Samuel Emory Davis (1756 - 1824)

Born 1756 in Augusta, Richmond, Georgia

Descendants

Died 4 Jul 1824 at about age 68 in Woodville, Wilkinson, Mississippi, United States

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Biography

This profile is part of the Davis Name Study.

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.

16 SAMUEL EMORY (4) DAVIS^[1]

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).^[2] Claims that he fought at Battle of Kettle Creek are false. ^[3]

According to Joseph E. Davis, Samuel was wounded twice during the conflict. ^{[citation needed]} The DAR has no proof of his service. ^[4] (https://archive.org/details/davisfamilydavie00davi/page/n101/mode/2up)

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 Plantation.^[5] 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 were destroyed by Union troops in 1863.^[2]

In 1820 Samuel Davis is listed on the census in Wilkinson Co, MS.^[6]

Samuel Emory Davis died on 4 Jul 1824. He is buried in Beauvoir Confederate Cemetery.^[7]

Slaves

In the 1820 census Samuel held 17 enslaved people in Wilkinson, Mississippi.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ Harry Alexander Davis, , published in "The Davis family (Davies and David) in Wales and America; genealogy of Morgan David of Pennsylvania" by Harry Alexander; Publication date 1927; Topics Davis family, Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889; Publisher Washington, D. C., H. A. Davis, 1927; Collection allen_county; americana; Digitizing sponsor Internet Archive; Contributor Allen County Public Library Genealogy; 930 pages (https://archive.org/details/davisfamilydavie00davi/page/n101/mode/2up) Page 102 (document page 37)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Papers of Jefferson Davis
3. ↑ List of verified soldiers that fought at Battle of Kettle Creek
4. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 19 Mar 2018), "Record of Samuel Davis", Ancestor # A030623.
5. ↑ http://sankofagen.pbworks.com/w/page/14230783/Rosemont%20Plantation
6. ↑ United States Census, 1820: "United States Census, 1820"
   Image path: United States Census, 1820 > Mississippi > Wilkinson > Not Stated > image 16 of 30; Citing NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
   FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-GYY8-SXFY (accessed 9 June 2022)
   • 1820 census
7. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9565034/samuel-emory-davis: accessed 15 May 2023), memorial page for Maj Samuel Emory Davis (1756–4 Jul 1824), Find a Grave Memorial ID 9565034, citing Beauvoir Confederate Cemetery, Biloxi, Harrison County, Mississippi, USA; Maintained by Bruce (contributor 46602183).
8. ↑ 1820 Census: "1820 United States Federal Census"
   1820 U S Census; Census Place: Wilkinson, Mississippi; NARA Roll: M33_58; Image: 171
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7734 #1319450 (accessed 15 May 2023)
   Samuel Davis in Wilkinson, Mississippi.

• Find A Grave: Memorial #9565034 Headstone was created in the 1900 based on "Family Lore"
• Notable Southern Families Provides no sources for any claims of Revolutionary Service