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Nathaniel Davis (abt. 1650 - abt. 1740)

Nathaniel Davis
Born about in Virginiamap
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married [date unknown] [location unknown]
Descendants descendants
Died about at about age 90 in Virginiamap
Profile last modified | Created 12 Oct 2010
This page has been accessed 10,130 times.

Contents

Biography

U.S. Southern Colonies Project logo
Nathaniel Davis was a Virginia colonist.

Nathaniel Davis was born about 1650 and passed away about 1740.

One source says he was born about 1650 in Devon, England or Wales [1]

Some say Nathaniel was born 1655 by St Michael's Parish, Devonshire, England.[citation needed] Other say he came to Virginia from Wales, and was a Quaker.[citation needed] He is sometimes noted as Quaker Davis...[citation needed]

Nathaniel Davis was an Indian trader, an early settler in the region, and made a large fortune by having choice river-bottom lands and trading with the Indians.[2]

Nathanial was married to a woman whose name is not known, but tradition says was Mary or Elizabeth Hughes, daughter of Nicketti, an "Indian Princess." [1] See Research Notes below.)

Nathaniel and Elizabeth had four established children: [3][2]
  1. Robert Davis Sr
  2. Martha Davis, m. Abraham Venable
  3. Abadiah Davis (also called Abigail)[citation needed], m. William Floyd[4]
  4. Mary Davis, married Samuel Burks

There is no source for additional children:

19 Sep 1740 has been given as his death date.

Lorene Martens in The Complete Book of Immigrants, 1607-1776 [page #?] suggests that Nathaniel was reprieved for transportation for Barbados June 1671, London. She recalls seeing somewhere that he was jailed and transported for stealing tobacco. On 8 June 1671 Newgate prisoners reprieved to be transported to Barbados: London. (found in Ancestry,.com)[citation needed]

Research Notes

  • Oral/family tradition claims that Nathaniel's wife, Mary, was the daughter of Nicketti, an Indian Princess of the Powatan tribe. John Floyd (1783-1837), great-great grandson of Robert Davis (1676-1771), named his daughter Nicketti Buchanan Floyd, some say in honor of his Indian ancestor; see Comments below for evidence against this. We have yet to find proof of the existence of Nicketti or her supposed mate, trader John Hughes.
    — Some also believe that Nicketti was a daughter of Chief Opechancanough.[1]
  • Son Robert Davis has been reported to be the ancestor of CSA President Jefferson Davis who never publicly acknowledged his Indian heritage. Profile for CSA President Jefferson Davis disproves any relationship between him and Nathaniel Davis. They are unrelated.
  • Excerpts from Floyd Biographical Genealogies 1912 by N.J. Floyd were sent in 1964 to Broaddus and Pauline Burks from Clyde Campbell of San Antonio, Texas. He was a descendant of Samuel and Mary Davis Burks.
  • The oft-quoted 1895 book, "The Cabells and Their Kin", has a few lines noting kinship of the Burks, Cabells, Venables, Floyds, and a branch of the Davises due to their Indian blood.[1]

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Brown, Alexander, D.C.L. The Cabells and Their Kin. Cambridge, The Riverside Press (1895), pages 46, 293
  2. 2.0 2.1 Floyd, N.J. Biographical Genealogies of the Virginia-Kentucky Floyds, William and Wilkins Company, Baltimore (1912), pages 11-13; lacks source citations.
  3. Kegley, F.B., Kegley's Virginia Frontier, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1938, pp 23-24, citing Brown, Cabells and their Kin and Floyd, Biographical Genealogies of the Virginia-Kentucky Floyds
  4. Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970. Louisville, Kentucky: National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Microfilm, 508 rolls. SAR #90720

See also:

Acknowledgments

  • Thanks to Jenny Strother, Walker_YoungPedigree(2).ged, Dulaney, Kelley Family Tree.ged, Lane Family Tree.ged




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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Nathaniel by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Nathaniel:

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Comments: 20

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Davis-105512 and Davis-1446 appear to represent the same person because: There was no Robert Davis. This profile should be Nathaniel Davis. He had a son named Robert.
posted by Jillaine Smith
Don't know how I missed him but I agree. I had revisited the children only!

This would bring in Susannah again but likely she needs disconnected as per previous comments-- 3 children with known children whose descendants have done research

Thank you for the PP

posted by Cynthia (Hicks) Curtis
Davis-99466 and Davis-1446 appear to represent the same person because: Same.

They need cleaned up because he has been conflated

posted by Cynthia (Hicks) Curtis
hello we share ancestor Nathaniel Davis, there is a mix up over on his profile. can you take a look and confirm I am seeing this right please?

he shows up in 2 profiles that I have seen, profile Davis-4322 shows him with the same person as his wife and his mother. that would be this profile Hughes-381. this version of him says his son John was killed by Indians

then there is another profile for him here Davis-1446 again showing his wife as Hughes-381. Elizabeth Hughes who was born 20 plus years before he was.

posted by Wendy Browne
Davis-4322 is his son. Someone has connected Hughes-381 (his mother) as his wife. I tried to remove Hughes-381 as a spouse of Davis-4322, but the idiot project protection didn't allow me to do so.

There was no Nathaniel Robert Davis. Ancestry users invent middle names which seem to pop up everywhere. Davis-1446 should be Nathaniel Davis (with no Robert). The preferred name of Davis-4322 should be Robert Davis.

posted by Bill Vincent Ph.D.
edited by Bill Vincent Ph.D.
Four years later (almost to the day): Thanks, Bill. This has come up again as a duplicate of Hughes has been made, and attached as spouse to a Robert Davis (not Nathaniel). Merges have been proposed.
posted by Jillaine Smith
According to the "20th Century Cabells and their Kin," Nathaniel and his unknown wife had at least four children: daughters Mary (married Samuel Burks), Martha (married Abraham Venable), and one who married a Floyd, and a son Robert Davis, Sr.
posted by Kathie (Parks) Forbes
That 1895 publication, insofar as it relates to the Davises, is worthless fantasy. Forget about ti.
posted by Barry Wood
A recent update of the 1895 "Cabells and their Kin", called "20th Century Cabells and their Kin" by Randolph Cabell says, "Mary Davis was the daughter of Nathaniel Davis and an unknown wife... Nathaniel Davis is said to have come from England or Wales to America. It is estimated he was born about 1658. It is not known who his wife was...
posted by Kathie (Parks) Forbes
What actual evidence is there for this man and his wife? Are there any documents which name him?
Davis-54974 and Davis-1446 appear to represent the same person because: despite some differences I believe these two profiles are meant to be the same man, husband of Mary Elizabeth Hughes.
Detaching from parents; they had a son Nathaniel who married a different woman in Woburn,MA and raised a family with her in Charlestown, Mass
posted by Jillaine Smith
Middle names during this era were pretty much nonexistent for the English. Which name is correct ?
posted by Jillaine Smith
4 children included in biography, Robert, Martha, Abadiah (Abigail) and Mary but 6 children in profile. Please research and remove extraneous children. Thank you!
Davis-22779 and Davis-1446 appear to represent the same person because: Both say born in Devonshire. Both died in Virginia. Both married the same person. They are the same person. You will not lose anything, all information will be saved in the new profile and both managers will be on the profile.
posted by Dale Byers
This profile is for Nathaniel Davis of VIRGINIA. Please do not confuse him with the Nathaniel Davis of Massachusetts. The trees on Ancestry are hopelessly tangled and should be ignored.
posted by Mary Elizabeth Stewart
Davis-22779 and Davis-1446 do not represent the same person because: Nathaniel Davis of Virginia and Nathaniel Davis of Massachusetts have been confused.
posted by Mary Elizabeth Stewart

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Categories: Virginia Colonists