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Paternal AncestorsThe following is a summary of information known about the paternal ancestors of Ralph Davis, from the most distant to the present time: 9. John DAVIS, Sr. Born ca. 1660 probably in England. Died 1712 at Connecticut. First marriage to Abigail (Cook?), died 1690. Second marriage to Mary Smith Gunn. Third marriage to Abigail Harger. 8. John DAVIS, Jr. Born circa 1675. Died spring of 1767. Married July 15, 2706 to Sarah CHATFIELD, born December 5, 1686, died January 20, 1721. 7. Dan DAVIS. Born January 17, 1710, at Derby, New Haven County, Connecticut. Died March 20, 1789 at Derby. Married December 6, 1738 to Ruth WOOSTER, born March 20, 1722, died 1794. 6. Ethel DAVIS. Born February 15, 1756 in Derby. Baptized May 9, 1756. Died and buried 1801 at Grand Passage, Brier Island, Nova Scotia. Married to Christiana Margaret HUBBARD, born 1764 at New York, died and buried 1858 on Brier Island. 5. Hubbard DAVIS. Born 1801 on Brier Island. Died 1883 on Brier Island. Married November 27, 1827 to Azuba McGREY, born 1804, died 1874. 4. Samuel Bancroft DAVIS. Born 1843 at Westport, Nova Scotia. Died 1917 at Yarmouth. Married to Alice BAILEY, born 1849, died 1922. 3. Ralph Harold DAVIS. Born 1877 at Westport. Died and buried 1933 at Yarmouth. Married to Margaret BURRELL, born 1876, died 1963. 2. Samuel Bancroft DAVIS. Born 1907 at Yarmouth. Died and buried 1965 at Yarmouth. Married to Orris Mary FILLMORE, born 1914. 1. Ralph Harold DAVIS. Born 1940 at Yarmouth. Married to Cynthia Anne FULLER, born in 1943. Bible Record, Brier Island. Maternal AncestorsThe following is a summary of the genealogical lines of maternal ancestors of the Davis family, from the most distant to the present times: 11. Agnes married to Richard HOLBROOK, Huntington, N.Y. 11.Christian 1610-1690 married to Dr.Jaspar GUNN, 1606-1670; England 9. Abigail Cook? 1690- married to John DAVIS, Sr. 1660-1712 11. Mary married to Robert HAWKINS, 9. Hannah/Abigail HARGER/HARGIER married to John CHATFIELD, 10. Tabitha Tomlinson married to Edward WOOSTER, 1622-1689; England-Conn. 7. Catherine married to Adam HUBBARD, -1784 Germany-N.Y.-Nova Scotia 6. Thomasina Kinney m. Frederick Magray 10. Mary ELLIOTT married to Edward PAYSON, 1610-; England to Mass.1639 6. PECK married to Isaac TURNER; both of England 5. Mary PAYSON married to Daniel BAILEY, 1838-1877?; shipwright 5. Solomon PEARSON of England married to Mary from Ireland 6. Barbara (Dutch) married to ? Pearson; England 6. Rosanna COCHRANE, 1779- married to Henry BURRELL Sr.1778-1850; Ireland 5. Ann BISHOP married to Solomon STILES 5. Esther PEARSON married to William FILLMORE, ‘deacon’ . Burrell Genealogy Families in Derby TownshipIn 1685, some of the families in the Derby Township were as follows: The Hawkins: Joseph Hawkins’ widow, Abigail, lived in town with 7 kids: Joseph 16, Eleazer 15, Abigail 13, Mary 8, John 6, and twins: Lois and Agnes 4 years old. Abigail Hawkins was previously Abigail Holbrook from Huntington, Long Island. The grandson of John Davis Sr. would later marry Ruth Wooster, the grand-daughter of Joseph Hawkins Jr. Joseph Hawkins had operated a business, but had died in 1682. John purchased some supplies at their store. The Chatfields: John Sr.’s son would marry the Chatfield daughter, Sarah. In 1986, there was a Chatfield Street in Derby. The Woosters: Old Edward Wooster, born in 1622, in England, had emigrated in 1652 to Milford where he was given an acre of land to grow hops, tax free. Sometime between 1654 and 1669 he moved with three other families to Paugasuck, now named Ansonia. He had there planned “to raise hops on the meadow lands” to the south. To this end “he dug a trench or race, from where the lower Ansonia bridge now (1880) is, to irrigate the low land.” This race-way became the changed river course 50 years later. The old river bed, shown on an 1868 map, had run along the west of the railroad tracks. [ See map ]. Edward Wooster’s house “stood on the east side of the river road at Old Town (of Derby) a little south of the parting of the two roads going north; one to Ansonia along the riverbank and the other up to the Episcopal buring-ground” ( Orcutt, 111 ) [see village plan]. The burial ground referred to is probably the Elm Street cemetery located across Route 24 from the historic Humphrey house in Ansonia. On Edward’s death at aged 67 on July 8, 1689, “this property was sold to Doctor John Durand, and the first bridge built over the Naugatuck River is said to have been located at or opposite this house”. In 1986 a Wooster Street existed in Shelton, Stratford, Milford, and Naugatuck townships. Old Edward Wooster, aged 63, and his wife Tabitha Tomlinson Wooster had 13 children: Elizabeth, who was married to E. Johnson; Thomas, aged 29 and married to Phebe; Abraham; Edward Jr.; David and wife Mary; Henry, aged 19; Ruth, aged 17; Timothy aged 15; Hannah; Jonas; Tabitha; Sylvester; and Ebenezer. The grandson of John Davis Sr. would later marry Ruth Wooster, the grand daughter of Thomas Wooster. The Frenches and the Riggs: The houses of Francis French and Edward Riggs, of the first four families, were both located on a hill, half a mile and one mile respectively to the east. The township of Ansonia has streets named for both French and Riggs. Thomas Langdon: His house was near Edward Wooster’s. Reverend John Bowers: He moved to Derby from Branford in 1671, and settled into the parsonage in 1673. 100 pounds were spent on a home for a minister in 1675. Revered Bowers died in 1687, after which his widow kept the home. A new parsonage was built in 1695 on Elm Street, in Ansonia. In 1986, streets exist with these family names: Davis Drive, Tibbals Street, and Wooster Street. Hawkes, A Hawkins Genealogy Inventory of John Davis Sr.(Sept. 30, 1712) We can learn what items John Sr. had in his house from the possessions listed after his death:
Inventory of Estate of John Davis Jr. Land & Inventory John Davis Sr.(Sept. 30, 1712) Land: (Derby, New Haven Co., CT)
Stock: 2 cows, 1 steer, 8 pigs, 15 bu.Indian corn House:
Industry:
Personal Effects:
Barn:
The Davis NameAccording to S. Taylor’s The Amazing Book of the Davises in Canada, 1985, the surname Davis is associated largely with the Welch, and means son of Davie, which is a pet form of the name David (“beloved”). Surnames were forced on British subjects after the invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066. Welsh surnames were mispelled by the English speaking officials who wrote down the names as the Welsh pronounced them: “Davis” for “Davies”. From the 13th century the Davis coat of arms was “Black and charged with an ermine fess between three silver, pierced five-leave bearings” (translated from Norman French). In 1990 there were 7,500 Davis households and 35,000 Davises in Canada. Davises are distributed across Canada as follows: 3,900 in Ontario, 1,145 in B.C., 366 in Nova Scotia, 273 in Newfoundland, 857 in Alberta, 308 in Quebec, 263 in Saskatchewan, 271 in Manitoba, and 124 in New Brunswick. Maternal AancestorsThe following is a summary of the genealogical lines of maternal ancestors of the Davis family, from the most distant to the present times: 11. Agnes married to Richard HOLBROOK, Huntington, N.Y. 10. Abigail HOLBROOK married to Joseph HAWKINS Sr. 1642-; Mass. 11.Christian 1610-1690 married to Dr.Jaspar GUNN, 1606-1670; England 10. Susan LANE married to Jobamah GUNN, 1637- 9. Elizabeth GUNN married to Joseph HAWKINS Jr.,1669-1732 9. Abigail Cook? 1690- married to John DAVIS, Sr. 1660-1712 11. Mary married to Robert HAWKINS, 10. Abigail HOLBROOK married to Joseph HAWKINS Sr. 1642-; Mass. 9. Elizabeth GUNN, 1672- married to Joseph HAWKINS Jr.,1669-1732 8. Sarah HAWKINS married to Thomas WOOSTER Jr.,1692- 9. Hannah/Abigail HARGER/HARGIER married to John CHATFIELD, 8. Sarah CHATFIELD, 1686-1721 married to John DAVIS Jr. 10. Tabitha Tomlinson married to Edward WOOSTER, 1622-1689; England-Conn. 9. Phebe TOMLINSON married to Lt. Thomas WOOSTER Sr., 1656-1712 8. Sarah HAWKINS, 1695- married to Thomas WOOSTER Jr., 1692- 7. Ruth WOOSTER 1722- married to Dan DAVIS 7. Catherine married to Adam HUBBARD, -1784 Germany-N.Y.-Nova Scotia 6. Christiana Margaret HUBBARD 1764-1858 married to Ethel DAVIS, 1756-1801 6. Thomasina Kinney m. Frederick Magray 5. Azuba McGREY 1804-1871 married to Hubbard DAVIS 1801-1888. 10. Mary ELLIOTT married to Edward PAYSON, 1610-; England to Mass.1639 9. Catherine LEADBEATER married to Ephraim PAYSON, 1657-1732 8. Anne BLAKE married to Jonathan PAYSON Sr., 17 Aug.1689- 7. Elizabeth TILESON married to Jonathan PAYSON Sr., 1728-1758; to N.S. 6. Sarah McDERMOND married to Elisha PAYSON, 1777-; to Westport 5. Mary PAYSON married to Daniel BAILEY, 1838-1877?; shipwright. 6. PECK married to Isaac TURNER; both of England 5. Nancy TURNER married to Thomas PEARSON 5. Mary PAYSON married to Daniel BAILEY, 1838-1877?; shipwright 4. Alice BAILEY married to Samuel Bancroft DAVIS 1843-1917 5. Solomon PEARSON of England married to Mary from Ireland. 4. Mary Jane PEARSON 1847-1927 married to Solomon Pearson FILLMORE, 1825-1906 6. Barbara (Dutch) married to ? Pearson; England 5. Nancy TURNER married to Thomas PEARSON 4. Mary PEARSON married to Henry Allen STILES 6. Rosanna COCHRANE, 1779- married to Henry BURRELL Sr.1778-1850; Ireland 5. Jane CLELAND 1808-1881 married to Henry BURRELL Jr. 1807-1896, 4. Bethia ALLEN 1842-1925 married to William John Gibson BURRELL 1840-1913 3. Margaret BURRELL 1876-1963 married to Ralph Harold DAVIS 1877-1933 5. Ann BISHOP married to Solomon STILES 4. Mary PEARSON married to Henry Allen STILES 3. Mary Belle STILES 1876-1964 married to Frank Coleman FILLMORE 1877-1960 5. Esther PEARSON married to William FILLMORE, ‘deacon’ . 4. Mary Jane PEARSON 1847-1927 married to Solomon Pearson FILLMORE 1825-1906 3. Mary Belle STILES,1876-1964 married to Frank Coleman FILLMORE 1877-1960 2. Orris Mary FILLMORE, born 1914 married to Samuel Bancroft DAVIS II 1907-1965 1. Cynthia Anne FULLER b. 1943 married to Ralph Harold DAVIS b. 1940. Burrell Genealogy Fillmore, So Soon Forgotten: 3000 Filmores Hawkes, A Hawkins Genealogy, p 244-5 Hugos, “Possible descendants of William Bayly of Westport, N.S.” Jacobus, “Davis Family of Derby” Orcutt and Beardsley, History of the Old Town of Derby Payson Genealogy Worcester, The Descendants of William Worcester. |
Chapter 1Davises in Derby, Seymour,Oxford Town RecordsListing of Davises in the Town Records of Derby, Seymour and Oxford.
Phillips, Town Records of Derby Homesteading in DerbyDerby, the village in New Haven County named for Derby, England in 1675, is located south of a point of land where the Naugatuck River flowed into the larger Housatonic River. It became a protected tidal port within farm lands. The Naugatuck Valley was the birthplace of the brass and rubber industries and Derby was from its earliest days known for ship-building and fishing. By May 1685, twelve families had already settled near “Pagawsett” and eleven more were preparing to come. Derby was located less than a mile north-east of “Pawgussock” or “Pagawsett”, subsequently called Birmingham Point, of which there were already “eight trerv and right propriatares” (Hawkes). By 1774, Derby township had a population of 1,889. The township of Derby was divided in the 1800s into six townships, and later into seven. Derby was incorporated as a city in 1893. Derby Township had a population of 12,000 in 1986. Oxford, which became a parish in 1741 and was incorporated in 1798, in 1986 had a population of 7,400. Seymour was incorporated in 1850 and in 1986 had a population of 13,500. Naugatuck was incorporated in 1844, and in 1986 had a population of 29,000. Beacon Falls, which was incorporated in 1871, had a population of 4,260. Ansonia, located north of Derby, had a population of 20,200, and Shelton, south of Derby, had a population of 30,000 in 1986.
“Derby”, Colliers Encyclopedia JOHN DAVIS, SR.Around 1680, John and Abigail Davis probably sailed with their children up the Housatonic River. They would have had to sail during high tide, and if the wind had died they would had to have been pulled by row boats. After thirteen miles they arrived at a village on the eastern bank, just south of where the Naugatuck River entered the Housatonic. In order to “purchase” his land, John would have had to have money and a letter from the Congregational Church. Possibly he had sold his previous home to his wife’s brother, “Uncle Cook” and not been fully paid: it is indicated later that a debt had been owed and not fully paid (Will). It is recorded that John Davis “purchased” a land “grant” five miles to the north-east of Derby, near Bladen’s Brook ( Town Records ).
“John Davis” was the name of two other men in the county of New Haven. One John Davis was the cooper’s son who graduated from Harvard, taught at grammar school, and was lost at sea. Another John Davis was a carpenter on Main Street, who married and moved to Southold, Long Island. A fourth “John Davis Esq.” has a gravestone in the “Colonial Cemetery” at 352 Derby Ave. To delineate John Davis of this genealogy from the other two John Davises from England, “the Welshman” was added to his name in the records (Campbell, 430). John then married a third time. His third wife, Abigail Harger, was the step-daughter of John Tibbals. Abigail’s father, Jabez Harger had moved to Derby from Stratford, and had died in Derby. Abigail’s mother, Margaret (Tomlinson)—-now Widow Harger-—married John Tibbals. John Davis Sr. and his third wife, Abigail, had five children: Mary in 1693, Nathaniel in 1698, Jabez in 1703, Elizabeth in 1707 and Abigail in 1709. Most of these children were named after known previous relatives: Mary for her mother’s mother, Mary Tomlinson; Jabez for his mother’s father, Jabez Harger; and Abigail, for her mother Abigail Harger. Barbour Collection, Derby Vital Records. LIVELIHOODThe livelihood of John Sr. and his neighbours was obtained through agriculture. Grown in the fields were hops for bitter flavour in malt liquor, hemp for making rope, and Indian corn which was ground at the mill for meal. Flax was grown on the meadow land, cut, dried, cured in Beaver Brook, combed with his “hackil”, and spun on his “littell wheall” into linen thread. Two types of wheels were used for twisting fibers into thread. Wool, sheared from sheep purchased from neighbours, was washed, combed into fibers, and spun on his “two great wheals” into yarn, and sold for weaving. The “great” wheel was also known as the wool wheel or “the walking wheel” (Leadbeater). The wheel was turned by hand, in one direction, causing the wool to twist as one operator walked backwards, drawing out the carded wool. The wheel was then stopped, and turned in the reverse direction, to roll up the length of the twisted yarn onto the spindle. John Sr. had eight swine when he died; swine were kept for pork, ham, bacon and lard: Poultry were kept for eggs, oxen for plowing, and horses for getting around. As well, everyone had a cow for milk and cheese, “stear” for beef. Tallow was used to make candles. Cattle were raised on the common pasture with ears notched to indicate their owners. Derby township had a lot of different families sharing common pastures, so families cut pieces out of the ears of cattle for identification, according to a pattern which was recorded. John Sr. marked his cattle ear with one “half tennant” under the right and a “half tennant” on the upper side of the left ear (*Town Records*, 252). It is unknown whether John Sr. owned any slaves or servants. The 1650 Code of Connecticut adapted the code of Massachusetts: “There shall never be any bond slavery, villanage or captivity among us, unless it be lawful captives taken in just ward, and such strangers as willingly sell themselves or are sold to us” (Orcutt). Indians were enslaved when captured in battle, and sold for profit during the French and Indian War. Indians were also servants to the early settlers. For instance, in 1722, Ebenezer Johnson, the head of the settlement, purchased an Indian slave girl named “Dinah” in Stratford for sixty pounds. She was about 26 years old, and had been taken at age seven with other captives around Saybrook in retaliation for an attack by the Indian leader King Philip. Johnson died six years later, and his wife gave Dinah to her son Timothy. In 1714 George I from Luneburg, Germany (near Hamburg) was crowned the King of Great Britain. The next year a new law was passed prohibiting the importation to Britain of Indian slaves.
The community’s first meetinghouse, 1681 (Derby Historical Society; in Hogan, The Lower Naugatuck Valley). Leadbeater, “Spinning and Spinning Wheels”. CIVIC INVOLVEMENTIn 1683 London asked Massachusetts to submit its charter to the king for revision. When they refused, the king dissolved the colonial charter. Massachussets became a Royal Colony in 1684; all other colonial charters in New England were dissolved as well. Restrictions against New England’s independence were applied. The king installed his own government under Sir Edmund Andros. Andros brought an Anglican minister that took over a Congregational church building. Some towns refused to pay their taxes, protesting “no taxes without representation”. Towns were restricted to one town meeting per year, and heavy jail sentences were applied for disobedience. John Davis Sr. first appears in the town records in Derby when, along with Abel Gunn, he witnessed a deed to Samuel Bowers on December 2, 1690 ( Town Records , 93). The seller may have been the son of the deceased parson. The next year John was elected a “townsman”. It would have been expected that John dress up for the township meetings. He would have worn his linen shirt with “neck cloth” and “pear of stocking”, his “lether briches” and “shews”, his black broad cloath vest, and “broad cloath coat”. On his head he would have worn a “perywig” covered by a hat (Will). After saddling the horse, he rode to the meeting. He passed Indians that came to town to trade furs for pots, axes, cloth, etc. He stopped at a neighbours and ordered some oak barrels for making cider. At the town meeting-house he hung up his coat and hat, and put on his “close stoll” which is a ceremonial neck scarf of office. The meeting house was at Squabble Hole in 1682. Meetings were held twice on Sundays, while on Saturdays, the militia trained on the town green. At meetings, men and women sat on opposite sides of the room, both facing the pulpit (Lichfield). On December 2, 1690, John Davis and his future wife, Mary Gunn, were witnesses to a deed where Samuel Bowers sold two acres of swamp known as “David’s meadow”, located South East of Ansonia within Derby township, to George Bayman ( Town Records, 93). The Bowers and Davis families were friends and neighbours 200 years later at Brier Island (see chapter 6 ). The Town chose Mr. Davis and two others to be “listers”: “August 28, 1696 at a lawful town meeting at derby the town have chosen ensign riggs mr davis John pringle listers for the year ensuing” ( Town Records, 179). Listers kept records of inhabitants, and may have collected money. This demonstrates that John Davis could read and write.John Davis Sr. is also listed among 42 men at a town meeting in 1696 who agreed to give a home lot to a physician (Orcutt). The town selected John Davis to collect the salary for the Parson from its inhabitants in 1697, Dec.29. This would have been Reverend John James. Later, in 1702, Dec.14, John Davis Sr. was appointed to rate the Parson’s salary: “Mr. John Davies senior & Saml Bowrs to make up ye Ministers rate & deliver it to ye Collectors” ( Town Records, 219). As a “Townsman”, John Davis Sr. may also have been involved in the construction of the first parsonage. On December 29, 1697, John Davis Sr.’s son Samuel and two others were elected as “fence viewers” ( Town Records, 188). Fence viewers settled property line disputes. In 1707 the town meeting had difficulty deciding where its members would sit. Each year they would rearrange the seating plan. The head of each estate got a seat in a place of status, proportional to the worth of his estate in the tax list. Mr. John Davis sat in the audience, in the third row from the front, facing the pulpit; while his step father-in-law (John Tibbals) sat in front, beside the pulpit, facing the body of the meeting. On a single seat in front of Tibbals’ bench, next to the pulpit, sat Major Ebenezer Johnson, who had purchased land from the Indians, and performed marriages. Orcutt and Beardsley, History of the Old Town of Derby LAND ACQUISITIONIn 1703 John Davis owned 37 acres of land located on the West side of the Nagatuck river. (An acre of land is about 70×70 yards, or about the size of a short wide football field.) It extended between two highways, one running along the west side of the Naugatuck, and measured thirty rods along the highway. To the north was a 31 acre lot owned by George Beamons and to the south was a 70 acre lot owned by Isaac Nichols. ( Town Records, 285, 187). His first land appears to have been acquired through his marriage to the widow Gunn. It was listed on October 12, 1696 in the Derby Town Record book that
John Sr. may have become owner of the land of Widow Gunn, his wife and neighbour, as his inventory had 27 acres on Sentinel Hill. On “Janewary 16 1699” John Sr. requested further land to build a barn. The record on page 42 reads:
Map of Sentinel Hill. “the town have granted to mr davis twelve acres of land upon the upper end of Sentinel hill” “... one towards mistris bowerses & the other to the meeting house the Reason of my request is becaus I have no convenant place to set my barne on the hill is soe rissing every wher in my hom lot. The above was recorded again on February 25, 1703 with different spelling: On February 25, 1703, the land requested four years earlier was officially granted, after John Sr. had already built a barn on the land. On Page 102 it states that
John Sr. earned a share in lands purchased from the Indians. Both John Davis Sr. and his son John Jr. are listed with fifty-two men on March 12, 1702 as participants in drawing lots for land. After pieces of land had been purchased from the Naugatuck Indians, it was divided into lots and distributed to the inhabitants of the township. The town meeting decided the sequence for locating the lots. Lot #1 was measured starting in the north corner of the parcel of land. Lot #2 was measured to the west of lot #1, and continue west until Great Mountain. The participants drew a number from a container, which was the sequence for their piece of land. John Davis Sr. drew number 4, meaning his land would be the fourth lot measured. The pieces of land were measured in numerical sequence, but were not equal in size. The size depended on the status or present worth of the resident. Thus John Jr.’s lot no.4 may have been larger than lots #3 & 5 on each side. Also, the surveyors were instructed to be fair in respect to the quality of the land: “where it wanted in quality it was to be made up in quantity.” Phillips, Town Records of Derby ILLNESSIn June of 1700 John Davis Sr. became “very sick and weak in body” and made a will. He named his wife Abigail, his sons John and Samuel, his daughter Sarah, his under-age son George, and his youngest children Mary and Nathaniel. The will was witnessed by Jobamah Gunn and John Riske (Riggs?).
In his will, John made provisions for the continuance of debt payment from his first wife’s brother, “Uncle Cook”, to his two oldest sons: “Unto my son John Daviss and to my son Samel Daviss I give five pounds to Each of them there being a bill for fifty pounds wch I Secured for them in ye hands of their Uncle Cook part of which John hath already Received and at my decease ye bill shall by my Executrix be delivered unto them my said sons John and Samel Daviss and the ten pounds wch I have made use of, of that money Shall by my Executrix be made Good unto them. besides the five pounds to each of them wch shall be paid to them out of my Estate in Derby.” When the will was written in 1700 Uncle Cook may possibly have still been paying for the former home of his deceased sister’s husband. He was paying an amount each year to John Sr. but also had made some payment to John, Jr. In his will John Sr. asked his wife to obtain the balance due on the “bill” after he died and give it to his children. John Sr. recovered, however, from being sick to have three more children and lived twelve more years. John may have been serviced by the new doctor, Josiah Baldwin. Will of John Davis Sr. DEATHJohn Davis, “seinyear” died in the spring of 1712, aged circa 65. His death occurred sometime before September 17, 1712, when his will was probated, and sometime after a recording of his cattle earmarks on April 29, 1712. He was survived by his third wife and their five children, along with four children by his first wife, for a total of nine children. There were three daughters aged 3, 5, 19, and 39; and four sons aged 9, 14, 31, 33, & 37. At that time “most burials were without any religious service”. His body may have been taken to the township burying grounds in a wooden box. Transport was difficult in the early days without roads or wagons. One method described was to use two horses, one behind the other, with a pole on each side of them. Short boards were attached across the long poles to support the coffin. John Davis Sr. may have been buried in the Congregationalist church graveyard which was just across the street from his home lot, but the location is unknown. His widow may alternatively have had him buried on his home lot at the top of a hill, within sight of his house near Bladen’s Brook. If a stone was used to mark his burial place, it was not in a yard with others, or it would have been recorded in a survey of two thousand graveyards in Connecticut in 1930 by Hale. His estate was inventoried at 268 Pounds: 18 shillings. This total comprised Real Estate valued at 109:02 Pounds and Personal Estate of 159:16 Pounds . As the deceased had requested in his will of June 18, 1700, Abigail (Tibbals) Davis, widow, was appointed the “Executrix” of her husband’s will on September 17, 1712, with “overseers” his step father-in-law John Tibbals and Ensign Samuel Riggs. The inventory made on 1712, Sept. 30 was signed by Appraysors: Joseph J. and John Riggs, and noted “Abigail Daviss, Sworne in Court, Test Jos/h. Whiting, Clerk”. The bottom line “Sum” value had been crossed out, probably due to incorrect addition. The inventory of Sept. 30 was copied over again with proper spelling and addition on October 3, 1712, when it was recorded in Court at Milford. It was preceded by two testimonies that tie it to the will. Saml Eells “one of the assistants of her Majesties Colony of Connecticut” stated that he had heard Jobamah Gunn state that he had seen John Davis declare in writing the instrument on the other side to be his last Will and testament. Josh Whiting, Court Clerk, stated that John H_o_s_k of Milford had sworn in Court that he had seen John Davis of Derby publish his last will and he was of sound mind at the doing and that he saw Jobamah Gunn sign as a witness. John Davis Sr.’s will, written twelve years earlier, had said that 60 pounds were to go to the children; however, no money was listed in the inventory, although everything had been given a monetary value. It is possible that the 60 Pounds were to come mostly from his first wife’s brother “Uncle Cook”. In the spring of 1712, John and his brother Samuel decided that their sister Sarah would stay in the old Davis home with her brother George, and their father’s third wife, Abigail (Harger) Davis would raise her five children in Derby. Barbour Collection, Derby Vital Records Descendants of John Davis, Sr.9* John DAVIS, Sr. b. ca. 1648; d. 1712 Derby (New Haven County, Conn.) Farmer, town council, candlemaker, linen and wool spinner, cider maker. Purchased land ca. 1695 in Derby township (now Seymour). m1: Abigail (Cook ?), d. ca. 1690
m2. May 12, 1691: Mrs. Mary ( Smith ) Gun, widow of Abel Gunn. [Phillips, Derby Records, p.291 (p.25) ]. m3. Abigail Harger, of Derby, b.1672 at Stratfordshire
8* John DAVIS Jr. b. ca. 1675, d. spring of 1767. Lived at Chestnut Tree Hill, Oxford, Conn. 8. Samuel Davis, b. ca. 1679, d.1748, spring at Stratford
8. Jabez Davis, 1703, Jul.24, Derby, Settled at Danbury, Conn. 7. Elias Davis, b. 1708, Jan.17, m. Abigail Tomlinson, 1723, Jul. 18, daughter of John Tomlinson and Elizabeth Wooster 7. Nathan Davis, m. Eunice, daughter of Samuel and Hannah Tomlinson. Resided on Bungay and at the Neck.
6. Benjamin Davis, b.1743, Mar. 1- d.1817, Nov. Benjamin was at the meeting to start Trinity Church in 1797.
Jacobus, “ Davis Family of Derby ” Lineage of Abigail Harger10. Jabez HARGER, d. 1678 at Derby.
9* Abigail HARGER, b.1672, Mar.02 at Stratford, Conn.;
( For children see John Davis Sr. ) |
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