DNA "Family 10" at www.davidsongenes.org
DNA testing on several living Davidson men, combined with “conventional research,” has shown that the Hezekiah Davidson who married Tabitha Childers was very closely related to the Edward, David and William Davidson who were in the Goochland/Cumberland Co., VA area in the 1740s and 1750s and then in the Albemarle/Buckingham Co., VA area in the late-1750s and 1760s. Per a lot of research, all of these men obviously “trace back” to the David (married to a Sarah) and/or William Davidson who both died in James City Co., VA about 1687. That early David Davidson had a son who was also named David, and that “second” David Davidson died in Charles City Co., VA around 1756. It is very possible that Hezekiah, Edward, David and William (plus a Stephen Davidson, a Solomon Davidson and a Philemon Davidson who were also in Charles City Co., VA in the mid-1700s) were all sons….or grandsons in some cases….of that “second” David Davidson and his unknown wife.
Generation 1
Hezekiah Davidson-Born circa-1720; died 1793 in Cumberland Co., VA. Hezekiah was involved with land deeds and other court records in Albemarle County, VA as early as 1745 (he was shown as “Ezekiah” on some documents) and in Cumberland County, VA in 1760s-1793. Hezekiah married Tabitha Childers. Tabitha was born early-1700s and died before 1793. The date of their marriage is not known. The surname was also spelled “Childress” and/or “Childres” in some “branches” of the family over the years. Tabitha was a daughter of Abraham Childers and Elizabeth Cannon.
Hezekiah Davidson was mentioned on a deed between Drury Tucker and Abraham Childers on 3 Mar 1745 in Albemarle County, VA. Mathew Tucker, the brother of Drury Tucker, married Lucretia Childers, a sister of Hezekiah Davidson’s wife Tabitha Childers.
Hezekiah Davidson bought land in Cumberland Co., VA on 28 Jul 1760 from Samuel Taylor and his wife Sophia/Sapphina Childers. Sophia was the sister of Hezekiah’s wife Tabitha Childers, and the sister of Mathew Tucker’s wife, Lucretia Childers. Samuel and Sophia (Childers) Taylor were the ancestors of the first Creed Taylor who was Chancellor of VA and who owned and ran Needham Law School in Cumberland Co., VA (one of the first four or five law schools in America).
Hezekiah Davidson was appointed constable on 24 Jun 1771 in precinct whereof Simon Rowland was late constable (Cumberland County, VA).
Hezekiah Davidson was appointed on 23 Nov 1772 to be a surveyor of road from Buckingham Co. line to William Corser bridge with the usual gang [CUMB OB].
Children of Hezekiah Davidson and Tabitha Childers:
2 i Mary Davidson
3 ii Tabitha Davidson
4 iii Philemon Davidson
Generation 2
2 Mary Davidson (Hezekiah)-Born circa-1750s; died?; married John Sandridge in 1775-1778. John Sandridge was a son of James Sandridge and Judith Locke/Leake of Goochland Co., VA. Possible children of John and Mary (Davidson) Sandridge included Beverly J. Sandridge and John E. Sandridge (married his apparent relative Mary “Polly” Davidson, as shown below) of Cumberland Co., VA.
3 Tabitha Davidson (Hezekiah)-Born circa-1750s; died before 1809; married Gabriel Bradstreet Peaseley, Senior. Note: Gabriel married second to Judith Davidson, who was a niece of Tabitha Davidson, as shown below. Tabitha and Gabriel had children named William Peaseley, Nancy Linton Peaseley and Lucy Peaseley. Lucy Peaseley married Tabitha Davidson’s nephew Reuben F. Davidson, as shown below.
4 Philemon Davidson (Hezekiah)-Born circa-1750s; died about 1810 in Cumberland Co., VA; married Mary Unknown (though some clues suggest that she may have been a Miss Boatwright) who died about 1826 in Cumberland Co., VA. Philemon Davidson served at Valley Forge under Lafayette, and one of his female descendants is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), as a result.
Children of Philemon Davidson and Mary Unknown:
5 i Reuben F. Davidson
6 ii Joseph Davidson
7 iii Kiturra Davidson
8 iv Mary “Polly” Davidson
9 v Nancy Davidson
10 vi Judith Davidson
Generation 3
5 Reuben F. Davidson (Philemon, Hezekiah)-Born circa-1790; died about 1846; married Lucy Peaseley, who was a daughter of Reuben’s aunt Tabitha Davidson (see above) and Gabriel Bradstreet Peaseley, Senior.
Children of Reuben F. Davidson and Lucy Peaseley:
i Andrew Jackson Davidson-Married Selender Frances Garrett, daughter of John D. Garrett. They seem to have “disappeared.”
ii William H. Davidson-Married Malissa Ann Jane Childress on 11 Jun 1851 in Goochland Co., VA. They do not APPEAR to have had any children.
11 iii Joseph Cornelius Davidson
iv Minerva Ann Davidson-Born 19 Feb 1827; died 25 Nov 1892; married John H. (W?) Hunt.
v Reuben Poindexter “Decker” Davidson-Born about 1830; died before 1880; married first to Maria C. Unknown and second to Mary Frances Agee (daughter of Edward H. “Ned” Agee and Parthenia Ann Agee….Mary Frances Agee had been married previously to a Mr. Garrett).
vi Martha Katurra Davidson-Born about 1832; died?; married Robert F. Crump
vii Thomas Davidson-Born about 1836; died? Thomas was apparently living with a Steger family in Powhatan Co., VA in 1860, per the census.
6 Joseph Davidson (Philemon, Hezekiah)-Born circa-1790s; died after 1850 in Campbell Co., VA; married Anna Smith in 1816, and they moved to Campbell Co., VA by the 1830 census.
7 Kiturra Davidson (Philemon, Hezekiah)-Born circa-1790s; died about 1816 in Cumberland Co., VA. Kiturra apparently never married.
8 Mary “Polly” Davidson (Philemon, Hezekiah)-Born circa-1790s; died?; married her apparent relative John E. Sandridge (see above) in Cumberland Co., VA in 1811.
9 Nancy Davidson (Philemon, Hezekiah)-Born circa-1790s; died?; married Thomas Taylor in Cumberland or Buckingham Co., VA on 6 Nov 1810. Their children included a Missouri Taylor and a Creed Taylor (not to be confused with the earlier/older Creed Taylor who ran Needham Law School in Cumberland Co., VA).
10 Judith Davidson (Philemon, Hezekiah)-Born circa-1790s; died?; married, as his second wife on 14 Jul 1809, Gabriel Bradstreet Peaseley, Senior (Gabriel’s first wife Tabitha Davidson (Judith’s aunt….see above) had apparently died). The children of Judith and Gabriel were Mary “Polly” Peaseley (married James A. Thomas) and Gabriel Bradstreet Peaseley, Junior (married Caroline Sanderson).
Generation 4
11 Joseph Cornelius Davidson (Reuben F., Philemon, Hezekiah)-Born 17 Jun 1824 in Cumberland Co., VA; died 3 Feb 1891 in Manchester/Chesterfield Co., VA; buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA; married Vitula Monroe Sandridge on 13 Aug 1846 in Cumberland Co., VA. Vitula was a daughter of Zachariah Archibald Sandridge and Susan M. Birch/Burch
Children of Joseph Cornelius Davidson and Vitula Monroe Sandridge:
i Eli Banton Davidson-Born 12 Dec 1847 in Cumberland Co., VA; died 23 Aug 1930 in Buckingham Co., VA; buried in Buckingham Baptist Church on Route 15; married first to Lucy Alice Nuchols (daughter of Charles James Nuchols and Sarah Frances Jones) and second to Maria Louise Norvell (daughter of John Guerrant Norvell and Jane Lee Snoddy). The descendants of Eli Banton Davidson owned over 5,000 acres in Buckingham Co., VA, including the well-known Davidson Orchard on Route 15.
ii Thomas Archer Davidson “I”-Born 15 Feb 1850 in Cumberland Co., VA; died 15 Jul 1924 in Manchester/Chesterfield Co., VA; buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA; married Ada Wilson Lee on 9 Jul 1878.
Iii Sarah “Sally” Virginia Davidson-Born 13 Jan 1855; died 28 Nov 1930; buried in Maury Cemetery in Richmond, VA; married Thomas Henry Norvell on 29 Mar 1870 in Buckingham Co., VA.
Written by Bill Davidson