Descendants of Isaac and Elizabeth Davis of Salem County, New Jersey

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Salem County, New Jersey
Surnames/tags: Davis Morgan

Isaac Davis came to Salem County, New Jersey from Nassau Island (now Long Island), New York around 1704. He had married Elizabeth (maiden surname unknown) some years earlier and they had a growing family.

No birth records for his children or grandchildren are known. This page was created to detail the complicated analysis of wills, land records, and other documents that reveal the likely family structure.

Contents 1 Wills and Administrations 2 Land Records 3 Abigail (Davis) Bassett 4 Eleanor (Davis) Crawley 5 Nelsons 6 Morgans 7 Sources

Wills and Administrations

Isaac Davis of Pilesgrove, yeoman, will dated 25 March 1739 and proved 1 June 1739. It mentions:^[1]

• wife Elizabeth
• three enslaved people, two men and one woman, unnamed
• daughter Eleanor Crawley and her son William Crawley (under 21 years old), the latter to have his home plantation after Elizabeth passes.
• Davis Bassett, relationship not stated, to have the plantation if Eleanor has no male heirs that live to be 21 years old
• daughter Rachel Morgan, to have the 260 acre plantation she lives on, which is held by two deeds. Also named is Rachel's son Isaac.
• daughter Elizabeth Morgan and her son Samuel Morgan
• daughter Abigail Bassett, and Elisha Bassett, to have 19 acres of cedar swamp
• daughter Hannah Nelson, to share equally in moveable estate
• Anthony Nelson, relationship not specified, to be delivered when he turns 21 the deed that belongs to him and that Isaac had in his keeping

Executors were his wife, Samuel Morgan, and Elisha Bassett.

Elizabeth Davis of Pilesgrove, will dated 10 September 1760 and proved on 16 February 1762.^[2][1] It mentions:

• daughters Abigail, Rachel, Ellen
• Sary, the wife of John Robertson, relationship not given
• "three younger granddaughters" Rebecca, Mary, and Amre (all under age)
• William Bassett, Susanah Morgan, and Sarah Smith, relationships not specified
• an enslaved girl, not named

Executors were here daughters Abigail and Rachel. It was witnessed by Jacob, David, and Joel Elwell, and according to Chandler, the handwriting indictes that Jacob Elwell wrote the will.^[1]

Land Records

4 February 1733 and 5 February -- Sarah Smith to Edward Test, land at Salem City

Abigail (Davis) Bassett

Elisha Bassett of Pilesgrove, yeoman, will dated 22 June 1786 and proved 6 January 1787.^[3] Mentions:

• sons Davis and Isaac
• grandsons Joseph Bassett and David Bassett
• daughter Elizabeth Davis
• granddaughters Grace Whithers and Ann Bassett
• grandson Rebecca Miller
• Rebecca Barber (relationship not stated)

https://archive.org/details/documentsrelatin36newj/page/18/mode/2up

Eleanor (Davis) Crawley

Eleanor Davis married [William?] Crawley (or was he Charles Crosthwayt, Crossweight? d. intestate 1729, books done by David Davis and Abraham Nelson)

Nelsons

Morgans

Samuel Morgan, Pilesgrove, blacksmith, will dated 21 January 1761. Mentions wife Margaret, sons Samuel, William, and Joseph (the latter under 21), and "all my daughters". Isaac Morgan was a witness, and the account shows a payment to the widow Margaret Morgan as administratrix of the estate of Mark Dickinson. Son William was left a gristmill, while Joseph was left the land where Charles Ryley lives, when 21.

Isaac Morgan, Pilesgrove, will dated 17 March 1763. Mentions brothers William Morgan and Joseph Morgan and sisters Mary and Dorrothy

Joseph Morgan, Alloways Creek, will made 5 November 1768, mentions brother William Morgan and sisters Mary Test and Dorothy Morgan.

Samuel Morgan, Pilesgrove, blacksmith, administration granted 1 July 1773 to Elizabeth Morgan, widow, fellow bondsmen William Garrison of Pittsgrove and William Morgan of Woolwich, Gloucester Co.

On 18 January 1777, Samuel Morgan, son of Samuel Morgan, deceased, chose Jacob Sharp as guardian.

Joseph Morgan, Pilesgrove, administration granted 15 April 1777 to Jacob Howard

In addition, there are the following records from Gloucester Co.:

William Morgan, Woolwich, will dated 10 June 1775. Mentions wife Sarah, left land in Salem County adjoining that of Samuel Riley and Joseph Morgan, sons William, Joshua, Benjamin, and Jacob and daughters Sarah and Elizabeth, estate to be divided to them as they come of age. Executors were wife Sarah and "William Garrison, my brother."

William Morgan, Gloucester Co., account 25 February 1784 by William Garrison and Sarah Connoly, late Sarah Morgan, executors of William Morgan deceased. This shows the sale of a grist mill to Sawtel Elwell.

The task is set forth to tease apart the descendants of Elizabeth (Davis) Morgan and Rachel (Davis) Morgan. It seems impossible to reconcile this data except to assume that each of these women named sons William and Joseph. The cleanest division, based on the above data, seems to be as follows:

Children of Rachel (Davis) Morgan:

• Isaac d. 1763
• Joseph d. 1768
• William d. after 1768
• Mary m. Francis Test
• Dorothy

Children of Elizabeth (Davis) Morgan:

• Samuel d. 1761, child
  • Samuel d. 1773, m. Elizabeth, child
    • Samuel, aged 14-20 in 1777
• Joseph d. 1777
• William, resided Woolwich, d. 1775, m. Sarah

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Chandler and Van Name, page 6
2. ↑ Documents Relating Colonial History New Jersey: Vol. 33, Page 106
3. ↑ Documents Relating Colonial History New Jersey: Vol. 36, Page 19

• Documents Relating to The Colonial History of The State of New Jersey (Daily Journal Establishment, Newark, New Jersey, 1880-1949)