Jenkin Thomas Davies (1675 - 1748)

Born 1675 in Llansanffraid Parish, Cardiganshire, Wales

Descendants

Died 1 Dec 1748 at about age 73 in Earl Township, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Allen Blanton [send private message], Peter Tesar [send private message], and David Higgs [send private message]

Biography

Jenkin Davies was born in 1675.

"We know that Jenkin Davies lived on 200-odd acres in Radnor Township. He worshiped at nearby St. David's church, where some of his descendants are no doubt buried. Jenkin's creed was Anglican, not Quaker, a fact that set him somewhat apart from his many Quaker neighbors. Scattered evidence suggests that one of Jenkin's relatives, perhaps his father, might have settled near him in Pennsylvania. Land records of Uwchlan Township show that a Jenkin David, almost certainly a Welshman, purchased 200 acres in 1715. He lived there with his wife, Martha, until his death in 1727. Martha survived him, but we do not know where she died, or when. Jenkin and Martha had a son named Evan, who inherited the Uwchlan farm. Were Jenkin David and Jenkin Davies related, perhaps as father and son? Their names could suggest kinship: Jenkin was an old English name (known as early as Chaucer's Canterbury Tales), but it was not a common one among the Welsh of southeastern Pennsylvania. What was common in the Welsh Tract, however, was for the son to take his father's Christian name as his surname. Jenkin David's generation of Welshmen seems to have been one of the first to adopt surnames, but they did so with little originality. The Welsh Tract is full of David Davids, Thomas Thomases, and Evan Evanses. Hence, Jenkin David, if he was in fact Jenkin Davies' father, would have been born in the mid-1600s, the son of David, born in turn in the perhaps the 1610s or 1620s. Jenkin David's own firstborn son might well have called himself Jenkin Davies. Thus it is plausible that the Jenkin David who died in Uwchlan in 1727—who left at least three grown children—was of the generation preceding Jenkin Davies'. The second clue is Jenkin Davies' Welsh Bible, which was long in the Davis family but now is held by the Tri-County Historical Society in Lancaster. Printed in London in 1678, it is inscribed "Jenkin David his book 1702," and just below that "Jenkin Davies his book 1726." Neither inscription was written by either of the two Jenkins, because both were illiterate (as attested by the marks on their respective wills). Jenkin Davies could have had his name inscribed in his Bible twice; he apparently called himself Jenkin David for a time, although he had obviously changed to Davies by 1726. But if both inscriptions refer to the same owner, why would he want his Bible inscribed twice, 24 years apart? The logical assumption is that Jenkin David and Jenkin Davies were two men, perhaps father and son. Both presumably worshipped at St. David's church in Radnor (which owns an identical 1678 Welsh Bible), and that Jenkin the elder had handed the Bible to Jenkin the son by 1726, not long before his own death. How can we know for certain whether the Jenkin David named in the Davies Bible was the Jenkin David of Uwchlan? There is one more clue. Various books on the Welsh Tract mention no other Jenkin David or Jenkin Davies; a significant fact in itself, given the unimaginative names chosen by Welsh parents of the time and the consequent confusing welter of Thomases, Edwards, Evans, Reeses, Prices—and Davids. The wills of the two Jenkins both mention Evan Davids, who could have been the same person. Jenkin David in 1727 left his Uwchlan farm to a son Evan; Jenkin Davies in 1747 mentioned a brother Evan, then living in Wales. Was this the Evan David who in turn sold the Uwchlan farm out of his family in 1752? If so, then the father-son relationship would seem undeniable. The distance of 300 years, however, clouds any certain knowledge of the relation between the two Jenkins. Certain circumstances suggest that the Jenkin David of Uwchlan was not the father of the Jenkin Davies of Radnor and Earl Township. Jenkin David's will does not mention a son Jenkin, nor the two properties in Wales that so exercised Jenkin Davies’ thoughts as he prepared his own will in 1747. Since Pennsylvania did not have primogeniture, this omission is significant. It means either of two things: that Jenkin and Jenkin were not father and son, or that the father gave his son his inheritance before his own death. If the latter were true, the logical date for the transfer would be 1719, when Jenkin Davies purchased 200-odd acres in Radnor and another thousand acres on the frontier in Lancaster County. The odd chronology of the land records throws another doubt into the equation. Jenkin David bought his Uwchlan lot in 1715. If he was Jenkin Davies' father, he would have been in his fifties, if not already in his sixties. There seems to be no record of him in Pennsylvania before then. Jenkin Davies does not show in the records before 1719, when he was probably in his forties (his first child had been born in 1696). Why would the elder Jenkin David, presumably an aging man of modest but comfortable means, pull up roots in Wales and emigrate to a wild America ahead of his eldest son? What all this long digression means is that we simply cannot say for certain who was Jenkin Davies' father. We have no sure knowledge of when he came to Pennsylvania, what he left behind in Wales, or came with him. What we do know is that Jenkin Davies was in Radnor by 1719, and that he and his wife Mary had had, by then, seven children over two decades. After this the picture grows clearer. Conestoga Around the time Jenkin Davies purchased the Radnor farm, he also acquired 1000 acres on the Conestoga River in Earl Township, Lancaster County. We do not know for certain when he moved there for good, but when he did he left the Radnor farm in the hands of his son Evan. Evan's family occupied the land until the second decade of the 19th century, according to census returns and local tax records. Jenkin Davies almost certainly went west to Lancaster County with a party of Welshmen surveying the land in 1719. Thomas Edwards, who apparently was there at the time, mentions “ye Company in ye woods,” traveling with surveyor Isaac Taylor. Jenkin had Taylor lay out 800 acres along the Conestoga and another 200 for his son-in-law, Rees David, husband of his daughter Catherine. Rees and Catherine settled on their land at that time or soon afterward, building “a little cabin” and clearing three acres, but within a year or two, before the Spring planting, Rees and Jenkin quarreled. Whatever the cause of the row, Jenkin withdrew his promise to pay for the land on which Rees and Catherine lived, and they seem to have sold their share and moved away. Jenkin was still angry about the incident a generation later. His will left Catherine a small sum—“five pounds current money of Pennsylvania”—to be paid to her “if she outlive her husband" The fact that Jenkin was close enough to quarrel with Rees suggests that he lived on his land in Earl Township at least part of the year. Perhaps he raised a crop there but wintered in Radnor. In any event, he seems not to have built a home in Earl until 1740. A few years before his death he apparently constructed a brick house at the confluence of the Conestoga and Muddy Creek. It was still standing in 1996, close to the east bank of Muddy Creek, broken and abandoned and overgrown, behind a huge 1830s farmhouse that is now in Mennonite hands. Occasional flood waters had lapped the foundation, leaving a deep and never-drying pool around one corner before receding. Just over the waters is the cornerstone for the house, showing the date 1740. Since Jenkin Davies unquestionably owned the land at that time (having paid for it in full by October 1735, according to local land records), the house must have been his. It is small by later standards, but it was solid and must have ranked with the more substantial residences in the district when constructed. Jenkin Davies' 1747 will is a fount of information about him and his family. He made it on February 12, 1747, being “weak of body but of perfect mind and memory.” It describes him as a “yeoman,” and strongly suggests he was still an Anglican in his creed. The will notes that Jenkin and Mary had recently conveyed their “plantation” in Radnor to their eldest son Evan, who been living on that tract for some years—perhaps since Jenkin had moved to Conestoga. Evan also received a house and 200 acres in Earl (one Owen Williams was living there at the time). Sons John and Zaccheus each received the houses and land where they lived (400 acres each). This acreage must have been in addition to the 805 acres that Jenkin and Mary had apparently given to John in October 1744. Mary and John were the executors of Jenkin’s will, which was witnessed by several of Jenkin’s Welsh neighbors: Owen Williams, Rees Morgan, Thomas Edward, as well as by John McHaffney. The will was probated on December 5, 1748. We do not know for certain when Mary Davies died, in keeping with our ignorance of her birth. Nor do we know where she and Jenkin lie today. But we can make an educated guess. A mile or so the east of the Conestoga house near Lancaster Ave, just to the west of Terre Hill in East Earl Township, a low hill rises along the north side of the road. Toward the top of that rise sits a substantial and tidy Menonnite farm. Behind their barn, tucked in a notch of the cornfield, is an ancient cemetery containing the dust of several dozen of the area's first white settlers in a square plot bounded by a low stone wall. The graves of Jenkin and Mary's sons, John and Zaccheus, alongside their wives, lie in a line in the middle of the cemetary. The crumbling and barely legible headstones of John and Elizabeth make one pair, and a few feet away the stones of Zaccheus and his wife Joanna make the second pair. Between the two pairs is just the right space for two more graves, although no stones survive to witness for their inhabitants. One would like to believe that Jenkin and Mary lie there."

By Michael Warner 2001 Davis Family History

He married Mary James^[1]

Jenkin died about 1748 probably in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Children of Jenkin and Mary

1. Zaccheus Davis Sr. b. 1710 d. 1788 married Joannah Edwards
2. Sarah Davis b. 1713 d. 1802 married John Edwards
3. John^[2]

Notes

Thomas Davis^[3][4] Born about 1675 to Jenkin Davis and Martha Morgan. Jenkin married Mary and had 8 children. He passed away in 1747 (differs from data above) in Earl, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Sources

[1] From a history of the descendants of Jenkins Davis of Lancaster County, Pa.

...information about 18th century residents of Chester County, Pa., and nearby areas... ^[5]

"Jenkins Davis immigrated from the parish of Killkennen, County of Cardigan, Wales, early in 1700. … Dinah, the second daughter of Jenkins Davis, named above, married John Piersol. We have not been able to go farther back in the Piersol line, which we think is Welsh, though we are unable to fix it with certainty. It may be Scotch-Irish or Huguenot." – "Biographical Annals of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania," by J.H. Beers & Co., pages 1519 and 1520.

Note: Dinah is probably the granddaughter of Jenkin, not his daughter. Zakias was her father.

[2] Historical documents we found for Jenkins Davis — FamilySearch.org

from FamilySearch ^[6]

Birth: 1673, Cardiganshire, Wales, United Kingdom

Death: 1 December 1748, Earl Township, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States

Spouses: Margaret Davis, Mary Elizabeth Banks and Martha Thomas

Parents: Martha Morgan & Jenkin Thomas Davis

Marriage to: Mrs. Margaret Davis (1677–1740) about 1695, Cardiganshire, Wales

Children of Mrs. Margaret Davis and Jenkin Thomas Davis (7)

Catherine Davis 1696–Deceased

David Davis 1699–1747

Jean Davis 1702–1747

Evan Davies 1703–1779

John Davis 1706–1774

Zaccheus Davis 1710–1788

Sarah Davis 1713–1802

1. ↑ John Edwards Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Mennonite Vital Records, 1750-2014.
2. ↑ Children see Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Mennonite Vital Records, 1750-2014 results for Davies, Davis at Ancestry.com.
3. ↑ Source: #S17 Page: Ancestry Family Trees
4. ↑ Source: #S35 Page: Place: America; Year: 1700; Page Number: . Data: Text: Birth date: abt 1679 CONT Birth place: CONT Arrival date: 1700 CONT Arrival place: America
5. ↑ http://bowershomestead.com/peirsol---eastern-pennsylvania-data.html
6. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/home/nli-discovery?givenName=jenkins&surname=davis&birthPlace=wales&deathPlace=pennsylvania&deathDate=1748

• 1688474, Breconshire, Wales^[7]
• Event: Type: Arrival Date: 1700 Place: America^[8]

• Source: S17 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.; Repository: #R2 NOTEThis information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created.
• Repository: R2 Name: Ancestry.com Address: http://www.Ancestry.com E-Mail Address: Phone Number:

• Source: S35 Author: Gale Research Title: Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010.Original data - Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2010.Original data: Filby, P. William, ed. Passenge; Repository: #R2

Acknowledgements

• Allen Blanton, Friday, April 4, 2014.
• http://records.ancestry.com.au/jenkins_davis_records.ashx?pid=13199894
• Davis-24062 was created by David Higgs through the import of Brown-12 Generations_2014-07-23.ged on Jul 23, 2014.

Jenkin Thomas Davis (L553-FHC) (1675–1748): Sources ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Title: Legacy NFS Source: Jenkins -Thomas Davis - Individual or family possessions: birth: about 1675; Citation: Notes: Individual or family possessions: birth: about 1675; Individual or family possessions: death: about 1728;

Title: Thomas David, "Wales, Monmouthshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1912" Web page: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KCTX-1QP Citation: "Wales, Monmouthshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1912," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KCTX-1QP : 10 February 2018), Thomas David and Margareta Morgan, 15 Jun 1703, Marriage; from "Parish Records Collection 1538-2005," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Bedwellty, Monmouthshire, Wales, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 2,411,318.

Title: Legacy NFS Source: Jenkin Thomas Davis - Published information: birth-name: Jenkin Thomas Davis Citation: Notes: Published information: birth-name: Jenkin Thomas Davis Published information: male Published information: birth: 1675; Llansantffraid, Cardiganshire, Wales Published information: death: 1728; Wales

Jenkin Thomas Davis (L553-FHC) (1675–1748): Notes ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Title: Children Catherine (b. November 6, 1696); she married Rees Davis David (b. January 20, 1699) Jean (or Jane; b. January 14, 1702) Evan (b. June 7, 1703) John (1706-1774); he married Elizabeth Anderson Zaccheus (b. February 21, 1710; d. 1788); he married Joanna Morgan Sarah (b. May 28, 1713; d. 1802); she married John Edwards

Title: Four Generations of the Davis Family

Four Generations of the Davis Family

The Davis Family Reunion has met annually for almost 60 years, bringing together descendants of Jenkin Davies of Cardiganshire, Wales. The Davises attending these reunions have mostly been members of one branch of the family, that of Jenkin’s great-grandson George Davis, who spent his adult life near Frederick, Maryland, and died in 1850. A history of George’s clan would require many pages, but the story of him and his forefathers can be told fairly simply.

In hopes of strengthening the bonds of mutual esteem among the Davis Family, that story is told here in preliminary sketches of the lives and immediate families of Jenkin Davies (d. 1747), his son John Davis (1706–1774), his son Richard Davis (1751–1791), and his son George Davis (1775–1850). It is the hope of the author that these sketches will be given greater detail and accuracy as research brings more facts to light.

Please remember that this document represents a work in progress. While many of the facts stated below are certain, many of the inferences adduced are not. Additional information is needed to fill in the missing details of these biographies and to establish the historical context in which these Davises lived. The author welcomes any and all corrections and suggestions for new research.

Michael Warner

September 2001

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