is the seventh day.”  S. D.  

MIGRATION TO WELTON, IOWA

The following is a story about Annanias’ son, Nathan Davis and his wife, Nancy Doty, and also about Nathan’s son, Marion C. Davis and Marion’s son, Ed Davis, written by our new member’s living aunt:

“At the time of the civil war, Nathan and Nancy Davis came to Iowa from the Terre Haute area of Indiana, traveling with their family in a covered wagon. They homesteaded a farm near the small town of Welton, in Clinton county.

Marion Clinton married Libby Mathers and they had two sons, your grandfather, Edward Harrison and William. Edward was about 2 years older than Will. Marion and Libby separated when the boys were quite young and Ed went to live with Marion’s parents while Will was raised by Libby’s parents. They did not know each other until Ed as a young man traveled by horseback from the Welton area in eastern Iowa to Rinard which is in Northwest Iowa. Must have been quite an adventure.

In later years, Marion made his home with Ed and Emma in Lyons (which is now part of Clinton). He developed cataracts and lost his sight. In 1926 Emma passed away and, after a time, Ed and Grace were married.

In the early 1920′s, Ed was driving a team of horses on the frozen Mississippi river when the ice broke and he found himself under the horses who were kicking their legs trying to swim. Somehow he managed to get hold of the harness and pull himself up to the surface where he could grab on to the edge of the ice and pull himself out of the hole. This happened in a very isolated area so he had to walk quite a long way to a cabin where the man that lived there gave him lots of hot coffee and dry clothes, then proceeded to take him into town.

At first, they told Ed that he might lose both hands but there was a young doctor who thought that just by removing the infected tissue he could save the hands. He lost part of one of his little fingers to the middle joint and three fingers to the first joint. He was always grateful that he could still work and earn a living, although in later years he had very painful arthritis which they thought was attributed to the accident.

Ed worked for the city of Clinton and had two mules. He would plow gardens and do odd jobs with them. Edwin says the name of the mules were Jack and Speck. Ed was very attached to them.”

WILLIAM DAVIS DNA PROJECT FAMILY TREE

We are happy to add this new Davis descendant to our William Davis DNA group. See all his ancestors and their relationships, and find some connections to your own Davis line, on the new William Davis DNA Project family tree. If you are a member of the William Davis DNA Project, you can edit your own facts online. Looking forward to more Davis connections!

- Jan R. (Davis) Markle

In Memory of Henry Raymond Davis

In Memory Henry “Hank” Raymond Davis

Born 24 December 1922
Breed, Oconto County, Wisconsin

Died 10 January 2011, age 88
Kennewick, Benton County, Washington

Hank was one of those rare people whose charisma was unmistakeably larger than life. He will surely be missed by all who knew him. Hank was a great help to the William Davis DNA Project because he cheerfully agreed to do a saliva DNA test in order to prove that his Davis family line led back to Rev. William Davis, born 1663, Wales.

I had several phone conversations with Hank over the last two years during which he kept me laughing most of the time while I struggled to record his names on his family tree.

He told me many stories about how he had grown up during the depression, with his many neighboring families, in Breed, Wisconsin. He mentioned that when he was in high school he was an honor student and he made the baseball team.

He explained that during the depression Roosevelt created the C.C.C., the Civilian Conservation Corps. He said they planted trees and cleaned creeks. His father got a job filling potholes. Hank’s  first job paid $2.25 for 10 hours of filling pot holes.

Hank said he remembered once when a flock of grasshoppers came and ate everyone’s corn to the ground and another time how he walked 2 miles to get farina, sugar and salt. He told me he guessed he was poor, but he said he didn’t notice. “To me, it wasn’t bad times. You’re only poor if you’ve been rich and now have nothing.”

After high school Hank went into the army because he “didn’t want to be a farmer and didn’t want to kill animals.” Hank told how while he was in the army, the neighboring families from Breed- the Davises, the Halls, the Fugates, the Kufners, the Crosses, the Kronces, the Kellers and the Closes- all decided to go to Oregon where there were jobs in the lumber business. Cutting lumber wasn’t an easy way to make a living, though. He mentioned Lorn Hall who was killed in a saw mill accident at age 19.

Hank had many stories about his family. He told of his father, Raymond Archie Davis, and how Raymond Archie and his family “were reticent, but they loved each other.” He spoke of his mother, Laura (Hall) Davis, and how she ended up with a ranch and then she bought another one. He said that she raised cattle and flowers in Willamina, Oregon and when she died, she was in her garden.

He told of his mother’s sister, Mae, and how she had 16 children and he spoke fondly of his older sister, June, who had 3 sons: Frank, and twins, Steve and Stanley. Hank explained that June died in a fire in 1946, at age 24. He told of his younger brother, Allen, who stayed home on the farm.

Hank said he worked as a newscaster in WA and went by the name “H.R. Davis and the news.” He had many colorful stories about his wives and his children, his grandchildren and great grandchildren and his little dogs.

“It’s a fun world,” Hank said. “You can be as sad as you want or you can make people laugh.” Clearly, he preferred to make people laugh.

Hank sent me all the facts he had on his family, including some family group sheets that his cousin, Nora (Kufner) Willes from Wisconsin, had collected, and I entered them in a family tree for him. To see all of Hank’s ancestors on his family tree, including Nora’s contributions, visit the William Davis DNA Project family tree. (Please send me any corrections or additions to this tree.) See a 5-generation pedigree chart of Hank’s line below.

Hank got so enthusiastic about the ancestry project that one day he sent me all his family photos. I put them in a photo scrapbook and called it “Winter Day at Lost Creek,” taken from a photo caption his mother wrote, and gave it to him as a Christmas/birthday present in 2009. Here are a few of those photos:

Henry Raymond Davis
graduation from HS, abt 1939, abt age 17
(“first suit”)

“The gang that came out to Oregon together from Wisconsin. Left to right: Clifford Hall, mother, Arnold, Nellie, in back of Shirley, Richard, Earl, Billie, Ora, Harry”

4 generations: Raymond, Hank, Archie and Frank (June’s baby), abt 1940

Publicity shot for “cleaning up local politics”
in Pendleton, OR
from East Oregonian, May 20, 1966, abt age 44

Hank Davis with grand-daughter, abt 1987, age 65

Hank loved sports and politics

For more photos from the scrapbook, Winter Day at Lost Creek, click on the photo below.

Ancestors of Henry Raymond Davis b 1922 Wisconsin

We miss you Hank!

-Jan (Davis) Markle

5 Generation Pedigree of Henry Raymond Davis (to enlarge, click 2x )

Another William Davis

Results of Ethel Nielson’s Davis descendant test:

I1 (I-M253)

-NOT a descendant of Rev. William Davis,
born 1663, Wales, whose line tests as I2a1 (I-M26).

The results of this Davis test showed two 67-marker matches, one 3 steps off and one 7 steps off. Only 1 of these matches, the 7 step off match, carried the surname Davis. Interestedly, her closest match, 3 steps off at 67 markers, did not carry the Davis surname. There were also 3 matches, 3 steps off at 37 markers, who carried the Davis name.

Ethel is now working to see if there is any connection
between her matches and their paper family trees.

 

Another William Davis

by Jan R. Markle

If you like mysteries, here’s one for you. It involves a William Davis. “William” was a very popular name in the William Davis family.The website Descendants of Seventh Day Baptist, William Davis lists at least 55 different “William Davises.”   On the Harrison County Genealogical Society website, Sharon Bramhall even conjectures that because so many men in the Davis family were named “William Davis” and took to distinguishing themselves with nicknames like “Greenbrier Billy,” “Bottom Billy,” “Buckeye Billy,” “Flint Billy” and “Jersey Billy,” that perhaps this naming method inspired the word “hillbilly,” as in “Hill Billy!”

But when the William Davis men have no nicknames to distinguish them, they are hard to track. The mystery that we are attempting to solve today involves a William Davis, one who lived around 1740 to 1802 in Harrison County, West Virginia, and who has very few records pinpointing his existence.

Let’s see if we can figure out who is the “Rev. William Davis” referred to below in Corliss Fitz Randolf’s A History of the Seventh Day Baptists in West Virginia, published 1905. [For context, see full text online].

This William Davis can be distinguished from other William Davises by his daughter, Mary Davis, and Mary’s husband, Deacon Thomas Maxson. Thomas was the founder of  the West Fork River Seventh Day Baptist Church in 1791. Two family trees online (They Came To Milton, and Descendants of Seventh Day Baptist, William Davis) list this William Davis as the son of a Thomas Davis, and Thomas Davis as the son of a David Davis, born Wales, but cite no sources.

Did this William Davis come to West Fork River Church with the rest of immigrant Rev. William Davis’ congregation when they left Shrewsbury, New Jersey in 1789? If he preceded them, was he originally from NJ? Is this William Davis related to the original immigrant Rev. William Davis, born 1663 Wales?

Or is this William Davis from another Davis line, perhaps the line of Thomas and David Davis, unrelated to immigrant William Davis? If so, where did his line originate? Was he already in West Virginia when the congregation arrived?

These are some of the questions that Ethel Nielson has been pondering. Ethel Nielson is descended from William Joseph Davis (and Hannah Lambert), son of William Davis of the West Fork River Church. Might her questions be in part answered by a DNA test?

Ethel believes so and has recruited her uncle’s gggrandson, who carries the Davis name, to test. She is hoping that the results will confirm that her ancestor, William Joseph Davis, and his father, William Davis of West Fork River Church, are related to immigrant Rev. William Davis, born 1663 Wales. These results will be posted around mid August, so check back then to see the outcome of yet another Davis mystery.

Below are some of Ethel’s thoughts about William Davis of West Fork River Church, originally published at the Harrison County Genealogical Society web site.

Who was Pioneer William Davis?

by Ethel Nielsen
copyright 2009

Susie Davis Nicholson on page 680 of her book “Davis, The Settlers of Salem, West Virginia” says she is not able to identify the origin of Pioneer William and wife, Jane/Jean. On page 681, speaking of the New Salem Records, she says:

“On Feb. 1802, there was mention made of a Rev. William Davis of the West Fork River Church. We cannot place this man and think he might have been of the pioneer Davis family. No further mention was made of him and he may have left the church” (or died?).

In the beginning of her book, pages 3-5, she describes the Rev. William Davis of Wales who is considered the “father” of the Davis families in and around Clarksburg. The Reverend had two wives, ten children (6 were sons) and lived in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey. He was a member, at different periods of his life, of the Baptist Church, the Seventh Day Baptist Church and the Quakers. He was the first minister of the Shrewsbury Seventh Day Baptist Church of New Jersey and died six months after his appointment in 1745.

Records during the colonial period are scarce and when they are found, are inadequate and difficult to read. For example, the Shrewsbury church, organized in 1745, was without a minister between 1752 and 1774. There were scant records, only 6 pages, between 1745 and 1752 and for the next 22 years very few entries until 1774. The early churches met in homes and a clerk was not always available to record the minutes even before the churches were formally organized. The oldest church in Pennsylvania is the Pennepek Baptist Church where the Reverend William joined in 1697. He was expelled February 17, 1698/9 for heresy. His next memberships were with the Seventh Day Baptist Churches.

Perhaps the question we should be asking is: was Pioneer William a grandson of the Reverend?

Any of the six sons of the Reverend William from Wales could be the father of Pioneer William. Pioneer William made a homestead improvement on Simpson Creek in 1772 and bargained it away to Jonathan Stout. About the same time, he made another bargain that gave him his land on the West Fork. William Davis was given a Certificate, signed 20th December 1784 (the year Harrison County was formed from Monongalia County) by Patrick Henry, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, for 334 acres as Assignee of Job Stout, on the West Fork of Monongalia River including his settlement made thereon in the year 1776.

West Fork River, Clarksburg, WV

The Shrewsbury Church was in Monmouth, N.J. Both Job Stout and Jonathan Stout were descendents of the Richard Stout who settled in New Jersey about 1648 and with others purchased a large section of east New Jersey, called Monmouth. Richard was considered the largest landed proprietor, and served as overseer of the district of Middletown.

Pioneer William had a daughter Ann who married John Kelley in Harrison County in 1786; the Kelley family was from New Jersey. Pioneer William also had a daughter Mary who married Thomas Maxson in 1791; Thomas Maxson’s family were active members of the Shrewsbury Church and he was baptized in 1778 before the congregation migrated to Harrison County.

The Simpson Creek Baptist Church was the first church in the Western Territory. In 1777, the Simpson Church joined the Redstone Association and sent Pioneer William as their messenger. He represented the church again in 1788 according to minutes of the Redstone Association as well as minutes of Simpson Creek. The minutes of Simpson Creek also mention Pioneer William and/or his family during the years 1786, 87, 91, 92, 93, and in 94 his family was dismissed to attend the New Salem church but his membership was never acknowledged in New Salem minutes. Did the recorder of the minutes mean to say the West Fork River Church since both churches were Seventh Day Baptist Churches?

Pioneer William’s daughter Mary married Thomas Maxson in 1791 and he started the West Fork River Church in 1793 with 5 members. The minutes of the West Fork River Church have long ago disappeared. The Corliss Fitz Randolph Book: Seventh Day Baptists in West Virginia (page 138-143) quotes a letter by Thomas Maxson. He talks about the rapid decline of the church following the rejection of the West Fork River to attend a General Conference in 1808, and he gives a partial list of members, one of which is Elder William Davis.

There appears to be a strong connection between the Reverend William and Pioneer William. The Reverend was a minister in New Jersey; the Kelly & Stout families were from New Jersey; the Maxson family was from New Jersey. All were active in the Baptist Church and the Seventh Day Baptist Church records are missing or non-existing. The Reverend had six sons; any one of the six could be the father of Pioneer William making him the grandson.

 

One Mystery Solved?

CALEB H.DAVIS MYSTERY SOLVED?
by Jan R. (Davis) Markle

The results for the latest test of a descendant of Caleb H. Davis have come in and he tests R1b1b2, NOT I2a. William Davis’ haplogroup is I2a so our tester is probably from the Robert Davis and Susannah Hart line but most certainly is not descended from William Davis, born 1663, Wales.

Thanks to Matt Davis for his  contribution to this search. There are now 7 members of the Caleb Davis 1746 Delaware R1b1b2 group.  See the Davis Surname Project site for a listing of those members.

See Tim Davis’ thoughts on this non-match below.

And where will our next Davis search take us? Seems like it might be anywhere since the Davis family seems to be everywhere! Would love to hear from you if your last name is Davis and you have any kind of mystery in your family history that you’re hoping to solve.

If you have any reason to think you are a descendant of William Davis, born 1663 Wales, we would most love to hear from you.  It’s great fun to connect to Davis cousins, so drop us a note. Your Davis line could be our next fascinating search!

Another Mystery – Partly Resolved!
by Timothy W. Davis

“Or, will DLMD be a member of a different Davis family?” That IS the answer.

DLMD’s Y-DNA results show that he is not a member of our William Davis family, but another Davis group.

The advantages of doing the Y-DNA testing for potential family members is that if they are not part of our family, they may contribute a new branch, as in DLMD’s case, to another growing Davis family.

Unfortunately for us, this means that we do not have descendants from any “Branch 2” (from William Davis and Elizabeth Pavior) sons, other than James. Nevertheless, we will continue the search.

We encourage all Davis males, and their female relatives who might be the genealogists, who visit this site to order a Y-DNA Marker testing kit through the Davis Surname Project, either 12 , 25 , 37 or 67 Markers, to see where you connect on the Davis family tree.

Caleb H. Davis- Another Mystery?

Another Mystery?

by Timothy W. Davis

Recently, owners of several Ancestry.com family trees have listed a “Caleb H. Davis” (1746-1820) as a son of Thomas “William”2 Davis, son of William1 Davis, our immigrant ancestor, and his second wife, Elizabeth Pavior.

However, both Susie Davis Nicholson in her book “Davis, The Settlers of Salem, West Virginia”, and G. Maria Davis Johnson on her website “Davis and Allied Families”, list only Thomas, Jr., Lydia and Joseph as the children of Thomas “William” Davis. The Ancestry.com trees listing Caleb as Thomas “William” and Bethiah’s son are without sources, except for one. The one source, with attached record, is a West Virginia Estate Settlement, dated 1823. Caleb died in West Virginia on 12 Mar 1820, consistent with this record.

Interestingly, what we know about Caleb is that he was born in 1746 in Cedar Hundred, Sussex, Delaware. Thomas “William” and Bethia Maxson’s  other children, Thomas Jr., and Joseph, born before Caleb in 1738 and 1740 respectively, and Lydia, born after Caleb in 1749, were all born in Rhode Island. Does this mean Caleb is from a different family? Is it possible that Caleb was born in Delaware while his siblings were born in Rhode Island?

In 1746, the year of Caleb’s birth, Thomas and Bethia apparently traveled to Pennsylvania to live with Thomas’ brother, Joseph. It is possible that they traveled by boat and, while in route, stopped at Sussex, near Lewes, Delaware and Caleb was born there. It is not “inconceivable” that Caleb, who was born in Delaware, could be their son.

And what if Caleb H. Davis was the son of Thomas “William” Davis and Bethia Maxson? If so, we will have traced the first line of a son, other than James, of William Davis and his second wife, Elizabeth Pavior, to a living male descendant. See chart below to follow Caleb’s line. (Click on chart to enlarge.)

Also, if so, we should be able to determine if it is James or his half-brother, Rev. John Davis (son of William Davis with his first wife, Elizabeth Brisley), who has the mutation that distinguishes their lines at DYS YCA IIb.  So far, all of the Y-DNA participant descendants from John have 20 alleles at DYS YCA IIb, whereas all descendants from James have 22 alleles at DYS YCA IIb.

There has been no record found yet that makes reference to Caleb as a son of Thomas “William” Davis and Bethia Maxson.

Nevertheless, we will find out if Caleb H. could be the son of Thomas “William.” DLMD, who is a descendant of Caleb and Caleb’s  wife, Leah Basnett, has agreed to participate in our William Davis DNA Project. His Kit #176019 (Y-DNA67) results should be arriving about May 7, 2010.

Will DLMD match us and add a previously unknown branch to our William Davis family tree? Will his YCA IIb alleles be 20 (John)? or 22 (James)? Or,  a completely different number?

Or, adding more mystery, will DLMD be a member of a different Davis family tree?

A Swab in the Dark

Davis Coat of Arms, courtesy irishsurnames.com

The Search for Davises through Y-DNA. Family, or not?

by Timothy W. Davis

In the Fall of 2009, we discovered four potential cousins, each with an intriguing possibility.

1. DDJ traced his oldest known ancestor to William Davis, b. 1617 in Wales. Where he was born in Wales is unknown; however he immigrated to the Roxbury area of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in about 1635. Could he be a cousin of our William Davis, the immigrant, born about 1663 in Llanstephan, Radnor (Powys), Wales? Our paper-trail does not extend beyond our immigrant’s father, also a William, born in about 1640. Do we have a common ancestor and finally are able to find our family further back in history? The Y-DNA results will tell us, if DDJ agrees to participate in our project.

2. DSM has a paper-trail to his oldest known ancestor Henry Davis, b. 1759 in New Jersey. We, on the other hand, have a descendant from our William Davis, the immigrant, through William’s son, Rev. John F. Davis, to his grandson Henry Davis, born about 1759 in Shrewsbury, Monmouth, New Jersey…but there our Henry’s line stops. Could the two Henry’s be the same individual? Would a matching Y-DNA indicate that DSM has provided us with the extension of our Henry Davis’s line?

3. DRLJ’s oldest known ancestor was Thomas Davis, born 1702 in Wales…or New Jersey. Could Thomas be an unknown son of William Davis and his first spouse Elizabeth Brisley/Brinley? They were known to be living in the Chester, PA area, very close to New Jersey, or could he be another “William Davis” family line from Wales? The Y-DNA will tell us if DRLJ is family.

4. DPD has a paper-trail to a Robert Davis, born 1591 in Dorchester, Dorsetshire, England, his oldest known relative. It is very possible that Robert Davis could have immigrated to Wales and fathered William Davis, b. 1617 (see DDJ above), or another son, producing our family “patriarch” William Davis, b. 1640 in Wales. The Y-DNA results will tell us if DPD is a member of our family.

Fortunately, each of the individuals agreed to participate in our family project and had a natural, male descendant in their line be Y-DNA tested. Being a “natural” male descendant means that to the individual’s knowledge, he is a direct descendant from the ancestor, without his lineage being the result of adoption or from a father outside the family.

The Results in reverse order

4. DPD agreed to the Y-DNA67-marker test and discovered that his haplogroup is R1b1b2, an extremely common haplogroup for Davises. However, he found one exact match and another match which was 6 markers off at 37 DYS markers in the Davis Surname Project database.

3. DRLJ also agreed to the Y-DNA67-marker test and also was haplogroup R1b1b2. However, he had no close matches, including DPD.

2. DSM took six months of agonizing thought (and emotion) before agreeing to test. Curiosity finally pushed them (brother and sister) to take the plunge and do the Y-DNA67-marker test. Their (his) results have opened a new world for them. His result was haplogroup I1, almost as rare a haplogroup for Davises as our I2a. They found several matches that have extended their known family into England. Our Henry Davis, born about 1759, however, remains without known descendants.

1. DDJ was our final chance for a match, and in many ways, was the most intriguing possibility: William Davis, born 1617 in Wales…cousin, uncle, or bust? DDJ is a descendant from William with his first spouse through their son John. Additionally, we found, through research and extending a line to the present, a cousin of DDJ who descended from John’s brother Joseph. If we have a match, we open our family to a more distant ancestor in Wales, we identify a new branch of the family and welcome two new living cousins to our group.

Answer: haplogroup R1b1b2a1b. But, although disappointed that we did not have a match, DDJ had his own match, and added a branch to another major Davis family: Foulke Davis, born about 1610 in Wales. DDJ had three exact matches at 67 markers within this family of about 10 participants, all three of whom have different branches which do not have an identified common ancestor in the paper-trail.

However, through Y-DNA we know they are all part of the same family. The knowledge of their match means they can use the paper-trail and other written information from the various branches of the family to research the historical record to find missing ancestors.

And our tale is not done. As we identify potential, or paper-trail, cousins who agree to test, we will be meeting cousins and extending the known members of our family.

Current Searches

DAW, a paper-trail cousin, descendant from Joseph, son of Rev. John F. Davis (son of William Davis with first spouse, Elizabeth Brisley) has agreed to the Y-DNA67-marker test. We do not have a descendant from Joseph in our test group, so DAW’s results will give us a first look at the common markers and mutations (differences from the common markers in the family) on this line. Results for the first 12 markers should be completed by April 2 and all of the 67-marker results by the end of April 2010.

Hopefully, by late March 2010, we will have extended the line from Thomas “William” Davis, son of William Davis with his second spouse, Elizabeth Pavior, to living cousins. If successful, this will be the first time a son, other than James, of William Davis with his second spouse, Elizabeth Pavior, will have been extended to living descendants.

The living cousins who agree to do the Y-DNA67-marker test will be breaking new ground for us. Not only will they give us our first look at a new line, but they will answer (hopefully) the question of which brother, Rev. John F. Davis (from William and Elizabeth Brisley) or James (from William with Elizabeth Pavior) has specific mutations.

Strangely, because William’s spouses should not have an influence on a Y-DNA Marker number, all of the descendants from Rev. John F. Davis have the number 22 at DYS Marker YCA IIb, and all of the descendants from James have number 20 at DYS marker YCA IIb.

Since Rev. John F. Davis is the only brother who survived to adulthood from William and Elizabeth Brisley, the only way we will be able to determine who originated that mutation is through one of the five sons from William and Elizabeth Pavior: Thomas “William” Davis (1712-1786), Edward Davis (1716-1794), William Davis III (1724-1795), Joseph Davis (1728-1797), or James (1720-1777).

As of this writing, the only branch we have extended to living cousins is James. Will our new found cousin(s), descendants from Thomas “William” Davis, match the DYS YCA IIb marker from John or James? The Y-DNA67-marker results will tell.

See chart: “New Lines To Prove and Non-matching Lines, ” on Proven Lines page. The four lines referred to above are listed on the chart by their oldest ancestors: Thomas b 1702, Henry b 1759, Robert b 1591 and William b 1617.

Posted March 12, 2010

New Match!

11 February 2010

Hi all Davis aficionados.

We have gotten the results of our latest Davis tester and he, as we suspected, is one of us!

As of February 2010, we are now 13 members, all of us cousins. All of our DNA tests match closely over 67 markers!

Our new member’s line is:
William1 (and Eliz Brisley)> Rev John2>  John3> Rev David Rogers4> David Rogers Jr.5> Jesse L.6> Jesse7>  George A.8> Russell DeForest9> Living10> Living11. See Lineage chart below. (To enlarge, click image twice.)

Jesse L.6 Davis was from NY and his son, Jesse7, moved to PA. Jesse7′s son, George A.8, moved from PA to Michigan. George’s son, Russell DeForest9, moved from Michigan to Indiana in abt 1927 and had a son and a daughter. We are grateful that his descendants, his son, kit #166819, and his grand-daughter, who is the genealogist, agreed to take part in our project.

Proven Lines Lineage Chart, February, 2010

Our new tester matches 3 of our present members to 2 steps off, 5 of our members 3 steps off, three of our members 4 steps off and one member 5 steps off. See chart of just DYS Differences below. (To enlarge, click on image twice.)

Since the rest of the 67 markers all match exactly, we have left them out of the chart of DYS Differences. DYS numbers in red, top row of table, means they are fast-changers, more likely to mutate than the slow-changers.

Results highlighted in yellow means that particular result appears to be an anomaly, unique to that tester. Highlighting the results in red or blue was our old method of differentiating our members. It just so happened that “B-1,” or Branch 1 men who descended from William1/Elizabeth Brisley, had matching results, so they were shaded red. And “B-2″, Branch 2 men who descended from William1/Elizabeth Pavior, matched each other, so they were shaded blue.

Our most recent match, kit #166819, who is from the “B-1″ branch, shows one result from B-1 (“red”) but also one result from the B-2 group (“blue”), so there goes that method of distinguishing who is on which branch!

DYS Differences

George Davis, wife Florence Ives, son Glen and 3 daughters, abt 1911
Courtesy of “Many Branches” Family Tree

For more photos, see our Ancestor Photos page.

Davis DNA 2010

10 January 2010

What have we been doing, besides growing our gardens, since Spring, 2009?

You could say we’ve been planting seeds and cultivating our William Davis DNA Project and it has been growing. We now have 13 matching members and have had 4 non-matches.

With a larger group, we’ve been inventing ways to manage it. Here’s what we’ve been doing:

1. We’ve been working on this site so it can represent us to other Davis cousins who might be searching for us and share our results with the larger genealogy community. As we come across resources particularly helpful for Davis research, we hope to share them with other Davis searchers.

2. We’ve created a companion PHP website, William Davis DNA Project Family Tree,  that is home to the entire Davis family tree. It is available to the public and eventually, when we get the forum function working, we hope that it will serve as a focal point where Davis researchers can collaborate and discuss their cases.

3. We’ve created a William Davis DNA Fund whose purpose is to cover the cost of the DNA test for those who are unable to do so.

4. We’ve been making visual charts of the Davis lines to use as tools for study and analysis.  (See them on the Proven Lines page.) As the group enlarges and our areas of matching become more complex, we need ways to think about the relationships and conclusions beyond just listing Dys numbers.

5. We’ve been collecting ancestor photos and have showcased them in an Ancestors Photos Gallery on this site. In response to my request for photos, one tester, #151841, son of Raymond Davis, sent all his photos to me.  I put them in a scrapbook for him as a present for his 87th birthday, this past Dec. 24.

6. Research on our testers’ and other possible Davis lines is ongoing. We track them back to their oldest ancestor in common and then we track them forward to their living descendants. This is no small job and gratitude must go out to Timothy White Davis, of Maryland, for his time searching, entering the data and contacting potential Davis cousins as well as his generous contributions to the new William Davis DNA Fund for testers. Also thanks to J.D.M. for her contributions using her expert Google search methods, finding facts no one else ever finds.

Latest Results

Where we last left off, in May 2009, we had just had #151841, son of Raymond Davis, test and we were wondering how closely he was going to match us. Just before, #141978, son of Harold Davis had turned up as an “out of the blue” match, placing on the B-1 section of the tree. Son of Harold’s daughter said that her oldest ancestor was a “Benjamin West” Davis, who died in Hume, NY in 1863 but they had never been able to find Benjamin West’s parents for sure.

Son of Raymond Davis (back row), his father, Raymond Archie Davis, nephew Little Frank Davis and grandfather, Archie Raymond Davis
abt 1939

We were also waiting for results from our other tester, # 152496, son of La Verne Davis, who was descended from the Benjamin5, son of Thomas William4 Davis and Polly West, “with three wives and the 22 children, all sons…” (a bit of an exaggeration, we hope). We expected that he would match our out-of-the-blue match, son of Harold Davis, since they both had the middle name “West” in their lines.  It would make nice sense if Benjamin’s  middle name “West” came from Polly Davis’ maiden name.

Son of La Verne Davis, standing, and brothers

Well, surprise! It was son of Raymond Davis who matched exactly son of Harold Davis, not son of La Verne Davis.  Son of La Verne Davis was 3 steps away from their exact match.

(See the charts on the Proven Lines page, chart B-1, to follow these lines visually and check the Davis Surname Project for the full DNA sequence of our members.)

Does this imply that son of Harold Davis’ ancestor,  “Benjamin West,” might be a Benjamin who is closer to son of Raymond’s line and not the one on son of La Verne’s line? Because both son of La Verne’s and son of Harold’s  ancestors have a Benjamin and a West, it is so easy to assume they’re on the same line. The search goes on to place Benjamin West Davis on the tree.

Wedding of Harold Allen Davis and Izola McEntarfer
June 23, 1920, Union City, PA

Current testers

And we currently have another new tester, #166819, son of Russell Davis, who stems from Russell DeForest9, George A.8, Jesse7, Jesse L.6, David Rogers Jr5, and David Rogers, Sr4, which would be on our B-1 group.  Rev. Davis Rogers4 Davis, was one of the four sons of John Jr.3 Davis  who were born in RI and who moved to NY. (Two other sons moved to CT.) More on Russell DeForest9′s line soon.

Waiting, waiting on his results.

George Davis, Florence Ives, children Glen, Gladys, Erma, Dorothy
South Branch, MI abt 1911

In the last few months, we also have had 4 other testers, long-shot Davises, all who ended up not matching. (See the “New Lines to Prove and Non-matching Lines” chart on the Proven Lines page.)

We thought their James was our James, their William our William, their Henry our Henry, their Thomas, our Thomas. But alas, all four were non-matches. Three were different haplogroups entirely, (they were the prevalent R1b1b group) and one was Ia but not our I2a. We did learn a lot about the other lines, though, and helped their research move forward. And of course, even though we’re not cousins, we’re still friends.

We’ve also had at least 5 decliners or nonresponders.  Decliners are living Davis men who we have tracked down and determined to be on our tree but for some reason, which we always respect, they decline to test. They, too, are still our friends as we stay in contact and continue to share our research with them.

Tombstone of Julia Apse, wife of Jesse Davis, died Feb. 13, 1875? age 63?
Bonnell Cemetery, Waterford, Erie, Pennsylvania