Comments regarding RW Daniel Davi

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Click here to see information on the father of the below listed Daniel Davidson who was named James Davidson "I"

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Comments regarding R.W. Daniel Davi(d)son, wife Sarah, possible other wives, and his children as they relate to the “Descendants of Daniel Davidson and Sally White” as shown in the Kentucky collection of records on the Davidson-Davison Family Resource Website. 

Submitted and revised by Sue Elfving


This Daniel Davi(d)son belongs to Family 13 found in the FTDNA Davidson DNA Study. The surname was primarily spelled Davison in early Virginia records but evolved into Davidson as the family moved west. 

The revision contains important new information from descendant Betty Hicks about the source of the published family tradition that Sarah’s maiden name was White. Locating the source of information is critical in family history research. Without an explanation of the source, it is impossible to evaluate the reliability. 

These comments address some specific errors relative to his children and provide additional information and clarification about the identity of his wife Sarah and a discussion about the possibility of other wives and various claims as to their identity.

Re: Death of Daniel Davidson

It is not known when RW Daniel Davidson died. The last record located for him was an 1823 Perry Co., Ky., court record wherein he was exempted from paying the public levy. He drops off the Perry Co. tax list as would be expected having been exempted. His son Robert is then shown with Daniel’s 30 acres of land, the same that Daniel devised to his two youngest sons White and Robert in a nuncupative will documented by an 1834 conveyance that is discussed below and that may have been first proven in 1832. 

Re: The wives of Rev War Soldier Daniel Davi(d)son.

There is considerable internet speculation about the wives of Daniel Davidson. Besides Sarah White, at least two other women are shown on various internet postings (including Ancestry.com) as having been married to this Daniel Davidson. No records have been located to document multiple wives although there are indications he was married more than once and that Sarah was the second wife. An article published in 1934 in Dallas County, Iowa, states Sarah White was the name of his wife and they migrated to Kentucky with sons James, White, and Silas. There appears to have been about thirty years between Daniel’s first reported child Mary (1774) and his last child Robert (1804), and there is about a five (5) year gap between his third known child Samuel, born 1779/80, and the fourth child James, born 1 March 1784 [or 5]. Only documentation for a wife named Sarah exists in public records. Russell Co., Virginia, court records show Daniel and Sarah as being married by 1792; however, it appears they were married by 1784/5 at the latest.

Re: Sarah White, wife of Daniel Davi(d)son

We are forever grateful to Betty Hicks (descendant of Daniel’s son Silas Davidson) who obtained a transcript of an important newspaper article about the Davidson family. This article states that Daniel was married to Sarah White, an Irish lass, and that James, White, and Silas were their sons. Since the article was published as early as 1934, it is likely that it reflects what the family knew about her as opposed to assumptions or conclusions or undocumented family histories. No other wives or children were mentioned. The author, Vera Mae Ivers, descends from Daniel’s fourth child, James Davidson and wife Mary Morris who migrated from Perry Co., Ky., to Hendricks Co., In.

The following is an excerpt from the article titled "Genealogy of the Davidson Clan" by Vera Mae Ivers, "Records of Pioneers of Dallas County, Iowa 1847-1934," Dallas County News, September 26, 1934, p. 2. 

"But for the foresight and love of a religious freedom of ancestors of mine, I might be living in England today. In 1620 the Davidson s came to this country seeking a new life and a new world to them, always lovers of home they were seeking a better land to build their homes in. They settled in Virginia, from there on their lives reads like a chapter from Genesis, of no interest but to those genealogically inclined. About 1752 [or 1757 - hard to read] a survey was made of Kentucky and the descriptions of the blue grass regions followed by reports made by Daniel Boone in 1767 started a huge migration of people from Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina, among those going from Virginia was Daniel Davidson from his wife, a lovely Irish lass, Sally White. When Daniel Davidson took his wife and children through the Cumberland Gap, over perilous roads to an unknown country, the Davidson line was on it's way to meet the Morris line. In this family was three sons, James, White, and Silas. James, (my great great grandfather) was born March 1st 1784 and married Mary (Polly) Morris who was born Dec. 6, 1789. They were the parents of 12 children. Daniel married Jennie Thomas in Kentucky; William (my great grandfather) married Rhoda Ashcraft in Kentucky; Rachel married Judge Samuel Baker in Kentucky; Elizabeth married Eden Bales in Indiana; Ester married Joseph Keeney in Kentucky; Lucendy married Alford Kendall in Kentucky; Samuel married Rene Parsons in Kentucky; Emley married Reason Kendell in Indiana; Mary Jane married Robert Harrison in Indiana; Sarah Ann married Jerry Davis in Indiana; Susan married George Elliott in Indiana, second husband, John Hampton; Marion married Sarah McCaffie in Indiana. When their son William (my great grandfather) was 18 he married Rhoda Ashcraft, the same year he moved from Kentucky on account of slavery and settled in Hendricks County, Indiana where he lived 24 years. In 1848 he came to Dallas county Iowa stopping for a short time on the island north of Adel while he built a cabin on the farm which he entered, that now is owned by the J. W. Russell estate………..” 

Note: This article, written by Vera Mae Ivers, was furnished to Betty Hicks by Christy Jay of Adel, Iowa on Tuesday, April 16, 2002. Vera provides more information about the descendants in the rest of the article that has not been included here since our focus is about the identity of Sarah White. The Davi(d)son family first settled on Big Moccasin Creek (now Scott Co., then Montgomery Co.), on January 1, 1774 per an 1810 affidavit by James Davison II, brother to Daniel. The first part of the newspaper article about a 1620 arrival in America and the opening of new lands appears to reflect just the general knowledge and history of the settlement of America and the movement west. Vera reported that Sally was Irish but provided no information about where the Davidsons originated which may mean that they were not recent immigrants when they settled in Virginia in 1774. Had they been more recent immigrants, then Vera might have been aware of that family tradition. Sally’s family probably immigrated much later than did the Davidsons since there is a tradition of her being Irish. 

Following are records and considerations relative to the Sarah, wife of R W Daniel Davi(d)son.

Daniel’s first child, Mary, is believed to have been born circa 1774, the same year that the James Davison I family first settled on Big Moccasin Creek. The date of January 1, 1774, is the date given by James Davison II (Daniel’s brother) in an 1810 deposition. A later survey record for the original grant to James Davison (I) shows settlement occurred in 1774. Assuming we are reasonably accurate about the year of birth for daughter Mary, Daniel was married prior to 1774 or shortly after his father settled on Big Moccasin. Silas Enyart settled in the area in 1771 and became a neighbor and associate of the Davidsons. He is mentioned here because Daniel and Sarah named a son Silas, a name not found beforehand in the Davidson family. 

Records also show that Daniel Davidson, James Davidson, Joseph Davidson, Jonathan Wood, Robert Tate, Jesse Cain and many other neighbors and friends of the Davi(d)sons served in Capt. James Thompson’s Company of militia raised for Dunmore’s 1774 Expedition (original images of payroll and public claims compensation paid in 1775, Library of Virginia Digital Database “Dunmore’s War”). 

While Daniel Davidson appears in numerous early Washington and Russell Co., Virginia records, he does not sell any land before 1805. As a result, we have no early deeds that show the name of his wife.

The first occurrence of the name Sarah Davison is in a 1792 Russell Co., Virginia court record:
On 22 November 1792, John White, Lucy White, Daniel Davison, Joseph Davison, Sarah Davison, and Rachel [could not read last name but believed it was Mattinee] were in attendance for 1 day in Blakemore vs Hugh Daniel (RC-Court Law Order Book 2, p. 2).

Since there was no other adult Sarah Davison in the area, this Sarah is likely the wife of Daniel Davison and indicates a marriage by 1792. No record has been found for a Sarah White in early Washington or Russell Co., Virginia, records.

On 1 March, 1784 (or 1785), James Davison, son of Daniel and Sarah, was born. 

On 1 March, 1794, Silas Davison, son of Daniel and Sarah Davison, was born.

On 27 October, 1795, James Howard is ordered to pay Sarah Davidson and Mary White for 1 day’s attendance in his suit vs Champion Faris (RC-LCOB2: 259). Deed records show Champion Faris sold land to John White. The Farris family was a close neighbor of the Davidsons.

The last record for Sarah Davison is in 1805 when Daniel and Sarah sold their land to James and Ruth (Davison) Tate. They were preparing for their migration to Kentucky along a very large group of families. Ruth Tate was the daughter of James Davison II and his wife Margaret.

There are no further records in Russell Co., Virginia, or Clay or Perry Cos., Kentucky, that include the name Sarah, and there is no reference to a widow in any Clay or Perry Co., Kentucky land, tax, or court record as yet uncovered. 

Given the article and the records, we can probably conclude that Daniel and Sarah’s son James and all children born later belong to Sarah. These children would have been Thomas, Silas, Susanna, White, and Robert. The fact that Vera did not mention these other children in her article may reflect the fact that not all Daniel’s children migrated to Indiana with her ancestor James. Some remained in Kentucky and others headed north and west and at different times. It is also possible that Daniel’s son John headed to Kentucky first and Daniel followed a couple of years later. 

Neighboring Whites in early Washington and Russell Cos., Virginia, were Samuel, John, Lucy, and Mary White. John is found in several records with the Davison's and other Moccasin Creek families, while Silas Enyart and his son John are found quite frequently in records with the Davison's which may or may not mean anything. Silas Enyart was deceased by 1788 and court records show his wife Sarah was the executrix of his estate. Unfortunately, wills in Russell Co. prior to 1803 are not extant; therefore, we have no documented list of Silas’ children.

We believe that Daniel’s eldest reputed child Mary was born circa 1774, and we know that Daniel’s youngest child Robert was born 1804. These years represent a span of 30 years between the first and last child lending credence to the belief he was married beforehand. The date of Mary’s birth as the first child is a guess but that of sons John and Samuel are corroborated by census and tax records. There is also the four to five year gap between Samuel and James that fits with the idea that Sarah could have been the second wife. 

Re: Other wives

Above we discussed, there is rationale for believing that RW Daniel was married more than once, and it seems logical to think that he was married before he married Sarah and possibly had the three children Mary, John, and Samuel. Then he married Sarah White and had the rest of his children. We also know that one Daniel Davidson married (of record) a Mary Miller in Clay Co in 1812. It has been assumed earlier by some that the one who married Mary Miller was Daniel Jr.; however, no one has actually examined the original marriage record to determine exactly what is recorded and this review of the original needs to take place. It is possible that it was the old Daniel who remarried for the third time. No younger or second Daniel ever appears in Clay Co records while all the other children are present in the tax records; a very unusual omission if there was a Daniel Jr. since Clay Co tax records are extant. Furthermore, no candidates for Daniel Jr. have been located. If he was old Daniel who married Mary Miller, then it would easily explain why there are some traditions that one of his wives was named Miller. The “other” name floating around is that he was married to a Margaret Cope Miller suggesting she was a Cope before she became a Miller. She, at times, is shown as a first wife, a second wife, and a third wife which indicates a real lack of understanding by those putting this information on the internet. No documentation for the source exists at this time but research is in process and we are trying to document the “source” of the tradition. There were Copes in early Washington and Russell Counties; however, they are not really found in records with the Davidsons and they lived in the Elk Garden area. The Copes were very prevalent in Knox and Clay Cos., Ky., and quite interestingly, both Daniel Davidson and James Cope were exempted from the Perry Co. levy on the same day in 1823. Since Cope is not one of the more common surnames, one would think there has to be some reason this surname surfaces in a family tradition and deserves some attention rather than someone just stringing together all the “other names” to come up with Mary/Polly/Margaret/Cope/Miller. 
Hopefully, we will make some progress on this issue.

Re: Children of Daniel Davi(d)son

The order of the children as presented in the above mentioned article is incorrect. A November 1834 Perry Co., Ky., deed between the heirs and representatives of Daniel Davidson states that Daniel Davidson made a deathbed request that the thirty (30) acres of land on which he lived descend to his two youngest sons Robert and Whitt. The heirs conveyed all their right and interest in this property (Perry Co., Ky., DBA, p. 584, original copy on FHC Microfilm #0968252). Census records for Robert and White [Whitt] corroborate they were the two youngest. Daniel’s son Robert has also been incorrectly identified at times. An assumed son Daniel [?Jr.] cannot be documented, nor can a candidate be located.

The following information just represents information pertinent to age, order, and documentation. It is not intended to provide complete detailed and biographical information.

1. Mary Davidson. As previously stated, it is believed Mary was born c1774. She died before 1850. She was the second wife of Samuel Cornett who was divorced from first wife Mary Benham per Russell Co., Va., court records. There is no definitive information about the year of Mary’s birth or death. She and Samuel Cornett removed to Kentucky.

2. John Madison Davidson. John’s year of birth is estimated to have been 1776/77 which fits with Daniel being recorded as having two males over the age of 16 in the 1793 Russell Co., Virginia tax list. In 1798, John is listed under his own name. His first son, Tyre, was born c1799. John was married three times and left many descendants. He resided in Clay Co., Ky.

3. Samuel Davidson was born c1779/80 and supported by his 1850 Page Co., Iowa census record. Samuel’s father Daniel shows 3 males over 16 in the 1796 tax list. Samuel can be easily tracked in records. He migrated from Perry Co., Ky., to Andrew Co., Mo., and then north to Iowa.

4. James Davidson was born 1 March 1785 and died 13 April 1868 in Hendricks Co., Indiana. He is well documented and appears in both Russell Co., Va. records as well as Clay and Perry Cos., Ky., records before he removes to Hendricks Co., In.

5. Thomas Davidson was born c1787. No age related records have been located for Thomas Davidson, but tax records indicate he was born after his brother James. He was listed in the 1805 Russell Co., Va., tax list under his own name. He appears as a witness in Russell Co. records in 1805, the same year Daniel sold his land and removed to Kentucky. Clay Co., Ky., marriage records show he married Sarah Sweeton on 13 July 1807. Davidson researcher Frank Davidson states Sarah’s father was a minister and asked them to go to Ohio with him. Thomas signed as one of the heirs and representatives of Daniel Davidson in the 1834 Perry Co. deed. No further information on Thomas has been uncovered except that he signed the nuncupative conveyance as an heir and representative of the heirs of Daniel Davidson.

6. Daniel Davidson is estimated to have been born c1789/92. There is great confusion about this Daniel Davidson [Jr]. This Daniel has not been located in any tax records in Russell Co, Virginia, or Clay, Floyd, or Perry Counties, Kentucky which is unusual since he is the ONLY reputed son of RW Daniel Davidson that NEVER appears in a tax record of any kind. While Clay Co., Ky., marriage records show that Daniel Davidson married a Mary Miller on 6 Aug. 1812, this Daniel was NEVER in the tax lists as were the other sons of Daniel Sr. The tax lists only show the old Daniel. It has been assumed but not proven that this Daniel who married Mary Miller in 1812 was Daniel Jr. Sometimes RW Daniel Davidson is shown with wives named either Margaret Cope Miller or Polly Miller. This Daniel Jr. has been borrowed by other lines and even confused with the Daniel Davidson (b c1790/3) of Russell and Scott Cos., Va., who married Margaret Dyer, the documented daughter of Francis Dyer. To my knowledge, no subsequent records have been located for this Daniel Davidson and wife Mary Miller which warrants the question as to whether the marriage record was for the old man RW Daniel Davidson.

7. Silas Davidson, born 1 March 1794 is easily tracked in records. His appearance in the 1815 Clay Co., Ky., tax list fits with his year of birth since males in Kentucky were enumerated on the tax list at the age of 21. The name Silas may hold clues to some connection with an Enyart family who were neighbors in Russell Co., or, Daniel may have just named a son after a friend. Silas is not a name found in any other James Davison I branch of descendents, and the only Silas in the Moccasin Creek area was that of close neighbor Silas Enyart who is found in many records with all of the Davidsons. Silas Enyart was married to a woman named Sarah. He was deceased by 1788 and court records show his wife Sarah was his executrix. Silas Davidson eventually left Kentucky and migrated to Indiana and then further west to Iowa.

8. Susannah Davidson, born c1797/8 married first John Strong and secondly Robert Morris. Her 1850/60/70 Owsley Co., Ky., census records confirm her estimated year(s) of birth.

9. White Davidson, born c1798-1801, and his brother Robert, are named as the two youngest sons of Daniel Davidson in an 1834 conveyance from the heirs and representatives of Daniel Davidson wherein they state Daniel Davidson left his land to his two youngest sons, Robert and Whitt [sic]. White Davidson first appears in the 1820 Clay Co., Ky. census and next in the 1821 Perry Co., Ky. tax list. By 1826 he pops up in Lee Co., Va. records. He sells his land in Virginia in 1829 and migrates to Hendricks Co., Indiana by 1830. By 1870 he is in Morgan Co., In., where he remained until death. White’s ages in census records (51 in 1850, 60 in 1860, 69 in 1870, and 82 in 1880) confirm his approximate year of birth.

10. Robert Davidson was the youngest son, born circa 1804-6 per census records. Robert has been shown incorrectly to be much older; however, the 1834 Perry Co., Ky., deed clearly identifies White and Robert as the two youngest sons. Robert can be tracked in the Perry Co. and Breathitt Co., Ky., tax records because of the 30 acres of land inherited from his father. Earlier researchers were quite confused about which Robert was the son of Daniel, but we now know which Robert was his son because of the deed, the land, and the statement about him being one of the two youngest. Robert married Nancy Combs, the daughter of Jeremiah “Chunky Jerry” Combs and his first wife Syntha Sumner. Perry Co., Ky., records relative to Nancy’s inheritance from her father’s estate documents the name of her husband. Researchers show that the Robert who married Nancy Combs was born 24 Dec. 1804. His Breathitt Co., Ky., census records are consistent with this date (45 in 1850, 55 in 1860, 65 in 1870, and 74 in 1880). Davidson researcher Carol Haas has presented documentation with explanations to the DAR to correct previously submitted DAR lineages showing this Robert to be Robert, son of Robert, son of RW Daniel. The DAR has accepted her documentation and now accepts the Robert, b 1804, as the correct son of RW Daniel Davidson. 


Heirs Of Daniel Davidson
Conveyance To Robert And Whitt Davidson

Whereas Daniel Davidson on his death bed did desire that the thirty acres of land on which he lived should descend to his two Youngest sons Robert Davidson and Whitt [sic] Davidson, Now, we the heirs and representatives of the said deceased, being desirous of confirming to the wishes of our deceased ancestor & in consideration of our love and affection to the sd Whitt & Robert Davidson, and the sum of One Dollar to each of us paid do hereby for ourselves, our heirs &c, relinquish, release & quit claim, all our right, title & interest, in and to sd tract of thirty acres unto the sd Robert Davidson to Whitt Davidson, their heirs and assigns forever. In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands affixed our seals this 10th day of Nov., 1834.

Test. 

John Akeman
Thomas Strong
Edward Strong
Claiborn Davidson
Henry Duff


Signed.
Thomas Davidson
Abner W. Cartney
John Akeman
William Callihan
Samuel Davidson
Silas Davidson
John Strong
John Spencer
Abner McCartney

[This conveyance was proved by Henry Duff on 13 Nov. 1832.]

SE Notes:

I do not know why the oath date was earlier than the date of the conveyance. There may be a mistake in the recording, or the proofs were acquired at separate times but not explained very well in the official recording. The language and procedures used by the earlier Perry Co. court officials were not nearly as precise or thorough as those used by the court clerks in Virginia. I personally looked at this record.

Source: Perry County, Kentucky Deed Book A, p. 584, original copy on FHC Microfilm #0968252