Mary Elizabeth Davis

Family/Spouse: Ancil Gatliff Stanfill. Ancil (son of Hiram Stanfill and Lucy Perkins) was born on 23 Aug 1873; died on 12 Sep 1948. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

He was a judge.

Melton married Elizabeth Perkins on 14 Apr 1866. Elizabeth (daughter of John Perkins and Jane "Jennie" Allen) was born on 3 Mar 1839; died on 17 Jan 1897; was buried in Highland Cemetery, Williamsburg, Whitley, Kentucky. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Not, as far as we can tell, related to the daughters of Jabez Perkins who married into the previous generation of Whites.

Notes:

[The paragraph below is from http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kmparker, evidently from info provided by Patrick's late aunt Nancy Jonckheere.]

"Born in 1776 in North Carolina, Billie Davis was famous as a trapper, guide and explorer. He had a disagreement with a bear and lost his arm as a result, but it was the bear who lost the fight. Later, one-armed Billie became sheriff of Whitley County, an office he held for many years. He had considerable presence and could handle just about any problem with words alone. Nancy Jonckheere once found online a copy of an old North Carolina election handout from about 1850, which said was that the candidate was endorsed by 'Billie Davis, the famous one-armed sheriff of Whitley County, Kentucky.' By 1795, when Billie was 19, he was already married to Sarah Rapier, who was born about 1779 in North Carolina. Her brother Jesse moved to Whitley County, Kentucky, as well. Billie and Sarah both lived to a ripe old age and died in Whitley County: Sarah between 1860 and 1870, when she was at least 81 years old; and Billie in 1864 at the age of 88."

*****

We wonder if he wasn't born significantly later than the late 1770s. According to the records of the Kentucky Assembly, William Davis was sheriff of Whitley County in 1848 and 1849, at which time he would have been 72 and 73 years old if he was in fact born in 1776. Memory and oral traditions often exaggerate the age-at-death of particularly colorful individuals.

More absurdly, multiple ancestry.com trees claim that this William Davis is the Union soldier who died on 6 October 1864 and is buried at Cave Hill National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky. We have no idea how they imagine that an 82-year-old man was serving as a Union private.

*****

Michele Brooks reproduces a bill of sale for his estate, executed by his son Melton Lewis Davis, which may provide some clues to his ancestry:

Sale Bill Dated 3 December 1864
Son - M.L. Davis 1 pistol $5.50
Son - William R. Davis 3 books 1.60
William Patrick 4 books .50
William Patrick 5 books .60
Dau - Matilda 1 book 1.90
son-in-law Sampson Parker 2 razors 1.40
Son - M. L. Davis 1/2 bushel ?
Seth Freeman
Cousin - James E. White 1 board 1.00
Cousin-in-law - Melton E. White 2 boxes 4.00
Son - M. L. Davis Furniture 55.00
M. L. Davis 1 saddle 1.00
M. L. Davis 1 satchel 3.00
Dau - Matilda Cattle .50

William married Sarah Rapier between 1795 and 1800 in North Carolina. Sarah was born in 1777; died before 1870 in Whitley County, Kentucky. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1778, North Carolina
• Alternate birth: Abt 1779, North Carolina

Notes:

Appears in some online trees as Roper, Rapour, etc. Frequently given as a daughter of William J. Rapier and Elizabeth Thompson; there is absolutely no evidence for this.

John married Jane "Jennie" Allen. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1767, Virginia

Notes:

Shown in the 1860 census as 93 years old (which may have been exaggerated), living in the Campbell County household of his son-in-law Felix Broils (or Broyles), husband of his daughter Anna Allen. Said to have died in 1862.

The Descendants of Robert and John Poage (citation details below) asserts that this Joseph Allen died in Union County, Indiana, 15 May 1839. But on the same page the editor notes that "The Allen Relationships have not been worked out to be clear to the editor." The date given for Joseph Allen's marriage to Jane Poague is the same as shown in Virginia marriage records for the marriage of Joseph Allen and Jenny Poage, and this Joseph Allen is given as a son of Hugh Allen.

Joseph married Jane (Jenny) Poage on 13 May 1800 in Lexington, Rockbridge, Virginia. Jane (daughter of Robert Poage and Margaret Mitchell) was born on 26 Apr 1781 in Abb's Valley, Tazewell, Virginia; died on 6 Jun 1839. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]