|
This is a chapter in the continuing chronicle of one family's story in
America--the family and descendants of Robert Davis. At this point in
our understanding of the Davis family history, it is considered that
Robert Davis is the patriarch of our particular family line. Given the
size of these early American families, Robert's family of descendants
today is a large one (estimated today to include several thousand
distantly related clans and kinfolk). By the time he died in 1828 at
the age of 84, his descendants would already have been numerous.
Information About Robert Davis
Robert Davis was born in 1744 (as indicated on his grave stone, located
on the old homestead site). It is currently not known who his parents
were, but there is one idea that his father was William Davis, whose
will and testament is recorded in the year 1788 (though Robert is not
mentioned in this will). It might be possible that he was the son of
either Vincent or Thomas Davis, who were the only Davis's listed in the
Tax List of 1755 for Cumberland County (Moore County was formed from
Cumberland years later). But the more likely possibility is that he was
not born in North Carolina, but either emigrated into the colony with
other members of his family after 1755 but before 1790 (when the first
census was taken).
Most of our knowledge about Robert comes from different sources, many
of them written documents. In this writing, we will attempt to build a
rough sketch of his life and times, using this information and
speculating about life in North Carolina at the time.
Robert Davis was a pioneer, soldier, landowner, craftsman, farmer, and
possibly a gold prospector and many other things as well. He is most
documented as a gunsmith, having set up a gun factory prior to the
Revolutionary War in what is now Robbins, NC. He is later to take a
partner, a man named David Kennedy (who comes down from Pennsylvania),
to whom he eventually sells the gun factory. It is reported that he
(possibly with David Kennedy) was active in supplying guns to the
Patriots during the War. He served in 1782 as a private in Brevard's
Company, 10th Regiment, during the Revolutionary War (he would have
been 38 years old at the time). It is not known at this point if he
fought in actual battle against the Redcoats.
In 1785, it is known that Robert Davis served on the Moore County Grand
Jury. In 1786, it is known that he served as Overseer on the
construction of the Yadkin Road in Moore County for a term of one year,
beginning in November of that year.
It is believed that Robert was twice married--first to a woman named
Cibby (her last name is not known), then later to Nancy Cheek. It is
not known when he married his first wife, but he is known to have had
two sons by her, Levi and Stephen, who were born in early 1766 and late
1767, respectively. There were probably additional children born to
Robert and Cibby, but their names are not known at this time (the
lineages of his sons has been researched by some of their descendants).
Robert would have been 22 years old by the time his sons were born.
It is not known when Robert married Nancy Cheek, but it was sometime
before -1791 (because his son James C. Davis, "Rich Jim", was born to
Nancy in 1791, according to the gravestone at the old homestead). In
the census of 1790, he is reported to have had one son over the age of
sixteen and three daughters, along with his wife Nancy, and a slave
named Daniel (whom he later sells to his son William Coleman in 1822,
as recorded on a Bill of Sale). So, assuming the son aged sixteen is by
his wife Nancy, they would have been married sometime around 1774. It
is believed that this son would have been William Coleman Davis. It is
known that Robert and Nancy also had, at least three daughters--Molly,
Susannah, and Amy (these might be the three women besides Nancy
indicated in the 1790 census).
Nancy Cheek was born in the year 1755--being eleven years younger than
Robert. She may have been either the daughter or sister of Robert
Cheek, who is known to have owned land adjacent to Robert Davis (from a
surveyor description on a Bill of Sale from Robert to son William
Coleman Davis dated 1803) and who is reported to have served on the
Moore County Grand Jury the year after Robert Davis. It is possible
that he met her through Robert Cheek (or it may be that he developed a
relationship with Robert Cheek as a result of marrying Nancy). :
By the census of 1800, Robert would have been 56 and Nancy 45 years of
age (the census lists one female over the age of 46, but it is likely
that this was Nancy). The census lists six children of varying ages
(two males under 10, one male between 26 and 45, one female under 10,
one female between 16 and 26, and one female between 26 and 45). One of
the boys under 10 would have been James C. ("Rich Jim"); the other
might have been Joe Davis (this is A all that is known about this son,
who possibly died young). One of the girls would not have been Molly
Davis, as by 1800 she was married to Cornelius Shields (and they are
listed separately in this census as being between the ages of 17 and
25--Cornelius was 21--and having two boys under the age of 10). Two of
these daughters in the Robert Davis household might have been Susannah
and Amy, but it is not known who the third would have been (who
possibly died young as well). The old homestead site has many unmarked
graves, some of which are certainly those of children who died young.
By 1803, Robert Davis is listed to own 420 acres in Moore County. By
18.15, he owns 1300 acres, mostly located along the Deep River. By the
time of the 1820 census, it is indicated that Robert and Nancy are
living alone, now at the ages of 76 and 65, respectively. Their
families are close by, living on land adjacent or near to the land that
he had bought in earlier years.
Nancy Cheek Davis dies in 1822 at the age of 67; Robert dies six years
later in 1828 at the age of 84. They are buried together on the old
homestead place, adjoining the land where their son "Rich Jim" lived.
Note:
Draft: 4/18/91, Copyright 1990, James P. Davis
This material was copied from material in the Moore County Library
genealogy room. This is a section of a larger document. Document
retyped 5/1/2004 due to difficulty reading the original.
|
Copyright © 2004 SandersWeb.net
|
|
