Eli Davis (1779 - 1861)

Born 11 Aug 1779 in Stafford, Virginia, United States

Husband of Martha (Baker) Davis — married 3 Apr 1806 in Fox Creek Church, Grayson, Virginia, United States

Descendants

Died 23 Jan 1861 at age 81 in Hancock, Tennessee, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Milton Davis [send private message] and Sherry Baker [send private message]

Biography

Eli Davis was born 11 Aug 1779^[1][2][3] in Stafford County,^[1][2] Virginia.

He was born "on the Potomac" in Virginia.

He married Martha "Patsy" Baker,^[1] daughter of Rev. Andrew Baker^[1] at Fox Creek Baptist Church in Grayson County,^[1] Virginia on the 3rd of April 1806.^[1] The wedding was performed by her father.^[1]

Eli Davis was a farmer^[1] and travelling school teacher.^[1] The earliest records of Eli Davis show him purchasing 105 acres of land on the South Fork of the Holston River in Washington County, Virginia from Andrew and Nancy Milburn.^[1] Having only received his deed in in March 1808, he sold it the same year^[1] to William Davis (relationship unknown) and the family moved west to Sequatchie Valley,^[1] TN so that Eli could teach school there. At the time this area was just opened up for settlement and would have definitely been quite undeveloped. He would teach during the day and then school his own children by candlelight each evening.^[1]

The family moved back to Virginia briefly^[1] and then from Virginia to Hancock,^[1] (now Claiborne^[1]), Tennessee by 1815 according to the birth records of his children.

He was the father of twelve children^[1][4] (See Family, below.)

The family eventually settled on Mulberry Creek near what is now Sneedville, Claiborne County, Tennessee.^[1] This land is still owned by descendants of his daughter Mary F. "Polly" (Davis) Hatfield.^[1] It is called the "Old Davis Place."^[1]

Frieda (Sims) Nelson's book "Andrew Baker And His Descendants" has a biography for Eli Davis Sr. & Martha Baker, as well as all the Davis children.^[1] See extract in Books, below, or see page 202 of the book here.

Death & Burial

Eli died 23 Jan 1861^[1][2] in what was then Hancock County,^[1][2] (now Claiborne County^[1]), Tennessee.

He was buried on his own farm^[1] in Mulberry Gap,^[1] Tennessee which became known as the Davis Cemetery^[2] in Sneedville, Hancock County, Tennessee.

Headstone inscription:^[2]

Family

Eli Davis, Sr. and Martha Baker had twelve children:^[1]

1. Elijah Davis,^[1] b. 25 Apr 1807^[1] in Washington Co., VA^[1]
2. John Davis,^[1] b. 07 Jan 1809^[1] in Warren Co., TN^[1]
3. Andrew Baker Davis,^[1] b. 19 Dec 1810^[1] in Warren Co., TN^[1]
4. Louisa Davis,^[1] b. 02 Mar 1813^[1] in Warren Co., TN^[1]
5. Emmaline "Emily" (Davis) Hatfield,^[1] b. 04 May 1815^[1] in Claiborne Co., TN^[1]
6. James Hervey Davis,^[1] b. 02 Mar 1817^[1] in Claiborne Co., TN^[1]
7. Mary "Polly" Fulkerston (Davis) Hatfield,^[1] b. 16 Feb 1819^[1] in Claiborne Co., TN^[1]
8. William Davis,^[1] b. 28 Feb 1821^[1] in Claiborne Co., TN^[1]
9. Eli Davis,Jr.,^[1] b. 06 Jul 1823^[1] in Claiborne Co., TN^[1]
10. Martha "Patsy" Davis,^[1] b. 07 Nov 1825^[1] in Claiborne Co., TN^[1]
11. Elizabeth Davis,^[1] b. 19 Apr 1829^[1] in Claiborne Co., TN^[1]
12. Elvira Davis,^[1] b. 12 Nov 1832^[1] in Claiborne Co., TN^[1]

Books

"Andrew Baker and His Descendants"

Book by Frieda Sims Nelson, Page 202: ^[1]

"In Mar. 1808, Eli, Sr. bought 105 acres of land, located on S. Fork of the Holston River in Va. In Nov. 1808, they sold the land. These deeds are recorded in Court House at Abingdon, Va. Eli and Martha then went from Wash. Co., Va. to Sequatchie Valley, Tenn. to teach school. Eli was called a "Traveling School Teacher." Martha was not happy there, so they went back to Va. for a time. Later returned to Tenn. and located in Hancock Co., now Claiborne Co. at Mulberry Gap, Tenn. Eli received three grants of land on the water of Mulberry Creek from the State of Tenn. He bought 22 acres of adjoining land from Neil McNeil. Possibly he owned other land. This place is spoken of as the "Old Davis Place", and is now the property of some of the Ramsey descendants of Polly Davis Hatfield."

"Eli was a Teacher and Farmer. He taught his own children from 6 to 9 o'clock at night by candlelight. A tradition in the family is that Martha was an excellent Herb Doctor. People would come for miles to get her to go and doctor the sick, bringing a horse for her to ride. She also delivered Babies. It was said that she broke her hip and stayed in bed for a year or more, but eventually recovered and resumed riding and doctoring the sick."

DNA Information

• Y-Line Haplogroup I-M253
• Line proven through Y-line testing of his son Elijah Davis' line and his son Eli Davis, Jr.'s line
• Paternal relationship is confirmed through Y-chromosome DNA test results on Family Tree DNA. William Davis, FTDNA kit # 306625, and his 4th cousin, William Jesse Davis, FTDNA kit # 66611, match at a Genetic Distance of 0 on 37 markers, thereby confirming their direct paternal lines back to their most-recent common ancestor who is Eli Davis, the 3x great grandfather of both William Davis and William Jesse Davis.

Notes

Note NI2018480Annie Walker Burns was not related to the Bakers and didn't write about them. However, she had more than a passing acquaintance with the "Yellow Group" Bakers since her grandfather, Rev. Henry Walker, married Martha Jane Hatfield after Annie's grandmother died. Martha was descended from Rev. Andrew Baker. Henry's brother, Jacob, married another descendant, Martha Davis, which is my connection to Rev. Andrew.

• Fact: Burial (January 1861) Davis Cemetery, Sneedville, Hancock, Tennessee, United States
• Fact: Number of children Some sources indicate that they had 15 children. Others report that they had 15 children and that he had two more children by another wife.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.40 1.41 1.42 1.43 1.44 1.45 1.46 1.47 1.48 1.49 1.50 1.51 1.52 1.53 1.54 1.55 1.56 1.57 1.58 1.59 1.60 1.61 1.62 1.63} Nelson, Frieda Sims, "Andrew Baker And His Descendants", page 202. Self published, Colorado 1975 . Public domain digitized copy available at FamilySearch.org: see page 202 (image 212 of 314). Accessed 08 Nov 2022.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} Find A Grave: Memorial #50128309 for Eli Davis (11 Aug 1779–23 Jan 1861), Davis Cemetery, Sneedville, Hancock County, Tennessee, USA; Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/50128309/). Memorial created by Chemistry ♥ Girl and maintained by Phillip Walker (contributor 46916424). Accessed 20 June 2022.

   name: Eli Davis

   born: 11 Aug 1779 in Stafford County, Virginia, USA

   died: 23 Jan 1861 in Hancock County, Tennessee, USA (aged 81)

   spouse: Martha (Baker) Davis (1791–1869)

3. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCDF-PQW : 23 December 2020), Ely Davis, Hancock, Tennessee, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
4. ↑ "Bicentennial History of Lee County Virginia 1792-1992, pages 220-221

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 05 October 2023, 03:49), entry for Eli Davis (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:26LW-KGS ); contributed by various users.
• "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8TF-XPD : 18 February 2021), Eli Davis, 1860.

• "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCDF-PQW : 4 April 2020), Ely Davis, Hancock county, Hancock, Tennessee, United States; citing family 400, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

See also:

• FamilySearch ID no. 26LW-KGS: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/26LW-KGS