Maj Samuel Emory Davis BIRTH 1756 Bladen County, North Carolina, USA DEATH 4 Jul 1824 (aged 67–68) Mississippi, USA BURIAL Beauvoir Confederate Cemetery Biloxi, Harrison County, Mississippi, USA Find A Grave Memorial 9565034
'Samuel Emory Davis, the father of Jefferson Davis, was born in Georgia around 1755-58. His father, Evan Davis, died soon after Samuel's birth, leaving his mother, Mary Emory Davis, to care for him and his two half brothers. Little is known of his formative years, but he was literate, indicating at least some formal education.
Apparently following the lead of his half brothers, Samuel enlisted with the American forces soon after the beginning of the Revolution. He may have briefly been a member of a Georgia regiment, but the majority of his service was with South Carolina troops. One account states that he was a private in a company of "mounted gunmen"; in 1779 he organized his own company, probably of mounted infantry. Various accounts place him at the Battle of Kettle Creek, Georgia (Feb. 14, 1779) and the sieges of Savannah (Sept.-Oct. 1779) and Augusta (Apr.-June 1781).[1] Claims that he fought at Battle of Kettle Creek are false. [2]
According to Joseph E. Davis, Samuel was wounded twice during the conflict. Need Citation The DAR has no proof of his service. [3]
After the war Davis returned to Georgia and was appointed clerk of the courts. He married Jane Cook, whom he had met in South Carolina during the war, in 1783, and the first of their ten children was born the following year. They remained in Georgia until about 1797 when they moved to Kentucky, perhaps with a short period in South Carolina in between.
Shortly after Jefferson's birth, the family left Kentucky for Louisiana and then Mississippi, settling in Woodville, in Wilkinson County, where they built Rosemont. Samuel Davis died while visiting eldest son Joseph in 1824. Jefferson Davis named his first son after his father.
For more information, see Volume 1 of The Papers of Jefferson Davis. Much of the correspondence between Davis and his parents was destroyed by Union troops in 1863. The Papers of Jefferson Davis Rice University--MS 215 P.O. Box 1892 Houston, Texas
Acknowledgments -- Thanks to Mike Edwards for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Mike and others.
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Samuel is 14 degrees from Johnny Cash, 16 degrees from Patsy Cline, 24 degrees from Gordon Kirkpatrick, 30 degrees from Ruby Hunter, 25 degrees from Reg Lindsay, 21 degrees from Don Messer, 26 degrees from Charley Pride, 19 degrees from Hank Williams, 17 degrees from Tammy Richie and 17 degrees from Laura DeSpain on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.