Samuel Emory Davis (1756 - 1824)

Born 1756 in Augusta, Richmond, Georgia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 4 Jul 1824 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.

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.

Sources

1. ↑ Papers of Jefferson Davis
2. ↑ List of verified soldiers that fought at Battle of Kettle Creek
3. ↑ 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.

• 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

• WikiTree profile Davis-6642 created through the import of 2010-09-14.ged on Jul 28, 2011 by Bob Carson. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Bob and others.

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