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David Lewis Sr. (1695 - 1779)

Colonel David Lewis Sr.
Born in St.Peter's Parish, New Kent County, Virginiamap
Son of and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married 1717 (to Jan 1734) in Virginiamap
Husband of — married 1753 (to 1779) in Virginiamap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 84 in St. Anne's Parish, Albemarle, Virginia, United Statesmap
Profile last modified | Created 20 Oct 2010
This page has been accessed 6,151 times.

Contents

Biography

David was born about 1695 in Virginia and baptized on 5 May 1695 at St. Peter's in New Kent County, Virginia. His baptismal record shows that he was the son of a John Lewis.[1]

His father, John Lewis, was born in 1640 and died in Hanover County, Virginia, in 1726.[2]

He married twice and had about 11 children.

David Lewis first married about 1717 in Virginia to Elizabeth Anne Terrell.

His oldest child William Terrell Lewis was born about 1718 in Hanover County, Virginia.

About 1750 he moved from Hanover County to Albemarle County, Virginia.

David Lewis married second, about 1753, to Mary McGrath.

His youngest child Miriam married Col. Gabriel Madison.

David died on 21 Oct 1779 in St. Anne's Parish, Albemarle County, Virginia.

Research Notes

A long-standing controversy about his parents has been settled, thanks to the Lewis Surname DNA Project, This David Lewis, Sr. is NOT the biological son of John Lewis of Warner Hall. Although several noted genealogists have said he was, DNA has proven that he does not share their DNA.[3] [4]

This Find a Grave is for a David Lewis - is this him?
BIRTH: 5 May 1695 New Kent County, Virginia, USA
DEATH: Aug 1779 (aged 84) Charlottesville, Charlottesville City, Virginia, USA
David's will was written 21 Oct 1778 and was proved in Albemarle Court 1779. Albemarle Co., VA, Will Bk 2:381-2.

Spouses

  1. Ann Elizabeth Terrell (1695–1734) (m. 1717)
  2. Mary McGrath (m. 1759)

Many professional genealogists concluded that David Lewis was the son of Councilor John Lewis. DNA indicate David is the son of another John Lewis.

David Lewis served as a Major in the French and Indian War. He was a member of the House of Burgesses, Magistrate of Albemarle County, Virginia and name sake of Lewis Mountain on his plantation just west of the University of Virginia. In 1745 in the organization of Albemarle County, militia David was commissioned as captain at the same time his neighbor Peter Jefferson, father of the President, was commissioned Lt. Col. On Oct. 18, 1756 George Washington wrote David Lewis of the Albemarle militia. Washington was not pleased with David Lewises refusal to supply men. This from Library of Congress--Letters of George Washington.

David was engaged to be married for the fourth time, when he died while cutting down a tree. David was bald and wore a wig and each night on retiring he would hang his wig on the tester over his bed. Being subject to nightmares, he often awoke in the night , dreaming that witches were riding him. On one occasion he awoke, sprang from the bed and made a desperate effort to free himself from the clutches of the witch. His wig fell upon him and he tore it to pieces, exclaiming "Oh, I have caught you at last, have I ? You have been riding me a long time." The next morning he looked at his wig and said "There is fifteen shillings gone". David upon hearing that a cargo of his from England had been lost, started for Norfolk to check on it. That night he stayed with an Innkeeper that was an old acquaintance. A mulatto boy, with a candle led him up to his room. The boy locked the door upon leaving. David called for him to leave the candle, but the boy said "There is a mug under the bed". Upon looking under the bed David found the body of a dead man. Looking through a hole to the outside David saw some men digging a grave. David tousled the bed as if he were in it. Later the landlord entered with an axe, approached the bed and sank the axe into it. David ran out from behind the door and escaped. He returned from Norfolk with a posse and they found that David would have been the seventh victim of his old acquaintance the landlord. David, while living where the city of Charlottesville now stands, was offered 500 acres of land 40 to 50 west of the settlement area, for a pair of buckskins. He declined thinking it would be of no value to him as it would not be settled for some time. David taught school gratuitously for the benefit of the poor. He never inflicted corporal punishment, but if any one violated his rules during the week, he would on Friday tie a bundle of rods to their backs and send them home. He was a Presbyterian.

David and Ann were the 8th great grandparents of President Obama, making descendants of them cousins of Obama.

The Terrell Family
Anne Terrell
Daughter of William and Susannah Terrell
Believed to have married David Lewis, son of John Lewis of St Peter's Parish. Bapt May 5, 1695
Anne & David Lewis had 8 children: (but only names 7)
  1. William; md Sarah Martin
  2. Susanna, b 1720 md Alexander Mackey
  3. Hannah, b 1722, md James Hickman
  4. David, b 1726 md 1) Rebecca Stovall 2) Elizabeth Lockhart
  5. John, b 1728 md 1) Sarah Talisferro 2) Susan Clarkson
  6. Joel, md 1) Mary Tureman 2) Sarah Chiles 3) Lucy Daniel
  7. Anne, b 1733 md 1) Joel Terrell, 2) Stepehn Willis
Mother Anne died in 1734 in Hanover County
Father David Lewis married 2) ? 3) Mary McGrath
David died in Albermarle County and his will was recorded there in the September 1779 Court.
Tidewater Virginia Families Cahpter 9: The Terrell Family
  • "Find A Grave memorial (number 95753062) no longer exists on the site.
  • [1] " Society of Colonial Wars - Index of Ancestors",Major David Lewis Sr-1695-1779-VA. Major in French & Indian War-Member House of Burgesses.

[2] "The Parish Register of Saint Peter's, New Kent Co., VA 1680-1787", David son of John Lewis bap' the 5 May, 1695. [3] John H. Gwathmey, "Twelve Virginia Counties-Where The Western Migration Began", (1937), Covers David Lewis into Albemarle Co.[Other ancestors mentioned- David,s father John Lewis, Richmond Terrell, and James Ransom. [4] William Terrell Lewis, "Genealogy of the Lewis Family in America" (1893), Gives Lewis and related families

Sources

  1. Parish Register of St. Peter's, New Kent County, Virginia from 1680 to 1787 compiled by National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Virginia, Richmond, W. E. Jones, Printer, 1904, Page 19. Accessed on 17 Aug 2019 at Archive.org. Page 19
  2. "The Genealogy of the Lewis Family" written by David Perrell Lewis, and published in 1892.
  3. LEWIS Surname DNA Project
  4. Mary McGrath Family Tree

See also:

  • Terrell Genealogy p62-65 compiled in 1952 by Emma Dicken of San Antonio, Naylor County, TX

Acknowledgments

  • WikiTree profile Lewis-821 was created by Cathy (Dickerson) Champion through the import of 236-Cathy.ged on 20 Oct 2010.
  • WikiTree profile Lewis-1163 was created through the import of indygrandma.ged on 2 Jan 2011.
  • WikiTree profile Lewis-3240 was created by Mary Elizabeth Stewart through the import of MOORMAN FAMILY.GED on 31 May 2011.
  • WikiTree profiles Lewis-3787 & Lewis-3847 were created by Bob Carson through the import of 2010-09-14.ged on 29 Jul 2011.
  • WikiTree profile Lewis-3951 was created by Wallis (Darling) Smith on 6 Aug 2011.
  • WikiTree profiles Lewis-6158 & Lewis-6159 were created by Thomas Allen through the import of Allen-Carpenter - 2010-01-31.ged on 27 Apr 2012.
  • WikiTree profile Lewis-18623 was created by Rachel Blaisdell on 11 Jan 2016.




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It may be possible to confirm family relationships with David by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree: It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with David:

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Comments: 6

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Lewis-3835 and Lewis-821 do not represent the same person because: Birth/death dates and places are different. Wives info is different. Children are not the same.
Lewis-3835 and Lewis-821 appear to represent the same person because: Same person. spouses overlap.
posted by Teresa Downey
Lewis-6159 and Lewis-821 appear to represent the same person because: dups with same spouse
posted by N Gauthier
Lewis-3787 and Lewis-821 appear to represent the same person because: Same name, same wife, similar dates
posted by Bob Tonsmeire
Lewis-6374 and Lewis-3787 appear to represent the same person because: Same family.
Lewis-3951 and Lewis-3787 appear to represent the same person because: appear to be the same people
posted by Mark Phillips

L  >  Lewis  >  David Lewis Sr.