New Davis Match

New Y-Match

New Member’s ancestor: Stanton Hoffman Davis, Sr., Alfred U. yearbook, 1917

We have a new match on our Davis Y-line, thanks to Tim Davis, of Maryland, who donated his sleuthing hours and funding of the test.

This new member of our William Davis DNA Project is a young man who lives in San Diego, whose father was born in Michigan and whose grandfather was Stanton Hoffman Davis, born 1925 in Plainfield, New Jersey.

Our new member’s great-grandfather was also named Stanton Hoffman Davis, but he was Dr. Stanton Hoffman Davis. This senior Stanton Hoffman Davis was born in 1894 in Alfred, New York and attended Alfred University. See his yearbook entry above.

Stanton Hoffman Davis Sr. later went to Yale Medical school and became an Obstetrician. Stanton Hoffman Davis, Sr. died in 1980 in Texas.

Alfred University, College founded by the Seventh Day Baptists

Stanton Hoffman Davis Sr.’s father was Rev. Boothe Colwell Davis, born in 1863 in WV and died in 1942 in VA.
Rev. Boothe Colwell Davis might be a name you recognize. He was the President of Alfred University from 1895 to 1933. Alfred University is a non-sectarian college founded by the Seventh Day Baptists in 1836 in Alfred, New York.

Davis Memorial Carillon, built in 1937 for Rev. Boothe Colwell Davis
A carillon is a musical instrument consisting of at least 23 cast bronze cup-shaped bells which have been precisely tuned so that many bells can be sounded together to produce a harmonious effect. -https://www.alfred.edu/map/carillon.cfm

Our new member’s Davis line descends from William1 Davis and Elizabeth Pavior via their son James2, still the only child of William and Elizabeth whose living descendants we have been able to locate and test.

Starting at the top of the tree, the line goes from James2 (and Judith Maxson) to Jacob3 (who lived in New Jersey with wife Mary S. Davis), then to Jacob4 (who married first, Prudence Maxson and secondly, Sarah Hoffman).

Jacob4’s son was Samuel5 Davis who was born in WV (married Elizabeth Fitz-Randolph). And Samuel5’s son was Rev. Boothe Colwell Davis.

Rev. Boothe Colwell Davis,  1863 WV-1942 VA, photo abt 1933

So these Davis ancestors were part of the Davis group who left New Jersey in 1789 and traveled through PA on their way to settle their new town of Salem, VA (now WV). And, after living in WV and attending Alfred U. in NY, Dr. Stanton Hoffman Davis moved back to NJ again. Back to where his Davis ancestors lived for 45 years.

The entire 10 generations in chronological order
William1 Davis and Eliz Pavior (RI, NJ)
James2 Davis (NJ) and Judith Maxson (NJ, WV)
Rev. Jacob3 Davis, Sr. and Mary S. Davis (NJ, WV)
Rev. Jacob4 Davis and Sarah Hoffman (NJ, WV)
Rev. Samuel5 Davis and Elizabeth Fitz-Randolph (WV)
Rev. Boothe Colwell6 Davis and Estelle Winchester Hoffman (WV, NY)
Dr. Stanton Hoffman7 Davis, Sr. (NY, NJ, TX)
Stanton Hoffman8 Davis, Jr. (NJ, TX)
New member’s father9 Davis (Michigan)
New Member 10 Davis (San Diego, CA)

Picturesque Steinheim Castle on Alfred U. campus,
built by Ida Kenyon, completed by Jonathan Allen, 1875-76

So, welcome new member! You come from a distinguished line, amongst many distinguished Davis family lines!

See our new member’s Y-test results, compared to results of our 27 current Davis members, at FTDNA’s Davis DNA Project site.  Our Davis subproject is “Davis, William, K87577.” Scroll down to the dark maroon banner.

Wonder if you’re a DAVIS?

If you are wondering if you, too, might be part of the extended Davis family, there are two tests you can take. To positively prove the Davis surname line, the Y-test, only for males, is essential. It is indicated by the blue line in the graphic above that represents our haplogroup, I-L160, or I2a1b in old vernacular.

But to discover if you are a dna cousin to proven Davis family members on more than just the Y-line, you can do so with the autosomal test, which both men AND women can take. The autosomal test will find matches to Davis family descendants on all your ancestral lines, not just your paternal surname line.

In the graphic above, potential matches are ALL the people, both males and females, on all lines. Autosomal tests are offered by the major companies FTDNA, AncestryDNA and 23andMe. Chromosome segment information withheld on Ancestry tests can be revealed by transferring results to FTDNA or Gedmatch.com.

If you’re considering testing, I urge you to do so. It’s a lot of fun! Since we have many Davis descendants proven by Y-tests, you can see if you match any of them autosomally. This doesn’t positively prove a Davis relationship, but it is a good step towards that conclusion.

Looking forward to finding where our Davis family will turn up next.