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The wonder stories and facts of the Davenports


Surname Davenport
Submitted by
Janet Ariciu (monkey)
Date submitted Dec 1, 2002

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The following Davenport data is a brief extract taken from "The Pamunkey Davenports of Colonial Virginia", a working paper compiled by Dr. John Scott Davenport of Holmdel, NJ, as appearing on the PAMUNKEY DAVENPORT GENEALOGY by Jack W. Ralph. and copyrighted 1998 by The Pamunkey Davenport Family Association, Robert L. Davenport, coordinator. For the link to this website go to the bottom of this page. (I think it is GREAT SITE. Please go and look at it. I give all my thanks to Jack and Dr. John Scott Davenport for all their hard work. THANK YOU AGAIN ,Janet)

The following quoted material is re-published with permission of the author.

BEGIN QUOTE

The descriptor "Pamunkey Davenports" (a term coined in January, 1998) is used to identify all those Davenports who trace back to Pamunkey Neck, Old King William County, Virginia, which in 1704 included present-day King William County, the southwestern fourth of Caroline County, and the most southern portion of Spotsylvania County. Old King William was sixty miles long with an average width of nine miles. After Spotsylvania County (1722) and Caroline County (1728) took portions of Upper Pamunkey Neck into their jurisdictions, King William was reduced to its present dimensions--thirty-two miles long with an average width of eight miles.

Pamunkey Davenports include all those descendants, by surname or corollary (daughter) lines, who trace back to Davis Davenport, who first appeared in the King William Quit Rents of 1704, either by proof (son Martin) or by circumstantial evidence (daughter Ann, son Thomas, son John, son Richard, and son Elias). In essence, Pamunkey Davenports can all prove that they trace back to Pamunkey Neck, but in most part cannot yet prove -- and possibly never may be able to do so -- that they trace back to Davis, although circumstantial evidence heavily supports the conclusion that they do. Hence, they can identify themselves collectively as "Pamunkey Davenports" comfortably -- without pretense or need for qualification.

For those unfamiliar with Virginia geography, Pamunkey Neck is that long finger of land running northwest to southeast between the Pamunkey-North Anna River and the Mattaponi River, ending at their confluence to form the York River. Prior to 1701, Pamunkey Neck was the reservation of the Pamunkey, Chickahominy, and Mattaponi Indians as well as a few even smaller tribes. (Both the Pamunkeys and Mattaponis still have small reservations in King William County today.)

Until we identify a Davenport ancestor for Davis Davenport, speculation about his mother being a Davis from New Kent County, has no better legs than our bastardy hypothesis. Those New Kent Davises, who we have investigated and tentatively rejected because there were a half a dozen Davis candidates in closer proximity to our ancestor, were located on the far side of Pamunkey Neck from Davis Davenport's plantation and landing of 1696. The Pamunkey Davenports trace back to Davis Davenport, first in evidence in 1695 in Pamundey Neck(now King William County) which was then and Indian reserbvation. the most tenable scenario for monent is that Davis ws the bastard son of Ann Davenport and a Thomas Davis, both indentured servants, who were in Virginia records in terms of time and place as to make them viable condidates as Davis's father. Few are happy with this speculation, but descendants increased exponentially via sons, Martins, Thomas, John , Richard, and Elias, and daughter Ann. We use the term"Paumdey Davenports" to cicumstantial evidence. Davis might have been a descendant Lancelote, but there is nothing in terms of time of place relative to Colonial Virginia to make that more than wishful thinking.

DAVIS DAVENPORT, b. c1660, m. ?, d. before 1735, King William County. [First found with son Martin in King William Quit Rent Rolls of 1704, but a Davenport Plantation and Landing existed on the Mattaponi River in Pamunkey Neck in 1696. Last found as a mention in Martin's will in 1735.] Children (Order approximate):

END QUOTE

The following was extracted from Dr. Davenport's work, but it has been modified by the WebMaster of this site. The Pamunkey Davenport Family Association does not vouch for it's completeness, accuracy or authenticity.

Descendants of Davis Davenport

1 *Davis Davenport b: Abt. 1650 d: Abt. 1735 Age at death: 85 est. [First found with son Martin in King William Quit Rent Rolls of 1704, but a Davenport Plantation and Landing existed on the Mattaponi River in Pamunkey Neck in 1696. Last found as a mention in Martin's will in 1735.] Children (Order approximate):

1/A Martin Davenport b: MARTIN DAVENPORT, b. c1682, Pamunkey Neck?; m. (1?) ?, c1704, King William County; (2?) Dorothy Glover, c1714?, King William County; d. 1735, Hanover County. Children: (Order uncertain. His Will names only five sons, but circumstantial evidence indicates the possibility of eight sons, four daughters, as follows):

1/A/1 Mary, b. c1706, King William County; m. Henry Gambill, c1728, Hanover County; d. ?, Wilkes County, NC? [Henry Gambill, according to a deposition given by his brother-in-law Thomas Baker who was with him on a venture, died and was buried in the Welsh Tract, PeeDee River waters, SC, in the mid-to-late 1760s. When Mary Gambill and several of her children moved to Western North Carolina in the mid-to-late 1770s, other children and their families from South Carolina joined them there.] Children (Order uncertain):

1/A/2 Daughter [Claimed by some to have been Crotia or Crosha, who was Charles Kennedy's widow, but recent research indicates that Crotia was much too young to have been mother of Kennedy's eldest children], b. c1709?, King William County; m. Charles Kennedy, c1731, Hanover County; d. Before 1758, Louisa or Hanover.

*1/A/3. Thomas, b. 1711, King William County; m. Dorothy ------, c1732, Hanover County; d. 10Nov1809, Burke County, NC. Children: (Order approximate)

1/A/4. Richard, b. c1713, King William County; m. (1) ?, c1734, Hanover County; (2) Elizabeth ------, widow of Robert Hamner, Albemarle County; d. 1792, Albemarle County.

1/A/5. Dorothy, b. 2Nov1716, King William County; m. Thomas Baker, c1734, Hanover County; d. 1790, Burke County, NC. [Thomas Baker manufactured gunpowder for the Continental Army during the Revolution, was killed when his factory in Culpeper County blew up in 1777.]

* Thomas and Dorothy Davenport children:

1/A/3/1 Sophia, b. c1733, Hanover County; m. William White, Culpeper County; d. Nov1818, Burke County, NC.

1/A/3/2 Lucy, b. c1735, Hanover County; m. Richard Graves (C5), 1750, Hanover County; d. ?, Culpeper County?

1/A/3/3 Dorothy, b. c1737, Hanover County; m. John Browning. c17- 57, d. ?

1/A/3/4 Martin, b. c1739, Hanover County; m. (1) Hannah Baker, c1767, Culpeper County; (2) Jane Browning, c1779, Wilkes County, NC?; d. 1815, Burke County, NC.

1/A/3/5* Mary, b. 17Jun1741, Hanover County; m. William (*Edward) Wiseman, c1761 ; d. 17Jun1796, Burke County, NC. Children (Order certain): Thomas Wiseman; Dorothy who married David Baker (A5h) [their daughter Dorothy married David Davenport (A3c)]; William E. Wiseman, Jr.; Mary who married John Puett; Davenport Wiseman; Martin Wiseman; James Wiseman; John Wiseman; Celestial Wiseman; Susannah who married Thomas Baker; Robert Wiseman; and Nancy who married David Hunt. William may or may not have the middle name Edward.

Click here for Wiseman

1/A/3/6 Jerusha, b. c1744, Hanover County; m. James White, ?, Culpeper County, VA; d. ?, Natchez, MS.

1/A/3/7 Rachel, b. c1747, Hanover County; m. William Cole, Culpeper County, VA (to Jeffrey's Creek SC, then to Burke County, NC); d. ?

B. Thomas Davenport of Cumberland County Children:

B1. James, b. c1712, King William County; m. Catherine [Jenkins? Glenn?], c1740, King William County; d


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