11 July 2009

Some Participants of The Jehial Davis Family Reunion Held In Lapeer County, Michigan

From the Flint Journal, 19 August 1916 Edition:

Davis Reunion
Lapeer, Mich., August 19 - A reunion of descendants of Jehial Davis was held at Lake Orion Wednesday. Many of the families of Alonzo Davis, Benjamin Davis and Mrs. Anna Davis Peaslee went from Lapeer. Jehial Davis was instrumental in securing the early settlement of Lapeer County, by procuring at an early day hundreds of acres of land here for his children. Four of the five living children were present at the reunion. Two of them, William P. Davis of Albion and George W. Davis of Chicago spent several days visiting relatives in Lapeer.

Jehiel Davis, who was born 12 July 1787 in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, served a short time in the War of 1812, according to the biography of his son, Philo C. Davis, in the Portrait and Biographical Album of Oakland County [Michigan], by Chapman Brothers and the DAR, p. 1891. The family was living in Sweden, Oneida County, New York, when Philo Davis was born in 1825. The family moved to Oakland County, Michigan, in 1831.

The children of Jehiel & Lydia (Bentley) Davis were (children from both marriages per the Shotwell family history book, Annals of our colonial ancestors and their descendants by Ambrose Milton Shotwell) :

Alonzo Davis
Levinus Davis
Mary Ann Davis [d. Sweden, Oneida, NY, ae 2 months 4 days in 1816]
Ann Davis
Jehiel B. Davis [d. Sweden, Oneida, NY, ae 2 years 9 months in 1822]
Jane Davis
Jehiel Davis, Jr.
Philo C. Davis
Maryette S. Davis
Benjamin Franklin Davis
Patrick Henry Davis
Francis Asbury Davis

The mother, Lydia (Bentley) Davis died in 1842.

The children of Jehiel & Phoebe (Dean) Davis were:

Charles Edward Davis
William Penn Davis (called Wm. B.)
Jehiel Kittridge Davis (m. 2nd Ida Shotwell)
George Washington Davis
Mary Angeline Davis (called Angie)

The father, Jehiel Davis, died in 1875.

Listed below is some of the land that Jehiel Davis "procured" in Lapeer County:

Jehiel Davis, of Oakland County, Michigan, acquired this piece of land in Mayfield Township, Lapeer County, Michigan, on 1 May 1837. The land description of this property is: E½SE 35/ 8-N 10-E No Michigan-Toledo Strip MI Lapeer (See plat map here).

More Mayfield Township land (8N 10E) was purchased by Jehiel Davis 5 September 1838. The Land descriptions as follows:
W½SE 36/ 8-N 10-E No Michigan-Toledo Strip MI Lapeer
W½NW 36/ 8-N 10-E No Michigan-Toledo Strip MI Lapeer
SENW 36/ 8-N 10-E No Michigan-Toledo Strip MI Lapeer

A piece of land in Burlington Township (10 N 11 E) assigned to Jehiel Davis on 1 March 1855 was found here. Land description: SW 32/ 10-N 11-E No Michigan-Toledo Strip MI Lapeer

North Branch Township (9 N 11 E) was also granted to Jehiel Davis on 1 March 1855. Land description: NENW 5/ 9-N 11-E No Michigan-Toledo Strip MI Lapeer

My interest in the Jehiel Davis family began with Ann, daughter of Jehiel & Lydia (Bentley) Davis, whose first husband was Lorenzo Dow Hickey (2nd husband John Wesley Peaslee). Lorenzo Dow Hickey (who was in Lapeer County in 1850 with his then wife, Ann (Davis) Hickey) was the ancestor of Judy in Arkansas, whose relative, Nancy Bridger, married my great-grandfather's brother, Isaac Garrett, in 1880 in Craighead Co., Arkansas.

4 comments:

Gail said...

I'm a descendant of Jehial Davis and Phebe Titus (Dean) Davis, seeking any Davis cousins. I'm particularly interested in finding male cousins who might be interested in DNA testing. I'm looking for primary source, or verifiable family information, on Kitteridge Davis, Jehiel's father. I believe Kitteridge's father to be a Thomas Davis, of Somers, Tolland Co, Ct. His wife's Christian's name may have been "Mary". I'd be happy to exchange information, as I have a lot of family history related to Jehial's daughter Angie Davis.

PalmsRV said...

Hi Gail, As you can see from my post, I'm not related to the Davis family, but do find them interesting. Hope somebody sees your message and helps out with the DNA.

Cathy of Detour Through History

Gail said...

Since I first posted my query about Jehiel Davis and his father, Kitteridge Davis, I've learned a lot about my Davis family! I know that that Kitteridge's father was indeed Thomas Davis, b. 1717 in Billerica, MA. Thomas married, first, Sarah Kittredge, also of Billerica, Ma, and they settled near Mansfield, Ct, abt 1830. After Sarah's death, he remarried a woman with first name Mary - surname unknown at this writing. I have a lot of info on Thomas, his many sibling and their offspring, so if anyone chances on this reunion post while looking for info on Jehiel Davis and his family, please do contact me! There is now a group of about 15 Davis cousins, scattered around the world, working through dna and traditional genealogy to fill in the gaps in our mutual Davis family history!

PalmsRV said...

Good luck, Gail!