The following Davenport data is a brief extract taken from "The Pamunkey Davenports of Colonial Virginia", a working paper compiled by Dr. John Scott Davenport of Holmdel, NJ, as appearing on the PAMUNKEY DAVENPORT GENEALOGY by Jack W. Ralph. and copyrighted 1998 by The Pamunkey Davenport Family Association, Robert L. Davenport, coordinator. For the link to this website go to the bottom of this page. (I think it is GREAT SITE. Please go and look at it. I give all my thanks to Jack and Dr. John Scott Davenport for all their hard work. THANK YOU AGAIN ,Janet)
The following quoted material is re-published with permission of the author.
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The descriptor "Pamunkey Davenports" (a term coined in January, 1998) is used to identify all those Davenports who trace back to Pamunkey Neck, Old King William County, Virginia, which in 1704 included present-day King William County, the southwestern fourth of Caroline County, and the most southern portion of Spotsylvania County. Old King William was sixty miles long with an average width of nine miles. After Spotsylvania County (1722) and Caroline County (1728) took portions of Upper Pamunkey Neck into their jurisdictions, King William was reduced to its present dimensions--thirty-two miles long with an average width of eight miles.
Pamunkey Davenports include all those descendants, by surname or corollary (daughter) lines, who trace back to Davis Davenport, who first appeared in the King William Quit Rents of 1704, either by proof (son Martin) or by circumstantial evidence (daughter Ann, son Thomas, son John, son Richard, and son Elias). In essence, Pamunkey Davenports can all prove that they trace back to Pamunkey Neck, but in most part cannot yet prove -- and possibly never may be able to do so -- that they trace back to Davis, although circumstantial evidence heavily supports the conclusion that they do. Hence, they can identify themselves collectively as "Pamunkey Davenports" comfortably -- without pretense or need for qualification.
For those unfamiliar with Virginia geography, Pamunkey Neck is that long finger of land running northwest to southeast between the Pamunkey-North Anna River and the Mattaponi River, ending at their confluence to form the York River. Prior to 1701, Pamunkey Neck was the reservation of the Pamunkey, Chickahominy, and Mattaponi Indians as well as a few even smaller tribes. (Both the Pamunkeys and Mattaponis still have small reservations in King William County today.)
Until we identify a Davenport ancestor for Davis Davenport, speculation about his mother being a Davis from New Kent County, has no better legs than our bastardy hypothesis. Those New Kent Davises, who we have investigated and tentatively rejected because there were a half a dozen Davis candidates in closer proximity to our ancestor, were located on the far side of Pamunkey Neck from Davis Davenport's plantation and landing of 1696. The Pamunkey Davenports trace back to Davis Davenport, first in evidence in 1695 in Pamundey Neck(now King William County) which was then and Indian reserbvation. the most tenable scenario for monent is that Davis ws the bastard son of Ann Davenport and a Thomas Davis, both indentured servants, who were in Virginia records in terms of time and place as to make them viable condidates as Davis's father. Few are happy with this speculation, but descendants increased exponentially via sons, Martins, Thomas, John , Richard, and Elias, and daughter Ann. We use the term"Paumdey Davenports" to cicumstantial evidence. Davis might have been a descendant Lancelote, but there is nothing in terms of time of place relative to Colonial Virginia to make that more than wishful thinking.
DAVIS DAVENPORT, b. c1660, m. ?, d. before 1735, King William County. [First found with son Martin in King William Quit Rent Rolls of 1704, but a Davenport Plantation and Landing existed on the Mattaponi River in Pamunkey Neck in 1696. Last found as a mention in Martin's will in 1735.] Children (Order approximate):
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The following was extracted from Dr. Davenport's work, but it has been modified by the WebMaster of this site. The Pamunkey Davenport Family Association does not vouch for it's completeness, accuracy or authenticity.
Descendants of Davis Davenport
1 *Davis Davenport b: Abt. 1650 d: Abt. 1735 Age at death: 85 est.
A Martin Davenport b: MARTIN DAVENPORT, b. c1682, Pamunkey Neck?; m. (1?) ?, c1704, King William County; (2?) Dorothy Glover, c1714?, King William County; d. 1735, Hanover County. Children: (Order uncertain. His Will names only five sons, but circumstantial evidence indicates the possibility of eight sons, four daughters, as follows):
A/1 Mary, b. c1706, King William County; m. Henry Gambill, c1728, Hanover County; d. ?, Wilkes County, NC? [Henry Gambill, according to a deposition given by his brother-in-law Thomas Baker who was with him on a venture, died and was buried in the Welsh Tract, PeeDee River waters, SC, in the mid-to-late 1760s. When Mary Gambill and several of her children moved to Western North Carolina in the mid-to-late 1770s, other children and their families from South Carolina joined them there.] Children (Order uncertain):
A/2 Daughter [Claimed by some to have been Crotia or Crosha, who was Charles Kennedy's widow, but recent research indicates that Crotia was much too young to have been mother of Kennedy's eldest children], b. c1709?, King William County; m. Charles Kennedy, c1731, Hanover County; d. Before 1758, Louisa or Hanover.
*A/3. Thomas, b. 1711, King William County; m. Dorothy ------, c1732, Hanover County; d. 10Nov1809, Burke County, NC. Children: (Order approximate)
A/4. Richard, b. c1713, King William County; m. (1) ?, c1734, Hanover County; (2) Elizabeth ------, widow of Robert Hamner, Albemarle County; d. 1792, Albemarle County.
A/5. Dorothy, b. 2Nov1716, King William County; m. Thomas Baker, c1734, Hanover County; d. 1790, Burke County, NC. [Thomas Baker manufactured gunpowder for the Continental Army during the Revolution, was killed when his factory in Culpeper County blew up in 1777.]
* Thomas and Dorothy Davenport children:
1/A/3/1 Sophia, b. c1733, Hanover County; m. William White, Culpeper County; d. Nov1818, Burke County, NC.
1/A/3/2 Lucy, b. c1735, Hanover County; m. Richard Graves (C5), 1750, Hanover County; d. ?, Culpeper County?
1/A/3/3 Dorothy, b. c1737, Hanover County; m. John Browning. c17- 57, d. ?
1/A/3/4 Martin, b. c1739, Hanover County; m. (1) Hannah Baker, c1767, Culpeper County; (2) Jane Browning, c1779, Wilkes County, NC?; d. 1815, Burke County, NC.
1/A/3/5* Mary, b. 17Jun1741, Hanover County; m. William (*Edward) Wiseman, c1761 ; d. 17Jun1796, Burke County, NC. Children (Order certain): Thomas Wiseman; Dorothy who married David Baker (A5h) [their daughter Dorothy married David Davenport (A3c)]; William E. Wiseman, Jr.; Mary who married John Puett; Davenport Wiseman; Martin Wiseman; James Wiseman; John Wiseman; Celestial Wiseman; Susannah who married Thomas Baker; Robert Wiseman; and Nancy who married David Hunt. *WILLIAM WISEMAM MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE THE MIDDLE NAME EDWARD.
Click here for Wiseman
1/A/3/6 Jerusha, b. c1744, Hanover County; m. James White, ?, Culpeper County, VA; d. ?, Natchez, MS.
1/A/3/7 Rachel, b. c1747, Hanover County; m. William Cole, Culpeper County, VA (to Jeffrey's Creek SC, then to Burke County, NC); d. ?
B. Thomas Davenport of Cumberland County
B1. James, b. c1712, King William County; m. Catherine [Jenkins? Glenn?], c1740, King William County; d. 1780, Halifax County. Children (Order approximate):
B2. Henry, b. c1715, King William County; m. (1) ?, ?, ?; (2) Ann Pemberton, 12Dec1770, King William County; d. 9Dec1791, Buckingham County? [Henry was much older than most of his Twentieth Century descendants have credited. Family legend claims that he was born in the mid-1730s, and that Henry's (second) family (where they ignore a first family) was born and raised in Buckingham County. Public records, however, heavily document that Henry and his first and last family lived in Cumberland County.
B3. Thomas, Jr., b. c1721, King William County; m. Lucy Ransome, 28Apr1750, Cumberland County; d. 1780, Cumberland County. [Thomas Davenport, Jr., was a Militia Captain, Justice of the Peace and Presiding Magistrate, Sheriff of Cumberland, and was a key member of the Cumberland Committee of Public Safety during the early days of the Revolution, but had largely shifted his plantation operations and slaves from Cumberland to Halifax when he died in 1780.]
B4. Drusilla, b. c1717, King William County; m. Gideon Glenn, c1737, King William County; d. ?, Halifax County?
B5. Julius, b. c1719, King William County; m. Mary -----, c1737, King William County; d. ? [Last found Buckingham County, 1782, enumerated as 1 White poll, 0 Black polls.]
B6. William, b. c1725, King William County; m. Ann Foster, c1756, Cumberland County; d. cMar1793, Cumberland County.
B7. Stephen, b. c1727, King William County; m. Mary (Molly) Slaughter, c1756, King William County?; d. 1763, Cumberland County.
B8. Joseph, b. c1732, King William County; Unmarried; d. 1773, Cumberland County. No Issue. [Joseph's land was sold after his death in 1771 by his eldest brother James who was the intestate Joseph's heir-at-law.]
C. Ann Davenport Graves of Spotsylvania County
C1. John Graves, b. 1716, King William County; m. (1) ----- Herndon, ?, ? : (2) Isabelle Lea, c1752, ?; d. 18Jan1792, Caswell County, NC.
C2. Thomas Graves, b.c1718, King William County; m. Isabelle Susan Bartlett, ?, ?; d. 18Nov1801, ?
C3. Solomon Graves, b. c1720, King William County; m. Sarah Win- field, ?, ?; d. c1785, ?
C4. William Graves, b. c1722, King William County; m. Mary -----; ?, ?; d. ?, ?
C5. Richard Graves, b. c1724, Spotsylvania County; m. Lucy Davenport (A3a), 1750, Hanover County; d. after 1788, Culpeper County?
C6. Susannah Graves, b. c1726 ?, Spotsylvania County; m. William Pettus, ?, ?; d. ? C
C7. Rice Graves, b. c1729, Spotsylvania County; m. Jane Young, ?, ?; d. 1814, Louisa County.
C8. David Graves, b. c1731, Spotsylvania County; m. Agnes Holloway, ?; d. 1808, Shelby County, KY.
C9. Nancy Graves, b. c1733, Spotsylvania County; m. William Lea, ?; d. ?, ?
C10. Rosanna Graves, b. c1735, Spotsylvania County; m. John Spencer, ?; d. ?, ?
C11. Eleanor Graves, b. c1737, Spotsylvania County; m. Thomas Kimbrough, ?, ?; d. ?, Caswell County, NC.
C12. Louisa Graves, b. c1739, Spotsylvania County; m. Thomas Pulliam, ?, ?; d. ?, ?
C13. Robert Graves, b. c1741, Spotsylvania County; m. Jean -----, ?, ?; d. ?, ? (Lived in Anson County, NC, and Chesterfield County, SC.)
C14. Jonathan Graves, b. c1743, Spotsylvania County; m. ?, ?; d. c1768, Spotsylvania County.
C15. Mary Graves, b. c1745, Spotsylvania County; m. ----- Campbell, ?, ?; d. ? .
D. John Davenport of Henrico County
E. Richard Davenport of Caroline County
E1. Richard, Jr., b. c1722, King William County; m. Kesiah -----, Caroline County, c1744?; d. ? [Last found when he and wife Keziah sold out and left Caroline in 1765 -- not found elsewhere.] Issue unknown.
E2. David, b. c1725, King William County; m. Mary -----, c1747, Caroline County; d. cFeb1778, Caroline County. [One Caroline history gives a Daniel Davenport as having died in 1778. This was a misreading of the name David, as recourse to the Caroline Order Book clearly demonstrates.] Children (Number, Order uncertain):
E3. Absalom, b. c1736, Caroline County; m. Elizabeth Steger, c1764, Cumberland County, d. cOct1821, Powhatan County. [Absalom took an indenture from the Caroline Court in 1760, was in Cumberland County south of the Appomattox River by 1762. Cumberland south of the Appomattox was joined with the western half of Chesterfield County to become Powhatan County in 1777 -- hence Absalom spent the last sixty years of his life in the same neighborhood.]
F. Elias Davenport of Bertie County, NC
F2. John, b. c1735, King William County; m. Lucy Harrell?, c1762, Bertie County, NC; d. ? First found cited in Bertie deed in 1765 as a patent holder near the Hertford-Bertie County line. [All early Hertford records were lost in a courthouse fire.] Last found in 1783 when he sold all of his land in Nash County and apparently moved. Not located in either North or South Carolina in the Censuses of 1790 or 1800 (Georgia enumerations for both years were destroyed by British in 1814 when they burned Washington City
F3? Joseph? (A Joseph Davenport was enumerated in Bertie County, NC, in the Census of 1790, who could have been a son or grandson of Elias. Prior to 1791 there are a number of Joseph Davenport mentions in Bertie Records, but none thereafter.)
F4? James? (A James Davenport appeared briefly in Bertie County records before 1791. He possibly moved before the Census of 1790, which was taken in North Carolina in the first six months of 1791
In Virginia, the Colonial Pamunkey Davenports left their surname for a time on a number of landmarks such as:
Davenport Landing, now called Whiteoak Landing, and Davenport Plantation adjoining, both on the Mattaponi River next above Major John Waller's "Endfield" plantation, King & Queen (now King William) County, 1696;
Davenport Path, apparently a well-traveled trail crossing Pamunkey Neck from Davis Davenport's plantation on the Mattaponi River to son Martin Davenport's plantation on or near the bank of Pamunkey River -- cited as a benchmark in three survey descriptions immediately after Pamunkey Neck ceased to be an Indian reservation in 1701;
Davenport Ford across the North Anna River between Hanover and Spotsylvania counties. (The Spotsylvania side was in Upper Pamunkey Neck.) Martin Davenport, Sr., owned the land on the Hanover (south) side by 1725. His son William Davenport took title to the land on the Spotsylvania (north) side in 1736. Both sides were sold out of the family in 1791;
Davenport Bridge across Davenport Ford, off and on from 1765 until now -- depending in earlier days on whether it was taken out by the spring freshets -- but now permanent, built of reinforced concrete and well known as a historical landmark which in its old wooden character was the site of several skirmishes in both the Revolutionary and Civil wars;
Davenport Branch, a fork of Tear Wallet Creek, a fork of Little Guinea Creek of the Appamattox River in Cumberland County, before 1750, likely so named because Thomas Davenport, Sr., and his sons James Davenport, Henry Davenport, Thomas Davenport, Jr., William Davenport, Stephen Davenport, and Joseph Davenport all held land in the area. Around 1765, David Davenport, son of Martin Davenport, Sr., joined the group when he married Stephen Davenport's widow and gained title to her husband's plantation.
Davenport Road between the Appamattox and Willis rivers in Cumberland County, 1765 -- named for Thomas Davenport, Sr., son of Davis; and --
Davenport Bend on the Holston River in Washington County, 1795 -- named for Thomas Davenport, son of Julius and a grandson of Thomas, Sr.
In North Carolina, Davenport Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains on the North Carolina-Tennessee border was named in honor of Colonel William Davenport, son of Martin Davenport of Thomas (of Martin, Sr.), who led the survey crew that established the State boundary in 1821. Colonel Davenport, for many years the highly respected Clerk of Courts of Wilkes County, was badly abused as a 10-year-old boy by marauding Tories (Americans actively loyal to the King) in 1780 during the Revolutionary War. Coming upon the Martin Davenport's mountain homestead while Martin was away, Tories seeking to capture him took out their frustration on young William, his eldest son.
According to Professor Lyman C. Draper, the noted Frontier historian, in his authoritative Kings Mountain and Its Heroes (1881), William's beating was one of the incidents that so enraged the Over-the-Mountain Men, who had spent five years in constant warfare with the Cherokees and Shawnees sent by the British to attack the Frontier Settlements, that they gathered together and marched southeast over the mountains to totally defeat and capture the British and their Tory adherents at Kings Mountain (8Oct1780). The year had been a desperate one for the Cause of Independence. The Continental Congress had lost most of its Southern Army at the Surrender of Charleston (19May1780), then had lost most of what was left -- as well as bottom-of-the-barrel replacements scraped from the North -- at Gates' disgraceful Defeat at Camden (16Aug1780). The Kings Mountain victory restored flagging Patriot spirits and marked a turning point in the Revolution. William's father Martin Davenport was one of those Patriots who distinguished himself at Kings Mountain, and in its aftermath is credited for assuring that those Tories who had mistreated his son were properly punished. At a quickly convened drumhead court martial, the culprits were convicted -- and summarily hung.
Also in North Carolina, Davenport Mountain in Henderson County stands between Johnson's Mill Creek and Shaw Creek, and surely was named for Colonel William also
For more information on the PAMUNKEY DAVENPORT, visit The Pamunkey Davenport Genealogy Page.
Pamunkey Davenport Genealogy Page
For more information on the Davenport Cousins,visit The Davenport Cousins Directory page
To email Jack Ralph at [email protected],
To email Robert L Davenport at [email protected]
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