Search billions of records on Ancestry.com
   

CHAPTER IV

JOHN DAVIS

 

The document labeled "Births" on the following page is a copy of a very old piece of paper given to me by Gladys Donaldson, the daughter of Mrs. Ada Vickers whose name is at the bottom of the paper.

Pennington DeLoach, son-in-law of John Davis, was evidently married twice. According to this paper, Pennington was born on April 17, 1806 and Nancy DeLoach, born December 11, 1803, was his first wife.

Eva Philen, a DeLoach descendant, said that Epsy DeLoach was born in 1825, however this DeLoach paper gives her birthdate as February 21, 1826. At first I thought the first ten children listed after Pennington and Nancy DeLoach were all their children. Now I am inclined to think that only the first three were born to Nancy: James A., Simeon W. and Shady Ann. Nancy probably died soon after the birth of her last child, Shady Ann who was born April 17, 1836.

If Epsy/Epsey James Davis was born in 1826 and married in 1844, she would have been eighteen years old at the time of the wedding. Pennington was twenty years older than Epsey, second wife.

In the middle of this sheet is recorded John Davis, born on November 17, 1795. It is believed that this is the oldest of Enoch Davis, Sr. and Elizabeth Anna DeLoach's children. This date of birth for John agrees with the 1830 Census for Monroe County.

It is assumed that Mary Davis, born January 16, 1799 and died November 1837 is John's first wife (see John Davis immediately following). The seven children listed after John and Mary are presumed to be their children: James Thomas, Ann Eliza, John N., Mary Fletcher, Epsy James, Martha Relinda and Mariah Elizabeth Davis.

Since there were other children born after 1837 when John's wife Mary died, he must have remarried. The five children listed right above John Davis are probably by his second wife whoever she was. The children are: Sarah Jane, Margaret Malissa, William Henry, Susannah Catherine and Enoch Davis. I have taken the liberty of correcting the spelling of two of them.

I have been unable to prove that DeLoach is the last name of Elizabeth Anna, John Davis' mother, even though this was the name given to me, supposedly out of a Famiy Bible. However, I now believe she may have been Pennington's aunt. I have searched for a DeLoach will, hoping to find her listed as an heir, with no success.

 

 

39

 

The remaining children which are listed on the paper are the children of Pennington DeLoach and his second wife, Epsey Davis: John F. DeLoach, Mary Ann Elizabeth DeLoach, Martha Jane DeLoach, Georgia V. DeLoach, Solomon DeLoach, William P. DeLoach, Charles Olen DeLoach, Lula Miller DeLoach and Lee Davis DeLoach.

 

39-A

 

JOHN DAVIS

John Davis may have been the oldest child of Enoch Davis, Sr. and his wife, Elizabeth Anna DeLoach (last name not verified). When Arthur M. Davis gave the statement regarding Enoch's descendants in 1858, John was deceased. However, his name was on the bond papers earlier, as well as on the petition to the court for settlement of their father's estate. Evidently John died during the settlement.

According to Arthur's statement John had eleven children. The first five listed by Arthur are daughters. According to the 1830 Monroe County Census there was a John Davis who was born between 1790 and 1800, with his wife in the same age category, and their five daughters under ten years old. This was probably Enoch's son John.

If John's mother was born in 1777 (she was 73 at the time of the 1850 Clarke County Census) she probably married Enoch Davis when she was 17-18 years old, which would make their marriage date 1793/1795. Thus John, if he was the oldest child, would have been born between 1790 and 1800, which agrees with the 1830 Monroe County Census.

There is a Clarke County Marriage Record for a John Davis and Polly Portis who married October 14, 1819 at the home of Ira Portis. Edward Kennedy was the Justice of Peace and the marriage was recorded February 8, 1820. This date would fit the ages of our John Davis' children, as well as the date of his wife in the 1830 Monroe County Census.

There were close ties with the Portis, Jones and Davis families. Ira Portis had a son, Solomon Wilder Portis who married Sarah Bittle Jones. Sarah's brother, Henry Covington Jones, married Sarah "Sallie" Davis, John Davis' sister. And of course, Sarah Bittle Jones and Henry Covington Jones had a sister, Priscilla Jones, who married Josiah Rux Hicks (see chapter on Bishop Hicks in the Hicks Section of this book).

After typing the above information, I received in the mail a very old paper which had been the property of Epsey Ada DeLoach Vickers, daughter of Pennington DeLoaCh.This paper was sent to me by Gladys Donaldson, granddaughter of Epsey Ada DeLoach Vickers.

This DeLoach paper seems to verify that John Davis was married twice. John's birthdate is given as November 17, 1795, which agrees with my earlier supposition. His wife's name was listed as Mary (Polly is a nickname for Mary), with her birthdate listed as January 16, 1799 and date of death November 1837.

 

41

 

 

There is a ten year span between the first seven children of John Davis and the last five. Apparently after Mary died in 1837, John remarried, and the first child born to him and his new wife was born in 1839. To date, John's second marriage has not been discovered.

 

The children of John Davis as listed by Arthur M. Davis, are as follows.

The children as listed on the old DeLoach paper are:

 

1.

James Thomas Davis

8. Sarah Jane Davis

 

2.

Ann Eliza Davis

9. Margaret Malissa Davis

 

3.

Mary Fletcher Davis

10. William Henry Davis

 

4.

Epsy James Davis

11. Susannah Catherine Davis

 

5.

Martha Relinda Davis

12.Enoch Davis

 

6.

Mariah Elizabeth

 

 

7.

John N. Davis

 

 

42

 

You can readily see that the two lists are one and the same, with the exception of Caroline, who is missing from the DeLoach paper; the first child, James Thomas, evidently died early, as did William Henry; and Missouri, listed by Arthur M. Davis but not by the DeLoach Record.

 

 

JAMES THOMAS DAVIS

James Thomas Davis, first child of John Davis and Polly Portis, was born August 5, 1820. Deceased by 1858-1860.

 

 

ELIZA ANN DAVIS

Eliza Ann Davis, first daughter of John and Polly Davis, was born October 24, 1821. At the time her grandfather Enoch Davis' estate was settled, she was over the age of 21, marreed and living in Georgia.

 

 

JOHN N. DAVIS

The date of birth for John N. Davis is unclear. At first glance, the date appears to be July 4, 1823, as he is listed on the DeLoach paper, between Eliza Ann born in 1821 and Mary Fletcher born in 1824. However, the year of his birth seems to have been changed to "1833", which would make a six year span between him and Sarah Jane, born in 1839.

At the time of Enoch Davis, Sr.'s Estate Settlement (1858-60) Arthur M. Davis said that John N. Davis was deceased and his three children, names unknown, were residing in Butler CO.AL. I have chosen to list him as the third child of John Davis and his first wife, presumed to be Mary "Polly" Portis, in spite of the fact that his uncle, Arthur M. Davis, listed him as the sixth child of John Davis.

The date of John N. Davis' death is unknown, except that it was prior to 1858-60. If he was born in 1823, he probably did not marry before 1843, so he might be listed in the 1850 Butler County, Alabama Census.

 

43

 

 

MARY FLETCHER DAVIS

 

Mary Fletcher Davis, second daughter of John Davis, was born on November 26, 1824. At the time her grandfather's estate was settled, she was over the age of 21 and residing in Macon County, Alabama and married to James L. Tillman.

 

In July of 1990 I was unable to locate James and Mary Tillman in the 1860 Macon County Census. However, I did find them in

The 1860 Tallapoosa County Census, Page 9, Dwelling No. 57. They were residing in Realtown, and there is no doubt that this is the correct family, as you will see by the name of the first daughter, as well as Mary's middle initial. The last child listed in this census may be "Portis" instead of "Portia", which would further confirm the fact that John's first wife was Mary "Polly" Portis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

R. E. Per.

James L. Tillman, farmer

 

Age 31

B. GA

650, $300,

Mary F.

 

30

"

 

Epsy

 

10

"

 

John

 

9

"

 

Rosa

 

7

AL

 

David

 

5

"

 

Portia (?) female

 

3

"

 

44

 

 

EPSEY JAMES DAVIS

Epsey James Davis, fifth child and third daughter of John and Polly Davis, was born on February 21, 1826, according to the old Pennington DeLoach record, a copy of which is attached. At the time of the settlement of Enoch Davis' estate, some time between 1858 and 1860, Arthur M. Davis stated that Epsey was over the age of 21, married to Pennington DeLoach and residing in Clarke County, Alabama.

Eva Philen, Peterman, Alabama, provided me with information on Pennington and Epsey DeLoaCh.There are two graves in Bethel Cemetery, old Line Road, Clarke County, AL whose tombstones read "Grandfather DeLoach, 1797-1888" and "Grandmother DeLoach, 1825-1895". I assume that they are the tombstones of Epsey and Pennington, even though the dates do not agree with the old DeLoach records which I recently acquired.

Epsey and Pennington had 11 children, according to the old DeLoach record. However, Eva Philen listed one named Emma, and the records of Bernard Collins DeLoach, Jr. of Orlando FL list both Emma and John George, which makes thirteen children for Pennington DeLoach and his two wives.

There is an 1840 Census Record for Edgefield County, South Carolina which may be for Pennington and Nancy (his first wife) DeLoach, even though his first name is given as Pendleton. The male who is 5 to 10 years old could be Simeon as he was born in 1832 and the male who is 10 to 15 years old could be James, as he was born in 1830. Nancy was three years older than her husband, and there is a female listed in the 40 to 50 bracket. Shady Ann would have been four years old then so apparently she was deceased.

Epsey James Davis married Pennington DeLoach on February 14, 1844. They are listed in Macon County, AL in the 1860 Census Record, with real estate valued at $1500 and personal property at $910.00. Pennington was a farmer. In the home with them is Simeon, age 26, born in SC. James is out of the home, probably married. Also listed are John F., 15, born in GA; Mary, 12, born in AL; Georgia, age 10, born in AL; Charles, age 4, born in AL; and Epsey Ada, age 1, born in AL.

Not listed with their parents are Martha Jane, born in 1848; Solomon, born in 1852; and William P., born in 1855. These three children were evidently deceased by 1860.

The family is listed in the 1880 Clarke County Census with only the two younger children in the home.

 

45

 

 

 

P. D. DeLoach,

age 74

Father born in VA, mother in VA

 

E. J.

53

Father born in NC, mother in NC

 

Lula

17

Born in AL

 

Lee

13

Born in AL

Bernard Collins DeLoach has sent me a copy of Epsey's Obituary (see attached) which states that she died May 28, 1899. In spite of the errors one sees on tombstones, I believe more are correct than incorrect.

46

 

 

49

 

 

50

 

 

51

 

 

52

 

53

 

 

55

 

 

56

 

 

56-A

 

 

MARTHA RELINDA DAVIS

Martha Relinda Davis, sixth child of John Davis, was born on March 18, 1828, according to the DeLoach Record. In 1858-60 she was over the age of 21 and residing in Coosa County, AL. Arthur M. Davis said she married James Mison.

 

MARIAH ELIZABETH DAVIS

Mariah Elizabeth Davis, seventh child of John and Mary Davis, was born on August 25, 1829. She was over the age of 21 and residing in Russell County, Alabama in 1858-60. She married Morrell Baker.

 

 

NOTE:

John Davis' second marriage probably took place after 1829. The DeLoach Paper records the next child, Sarah Jane Davis, born in 1939. However, Arthur M. Davis listed a child that is omitted on the DeLoach Paper.

 

MISSOURI DAVIS

Missouri Davis, eighth child of John Davis, was probably born between Mariah Elizabeth Davis and Sarah Jane Davis. When her grandfather's estate was settled, Arthur M. Davis said she was over the age of 21, married to Cullen Miller and living in Talbert (Talbot?) County, Georgia.

I have wondered if "Missouri" and "Mariah" are one and the same person.

 

57

 

 

SARAH JANE DAVIS

Sarah Jane Davis, ninth child of John Davis and his second wife was born October 15, 1839. When her grandfather Enoch's estate was settled, she was about 21 years old and living in Russell County, Alabama.

 

MARGARET MALISSA DAVIS

Margaret Malissa Davis, tenth child of John Davis and his second wife was born December 18, 1840; died on March 23, 1843.

 

WILLIAM HENRY DAVIS

William Henry Davis, eleventh child of John Davis and his second wife, was born July 2, 1843.

 

SUSANNAH CATHERINE DAVIS

Susan Davis, twelfth child of John Davis and his second wife was born on March 8, 1845. In 1858-60 when her grandfather's estate was settled, Arthur M. Davis said she was about 20 and living in Russell County, Alabama.

 

CAROLINE DAVIS

Caroline Davis, thirteenth child of John Davis and his second wife, was not listed on the Pennington DeLoach paper. Arthur M. Davis said she was about 18 years old and living in Georgia in 1858-1860.

 

ENOCH DAVIS

Enoch Davis, youngest child and one of four sons of John, was born July 27, 1847. He was about 13 years old in 1858-60; place of residence was unknown.

 

58

Site Navigator: Select a page from the drop down list below and click "Go".


Ancestors and Kin: © Copyright by Mary Kennedy Reynolds, 1991

© Portions Copyright 1978-1999 D. Larrimore. All rights reserved by respective owners.