According to a family genealogy of the Duke-Shepherd-Van Metre family, Van_Meter-5|Sarah Van Metre]], daughter-in-law of this James Davis, "married circa 1725 James Davis (probably of the family of James Davis of Pilesgrove, Salem Co., N.J.--Pilesgrove Church Record). [Additionally] a James Davis was killed by the Indians on one of their raids along the upper Potomac valley in 1757 (Kercheval's History of the Valley)."[1]
A blog maintained by the Upper Pittsgrove Historian, Bonny Beth Elwell, speaks of the David Davis house of 1731, a patterned brick house in Pilesgrove Township "still lived in by descendants of the Davis family today," and that "the Davis family helped found the Pilesgrove Friends Meeting in Woodstown and they descended from a worthy Quaker heritage."[2]Geographical note: "Pittsgrove township was formed from Pilesgrove, and named after Sir William Pitt. It is sixteen miles from Salem. In this township are the small villages of Pittstown (now called Elmer) and Centreville."[3]
Elsewhere on this website is related the origin of this Davis family who migrated as Quakers from England to Oyster Bay, Long Island, one of them being Dorothea Gotherson who married a fellow Quaker named John Davis on August 5, 1680. It is related that John and Dorothea raised seven children, and that they then migrated to Pilesgrove Township in West Jersey where their grandchildren and great-grandchildren were born.[4]It is not known if this James Davis is part of this family, but it seems likely. Quaker records for this Meeting house should be consulted if these can be located.
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
James is 25 degrees from Herbert Adair, 22 degrees from Richard Adams, 19 degrees from Mel Blanc, 26 degrees from Dick Bruna, 15 degrees from Bunny DeBarge, 31 degrees from Peter Dinklage, 18 degrees from Sam Edwards, 15 degrees from Ginnifer Goodwin, 18 degrees from Marty Krofft, 10 degrees from Junius Matthews, 14 degrees from Rachel Mellon and 17 degrees from Harold Warstler on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.