Naseby Memorial, Northamptonshire,England
Birth: 1599, England
Death: unknown, Barnstable, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA
Born by about 1599 based on date of marriage. House carpenter from East Farleigh, Kent, who came to Massachusetts Bay in 1634. First settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts; moved to Duxbury, Massachusetts by 1638, Scituate by 1641, Barnstable by 1643, Concord in 1655, and back to Barnstable in 1666. Died between 13 September 1672 (date of will) and 19 June 1673 (date of inventory). (Some secondary sources claim that the death took place at Barnstable on 22 June 1673, but this death is not found recorded at Barnstable or Concord, and this claimed date is three days after the Barnstable inventory.)
MARRIAGES: (1) East Fairleigh, Kent, 29 March 1624. She was baptized Horsmonden, Kent, 7 November 1602, daughter of Richard Willard. She was living on 17 July 1658, when she acknowledged a deed, but was probably dead by 16 February 1667[/8?], when she did not participate in a second acknowledgement of the same deed.(2) On an unknown date Joanna (Hull) Bursley, daughter of Rev. JOSEPH HULL {1635, Weymouth} and widow of JOHN BURSLEY {1623, Weymouth}.
Burial: Unknown
found on findagrave.com - Find A Grave Memorial# 36863743
Althorp House, Northamptonshire, England
The following data is extracted from One Line of Descendants from Dolar Davis and Richard Everett.
, http://www.accessgenealogy.com/scripts/data/database.cgi?file=Data&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=0009356
The writer has taken the liberty to present largely the main facts contained in the narrative of Dolor1 Davis, his son Samuel2 Davis, and grandson Lieut. Simon3 Davis, as given in the pamphlet of Hon. Horace Davis of San Francisco, Cal., in 1881.The career of Dolor Davis, in New England, is that of a pioneer who by his energy and industry in subduing the wilderness was a type of those enduring qualities which distinguished his descendants in later generations. By trade he was a house-builder, added to which was farming.Dolor Davis was born late in the sixteenth century, for he died in dune, 1673, "at the ripe age of 80," says one chronicler. His birthplace was probably in Kent County, England. His wife was from Kent, his associates in New England were largely with Kentish men, and the name of Dams is very common in Kent County.Dolor Davis was twice married, first to "Margerye Wilerd" on March 29, 1624. She was the daughter of Richard Willard, "by second wife Margery," who was buried at Horsmonden, Dec., 1608, when Margery, the daughter, was six years old; for she was christened Nov. 7, 1602. Richard Willard was of Horsmonden, County of Kent. He died 1617, leaving a large estate, mostly in lands, part of which came to his daughter Margery Willard and another part to the son, Simon Willard, who was later the founder of Concord, in New England.The first record we have of Dolor Davis, in New England, is on the Proprietors' Records in Cambridge [New Towne], of a grant of twenty-five acres on Aug. 4, 1634; also a house-lot, June 4, 1635. The wife Margery is supposed to be the "Margerett Davies, age 32, who with three children, John Davies (9 years old), Marie Davies (4), Elizabeth Davies (1), sailed on the Elizabeth, from the port of London, April 17, 1635, Win. Stagg, master." There is much uncertainty about Dolor Davis and family ever having had a residence in Cambridge. He sold the above-named house-lot in August, 1635. He moved, with considerable persistence, from place to place during nearly all of his life, possibly because this frequent change in residence gave him a better opportunity to pursue his trade as a carpenter.In 1638 he was in Duxbury. In 1640 he took part in founding Barnstable. In 1643 he was an inhabitant of Barnstable, "able to bear arms"; freeman 1645. In 1655 he removed to Concord. In the same year he petitioned with others to the General Court of Massachusetts Colony for a grant of land in what is now Groton, Mass., and on the 29th of May was made one of the new selectmen. In 1656 his name appears on a petition for remission of taxes in Groton; but he seems never to have made Groton his home, for on Aug. 020, 1655, "he bought of Roger Draper his house and farm in Concord." In the conveyance he is called "Husbandman." Meanwhile he sold his property in Barnstable for "corn and cattle," the documents recording the various payments and the transfer itself being in the Plymouth Records. In them he is styled "house-carpenter." Margery Davis joined in the acknowledgment, which is the last record we have of her. She probably died in Concord before 1666, in which year Davis left Concord. Dolor Davis had lands granted to him in Concord in 1659, and in 1664 he signed a petition to the General Court as "an inhabitant of Concord."Of the three children brought over from England, John and Mary were married and settled on the Cape, Elizabeth probably died young. Three more children were born in America, and they, too, were married and settled, but in or near Concord.In 1666 Davis left Concord and returned to Barnstable, and was again admitted as an inhabitant, where his name appears on various documents. He married, after his return to Barnstable, Mrs. Joanna Bursley, born in England, 169.0, daughter of Rev. Joseph Hull and widow of Capt.John Bursley. She was living in 1683. Dolor Davis accumulated a large property for those times, which he distributed mostly among his children during his lifetime. On the 13th of September, 167'2, he made his will, which has his autograph signature, showing that he had some education. He always wrote his Christian name DOLAR. The will was proved July 2, 167'3. He probably died late in June.The will recites that he has already provided for his sons Simon and Samuel; and then he bequeaths his house and land in Concord to his son John, adding, "I also bequeath to him my carpenters tools and serge suit and cloke." The inventory of estate in Concord was "£125 5s. 7'd." That he made a favorable impression on others is shown by the following:"Perhaps of all the families which came to New England, not one can be selected more worthy of our esteem, and unqualified approbation than that of Dolor Davis. As a man he was honest, industrious and prudent; as a christian tolerant and exact in the performance of his religious duties; as a neighbor kind, obliging, and ever ready to help those who needed his assistance; and as a father and the head of his family he was constantly solicitous for the welfare of all its members, cultivating those kindly feelings and amenities of life which render home delightful." (Amos Otis, in Barnstable Families.)Samuel 2 Davis, b. 1639; m. at Lynn, Mass., Jan. 11, 1665, Mary Meaddows; settled in that part of Concord which afterwards was set off as Bedford. Mary [Meaddows] Davis d. at Concord, Oct. 3, 1710. He m. second, Oct. 18, 1711, Ruth Taylor. She d. Aug. 6, 1720. He was the father of seven children.Samuel Davis was made freeman March 91, 1689-90. He was with Major Simon Willard at the Brookfield fight on Sept. 28, 167'5. (King Philip's War, p. 121.)His farm was on the back road from Concord to Bedford, about three miles from Concord town, on the edge of the river meadow. A well is there which he is said to have dug. The property is still owned by one of his descendants. He does not appear to have served in civil life.June 90, 1690, petitioned Concord authorities for "a bridal path from his house to Billerica road." In 1706 conveys houses and lands to his "two well beloved sons." On May 8, 1713, he sells house, barn, and 9 acres to Eleazer Davis for £50. His signature is autograph, signing himself as "farmer." The date of his death and place of burial are unknown. It appears that he gave his property to his family while living.Simon3 Davis, b. at Concord, Aug. 9, 1683; m. at Stow, Mass., 1719, Dorothy Heald,dau. of Israel Heald by wife Martha. He lived in Stow, and was a blacksmith; d. Sept. 7, 1738, aged 78. His will is on record at East Cambridge, and mentions daughter Dorothy Davis and grandson Joseph Davis. Wid. Martha d. June 14, 1746. "Lieut." Simon Davis lived at Concord until about 1721, when he moved to Worcester County, and settled in Rutland; selectman 1721; innkeeper 1723; waylaid and nearly killed by the Indians in the same year. Petitions with others to the General Court on May 13, 1740, to be set off in a separate township to be named Holden. This request was granted, and Mr. Davis was made moderator of the first town meeting in Holden, May 4, 1745; chairman of board of selectmen for several years; also juryman. He was closely identified with the church. He d. Feb. 21, 1763; wid. Dorothy d. July 21, 1776. Eight children. He was the ancestor of three Massachusetts governors: "Honest" John Davis, John Davis Long, and George D. Robinson.The ancestry of Hon. Horace Davis separates here from my own. Joseph4 Davis, b. at Concord, July 16, 1790; m. at Weston, May 24, 1743, Catherine Jones. Joseph Davis was grad. Harv. Coll. 1740. He was the first ordained minister at Holden, preaching from 1743 to 1'773. He was a representative to the General Court of Massachusetts 1'781; a member of the convention held in Boston, 1'788, for the ratification of the Federal Constitution by Massachusetts. He d. at Holden, March 4, 1'799; wid. Catherine d. May 15, 1815. From his monument:"He was a man of science,A zealous, pungent preacher." Simon5 Davis, b. at Holden, March 10, 1745; m. at Andover, Mass., June 2, 1771, Elizabeth Clarke.Simon Davis first of Holden, then of Andover, had the pioneer spirit of his ancestors. Soon after his marriage he moved with his friends into the wilderness, and became one of the first settlers in what is now Woodstock, Vt. Here he built a log house, in which his children were born. He was the first deacon in the newly organized church, and, being a man of education, he also organized a school board, and was himself the head of it. He had several grants in land; was selectman and juror; prudent and industrious, adding to farming the trade of Dolor1 Davis, that of housebuilding. He built and owned the first mill for grinding corn and the first saw-mill in Woodstock.My father, his grandson, had the facts relating to Simon3 Davis recorded in a note-book, with his descendants. They had seven children: John, Simon, and Abner settled in Illinois, and were men of influence; William and Gilman Davis removed to Boston, where the youngest son, Gilman, married Sarah Tuttle of Dorchester, and had his home in Cambridge.They had three daughters.Simon Davis d. at Woodstock, Jan. 17, 1793; his wid. Elizabeth d. at Boston, March 11, 1816.William s Davis, b. at Woodstock, Vt., Feb. 2, 1'789; m. at Waitsfield, Vt., March 9, 1815, Sarah Gilbert Wait.Mr. Davis moved to Boston, where his life was uneventful. He was one of the leading building contractors in the city. Both he and his wife were deeply interested in the Baptist church and in their pastor, Rev. Dr. Rowland Neal. Dr. Neal preached the funeral sermon for William Davis in the church on Jan. 10, 1880. The son remembered the text, "In my Father's house are many mansions." The body was interred in the basement of the church. Mr. Davis was highly esteemed by all who knew him. He accumulated a good property. Of his children six died young. Three children survived, the son, Almon Hemenway Davis, and two daughters, Martha Jane and Phidelia Davis, who married Eben Jones Mathes of Rochester, N.H.Almon Hemenway' Davis, b. at Boston, April 12, 1816; m. at Dedham, Mass., June 2, 1844, Elizabeth Everett.Mr. Davis was liberally educated. He had a rare combination of gifts. Not only was he a fine classical student, but he was also a mathematician of unusual excellence. It was at the Baptist Theological School, at Newton Centre, that he was suddenly called upon to teach Greek and Hebrew; in such an acceptable manner that he was urged to become a professor instead of entering the ministry, so admirable was his teaching. He had three parishes. Of the last two, one in Providence, R.I., and one in Boston. He left the ministry in 1851 to become an editor. In 1866 he received a call to become associated, on the editorial sheet of the Chicago Tribune, with his personal friend, Joseph Medill, Esq.Mr. Davis d. in Chicago, Ill., Oct. 20, 1891; wid. Elizabeth d. in California, Dec. 6, 1904.CHILDREN:1. Eleanor Francis.2. Edward Everett Davis, b. Jan. 9, 1849; m. at Boston, Sept. 1, 1881, Margerett Adamson. Children: Elizabeth Everett Davis, b. Oct., 1882, d. in few days; Margerett Everett Davis, b. Sept. 20, 1885; Alice Everett Davis, b. April 16, 1892. Eleanor Francis8 Davis, b. at Dedham, Mass., March 14, 1845; received her middle name of Francis from her mother's brother, Francis Everett; m. at Boston, Mass., Oct. 11, 1877, William Sumner Crosby, b. at Boston, April 22, 1844. The officiating clergyman was Rev. James Freeman Clarke, D. D. Eleanor Francis Davis was given in marriage by Wendell Phillips. It was a home wedding. Mr. Crosby has been for many years a prominent Boston merchant.Sumner9 Crosby, b. at Boston, Nov. H, 1878; m. at Alameda, Cal., Aug. 6, 1901, Idolene Snow Hooper, dau. of Charles Appleton and Ida Geneva [Snow] Hooper. Mr. Hooper is one of the notable merchants of California. Mr. Crosby is grad. Harv. Coll., A.B. 1900, M.A. 1901; Law School, 1901-02; councilman, city of Alameda, 190910; assemblyman, California State Legislature, 1910-12.Children: Charles Hooper Crosby, b. Nov. 28, 1902; Barbara Appleton, b. May 8, 1904; Beatrice Blanchard, b. March 17, 1907; Sumner Crosby, b. June 10, 1911.
Source: One Line of Descendants from Dolar Davis and Richard Everett
found on ancestry.com
Duxbury to Barnstable, including children
, http://www.archive.org/stream/dolordavissketch00davi/dolordavissketch00davi_djvu.txt
It must have been about this time that he joined the church at Duxbury, of which he retained his membership till 1648, long after his removal to Barn- stable, as we shall see hereafter. He seems to have contemplated a permanent settlement at Duxbury, but if so he never accomplished it. He may well have desired a settled home, for his young family was increasing" and must have taxed all his powers to keep the wolf from the door ; the children were now" four or five in number : John, thirteen years of age, Mary about nine, Elizabeth six or seven if still living, Simon, born perhaps in Cambridge, about four, and possibly Samuel, still an infant. With all these incumbrances he made another move, and we find his name among the inhabitants of the new settle- ment at Barnstable in 1640. The church in Scituate had been divided by dis- sensions concerning baptism, and the Rev. John Lo- throp with his followers resolved to found a new set- tlement by themselves ; accordingly they moved with their families into the wilderness and settled the present town of Barnstable in 1639. The particulars of this migration may be found in Deane's " History of Scituate," and Freeman's " Cape Cod." These men were mainly from Kent, England, which I suppose attracted Davis to their compan}^ Amos Otis says: "He probably came to Barnstable in 1639, with the first settlers, though he did not make it his perma- nent residence until 1642 or 1643. He was a car- penter and a master-builder. His son John was also a carpenter, and his sons Nicholas, Simon, and Sam- uel probably assisted their father. This fact fur- nishes an explanation of his frequent removals from place to place. In the new settlements he found more employment than in the older." It wall be noticed that Otis calls Nicholas Davis of Barnstable a son of Dolor, thouuli he is nowhere else reckoned as such. Of this I shall speak hereafter. To sum up all we know of Dolor from 1636 to 1642, it seems that he parted company with Simon' Willard, left Massachusetts Coloii}^, and migrated to the South Shore in Plymouth Colony. He joined the church at Duxbury and acquired some land there, but the early records of that place being lost, we know noth- ing more about his relations to it. Probably during these seven years he shifted his residence from place to place as each offered better employment at his trade. On May 3, 1641, Davis's brother-in-law, George Willard of Scituate, a young man twenty-six years of age, having spoken disrespectfully of the mag- istrates, was bound over at the Court of Assistants of Plymouth Colony, to appear before the General Court. Thomas Chambers, Dolor Davis, and John Twisden, all of Scituate, " planters," were his sure- ties, Chambers for twenty pounds and Davis and Twisden jointly for the same amount. They appear to have been all released from their bonds, for some cause not stated. George Willard, apparently dis- gusted at the rigid discipline of the church, soon afterwards moved, it is said, to Maryland. It will be noticed that Davis signed the bond as a planter of Scituate. (Plym. Col. Kecords, vol. ii. See, also, Deane's Hist. Scituate, and Willard Memoir.) At a General Court held at Plymouth, March 1, 164-2, Dolor Davis signed a verdict as one of a jury of twelve men in the case of John Barnes. (Plym. Col. Records, vol. vii.) By 1643 he had become a fixed resident of Barn* stable and is returned in August of that year with " his sonnes " among the list of '' the males that are able to bear armes from 16 yeares to 60 yeares." (Plym. Col. Records, vol. viii.) At the end of this list appear the names of John and Nicholas, seemingly in a supplementary list; these were probably the " sonnes " intended, as Simon and Samuel were still small children. Speaking of the connection between Dolor and Nicholas, Otis says : " Many circumstances show that they were near relatives ; Nicholas was a favorite name with descendants of Dolor, who joined the Quakers ; and the house-lots of Dolor and Nich- olas were parts of the same original lot; and other circumstances have induced me to call Nicholas the son of Dolor." I might add here that Nicholas had a son named Simon. From all these facts it is likely they were near relatives, but not father and son. Nicholas had died before Dolor made his will, but it will be ob- served that no mention is made therein of him or his family. On March 24, 1645, the Rev. John Lothrop en- tered in his Records of Barnstable Church the bap- tism of '' Ruth, daughter of Dollar Davice." (N. E. H. & G. Reg. vol. ix.) This completes the list of his family, five living children all duly clad in Script- ural names, — passing by the fine old ancestral in- heritance of Richard and Margery, and even the strange cognomen Dolor, which seems melancholy enousrh to suit the most austere taste even in those sober days. All these five children married and be- came heads of families, as we shall see. June 4, 1645, he was sworn in as a member of the Grand Inquest of Plymouth Colony, and is marked as being " sick." The same day he was propounded to the General Court, with twenty-four others, to be- come freemen, and on June 2, 1646, he was admitted as a freeman. (Plym. Col. Records, vol ii.) August 27, 1648, Rev. John Lothrop makes this entry on his records : " Dolor Davis and his wife being dismissed from the Church att Duxbury was joyned to ours." It seems singular that they should have made Barnstable their home for over five years (perhaps eight), without severing their connection with Duxbury church ; possibly he still retained his property in Duxbury and thought he might some day return to it. March 15, 1649, his son John, then about twenty- two years old, was married at Nausett, by Mr. Prince, to Hannah Lynnell. They settled at Barnstable. June 3, 1652, at a General Court of Election, " Dolare Davice " was chosen a surveyor of highways for Barnstable, and June 6, 1654, at a similar court " Dolar Dauis " was chosen constable. (Plym. Col. Records, vol. iii.) June 15, 1653, his daughter Mary, being about twenty-three years old, was married by Thomas Hincley to Thomas Lewis. In 1655 Davis left Barnstable wdth his family and moved to Concord, in Massachusetts Colony, where he remained eleven years, and where his three younger childen married and settled. Before enter- ing on this new scene, let us pause a moment and take a brief look at his condition in Barnstable. Margery, his wife, was still living, while of his chil- dren John and Mary were married and settled in Barnstable, and already four little Davises with one Lewis called him grandfather. His three younger children, born in America, Simon, Samuel, and Ruth, ranged from twenty years of age down to twelve, and went with him to Concord. He had ac- quired a snug little property of land in and about Barnstable, amounting to one hundred and twenty acres or more, in detached parcels. His house-lot, says Otis, "was the most northerly on the east side of the ancient mill-way discontinued in 1669 His house stood not far from the water-mill built by the first settlers on the spot where the present mill stands."
found on ancestry.com
marriage to settlement in New World
, http://www.archive.org/stream/dolordavissketch00davi/dolordavissketch00davi_djvu.txt
Margery Willarcl married Dolor Davis, as above stated, probably about 1624, being, say, twenty-two years of age. We have no record of this marriage nor of the birth or baptism of her children (except Ruth the youngest), three of whom were born in England : John, about 1626 ; Mary, about 1631 ; and Elizabeth, about 1633. A careful search among the parish registers of Kent might disclose Davis's place of residence and give us the exact dates of his marriage and the births of these children. What fortunes befell this young family, what ex- periences turned their faces toward the new world, we have no means of knowing. Simon Willard, Mar- gery's brother, three years younger than herself, grew up to manhood, inheriting the father's lands, married, and had children. How or why he disposed of his landed estate we do not know, but early in 1634 he embarked for Boston with his family, land- ing in May, 1634. The name of the vessel and the port from which she sailed are utterly lost. Dolor Davis came about the same time, leaving his fanr- ily in England, and tradition has always averred he came in the same vessel with Willard. They made their first settlement in " the New Towne," now Cambridge, Mass, where the town rec- ords of August 4, 1634, contain these grants : — " Granted Symon Willard on the west side of the River one hundred acres. " Granted John Bridge there 75 acres. " Granted Tymotliy Tonilins there 10 acres. " Granted Dollard Davis there 25 acres." Having selected his new home, Davis apparently sent for his family to follow him ; and on April 17, 1635, among the persons taking passage on the Eliz- abeth, Wm. Stagg, master, from London, we find the names of " Margaret Davies, aged 32; John Davies, 9 ; Marie Davies, 4 ; and Elizabeth Davies, 1," — there can be little doubt these are the wife and young chil- dren of Dolor Davis, — and of the seventy-six passen- gers on the Elizabeth it is worth noting that a very large proportion are traced to the comity of Kent. John and Mary Davis reached mature years, married, and settled in Plymouth Colony, as we shall see pres- ently, but of Elizabeth we have no flirther trace. On June 4, 1635, Dolor Davis placed on record in the " Proprietors' Records " the grant of land men- tioned above as ^ranted on the town records Auo;ust 4, 1634, and in addition a house-lot in " the New Towne." The Proprietors' Records read thus : — " Grant to Dollard Davis June 4 1635 one house-lot of half a rood more or less ; Water Street northwest John Bridg southwest, William Andrews northeast, William West wood east." " More, upon the west side of Charles River twenty and five acres ; Charles River on the East, Symon Willard south, John Bridg north, the common southwest." The house-lot is easily identified to-day, lying be- tween Harvard College and Charles River, as by the plan on next page. On the arrival of his family it would seem he se- cured a lot w^itliin the palisade erected about the " New Towne," and probably built himself a dwelling- house. Cambridge had been settled in 1629, and in 1635 contained perhaps about sixty or seventy fami- lies, being just then the seat of government of the colony. It was not, however, a contented commun- ity and its troubles reached a crisis in 1G35-36, when over half its settlers abandoned it, a large part emi- grating with Rev. Mr. Hooker to Hartford, while many others were scattered among the outlying set- tlements around Boston. The different views of the cause of these troubles may be read at length in the Willard Memoir, in Paige's " History of Cambridge," and in Palfrey's " New England." Whatever may have been the causes of discontent, Davis and Willard soon left Cambridge. In August, 1635, they sold their " out-lots " across the river, the transfer being recorded in the Proprietors' Records. " D. Davis to Richard Girling 25*^ of August 1635. Know all men that Dollerd Davis for and in the consideration of ten pounds paid have sold unto Richard Girling, mariner, all the right he hath in five and twenty acres of land lying on the bounds of the Newtowne, on the west side of Charles River, to him the said Richard and his heirs forever. Dated as above written." Same date as above Simon Willard sold Girling his adjoining lot, one hundred acres, Davis disposed of his town lot to Willard, of which transfer we have no record ; and Willard, about 1G39, sold it to Edward Mitchelsen, "one dwelling house and garden" (Wil- lard Memoir). Willard then pushed out into the wilderness and became, in 1636, one of the first founders of Concord, Mass. Davis is generally sup- posed to have gone with him ; and Amos Otis says : " In 1635 he was one of the first settlers and one of the proprietors of the lands in Concord;" but I can find no trace of his being there before 1655. If he went there his stay must have been very short, for we soon find him in Plymouth Colony. Otis contin- ues: "In 1638 he was of Duxbury." On the other hand, the Willard Memoir says that on leaving Cam- bridge he joined his brother-in-law, George Willard, and was with him in Scituate early in 1639. I can find no positive verification of these two statements, though both are not improbable. Willard was cer- tainly in Scituate in 1639, and Davis might naturally be led to join him. Turning, however, to the " Plymouth Colony Rec- ords," vol. viii., we find that "Dolord Davis " took the oath of fidelity to the government in Duxbnry at a very early period, probably between 1636 and 1639. This oath was required of all persons coming to re- side in the colony. And on March 5, 1639, he was propounded for freeman at the General Court of Plymouth Colony but not accepted. (Plym. Col. Records, vol. i.) This fixes the date of his removal to Duxbnry as early as 1638, and is probably what Otis refers to.
found on ancestry.com
General Information
, http://www.kick-me-out-of-bed.com/genealogy/pafn32.htm#4885
3584. Capt. Dolor Davis
I. DOLOR1 DAVIS d. in Barnstable, Mass. His wife was Margaret (or Margery), sister of the famous Simon Willard, the surveyor, whose initials are cut in the famous "Endicot Rock," at Lake Winnipisseogee. II. SAMUEL2 DAVIS, his son, m. Mary Meadows, and lived in Bedford, Mass. III. DANIEL3 DAVIS, his son, m. Mary Hubbard and also lived in Bedford. IV. NATHAN4 DAVIS, his son, m. Ellen Hubbard and lived in Rutland, Mass. V. ALPHEUS5 DAVIS, his son, moved from Rutland, Mass., to the west side of Packersfield (Nelson), N. H., near the Sullivan line, at 59 on the map. VI. TILLY M6. DAVIS, his son, m. Catherine Morse, and lived many years near his father, at 60 (in Nelson).
Settled in Cambridge, MA before 1634. Arrived from England with wife, 3 children and wife's brother Maj. Simon Willard (founder of Concord, NH).
Dolor Davis was a carpenter and a master builder. He received his first grant of land in Cambridge, June 4, 1635, and other grants later. He moved to Duxbury, August 5, 1638-39, was admitted freeman, and was granted land there in 1640. He was a resident in Barnstable in 1643. and admitted freeman there June 2, 1646. He held many public offices in Barnstable, including those of highway surveyor and constable. He and his wife were dismissed from the Duxbury church to the Barnstable church, August 27, 1648. In 1656 he left Plymouth Colony and returned to Concord, where he purchased one hundred and fifty acres of land, with a house. In 1666 he returned to Barnstable, where he died in June, 1673. His will, dated September 13, 1672, was proved July 2, 1673. He mentioned his sons Simon and Samuel as already having their portions; his son John and son-in-law Lewis, with Mary, Lewis' wife; daughter Ruth Hall. He married, in county Kent, England, March 29, 1624, Margery, daughter of Richard Willard, of Horsemonden, yeoman. She was baptized at Horsemonden, November 7, 1602, and died before 1667. Children: John, born in England about 1626, inherited homestead; Mary, born in England about 1631; Elizabeth, died young; Lieutenant Simon, mentioned below; Samuel, lived in Concord and Bedford; Ruth, born in Barnstable, March 24, 1645.
Davis' in New England."Some branches of the Davis family spell the name as Davies. The name is acorruption of Davids--the son of David.The first of the family coming to New England was James, a mariner, whois recorded in Boston in 1634.Dolor, came shortly after in the same year to Cambridge, MA. He was amaster builder and moved to Duxbury, MA in 1640. In 1643 he was living inBarnstable, MA.James, born in England, was made a freeman in Newbury, MA in 1635. Hemoved to Haverhill, MA in 1640.John a joiner, came to Boston, MA in 1635Nicholas, came to Charlestown, MA in 1635. He moved to Woburn, MA in1640.Thomas, a sawyer(this is how its spelled) from Wiltchire, England, cameto Boston, MA in 1635.William, of Welsh descent, came to Roxbury, MA in 1635.Francis, born in England in 1620, came to Salisbury MA in 1638. Hemoved to Amesbury, MA.Isaac, was at Salem, MA in 1637. He moved to Beverly, MA in 1650. Hefinally settled in Casco, Maine.James, was made a freeman in Hampton, NH in 1638.John, a shoemaker, settled in Ipswich, MA in 1638.Philip, was at Plymouth, Ma in 1638.Robert, settled in Yarmouth, MA in 1638. He moved to Barnstable.There were over 30 of the name of Davis who also settled in New Englandbefore 1700."
found on ancestry.com
"Dolar Davis"
1634 - 1673 , Massachusetts
Dolar Davis' name is inscribed on panel 594 at the Wall of Honor @ Ellis Island.
Captain Dolar Davis landed in Boston May 1634. In August, he was granted lands in Cambridge, MA (about where Harvard College is today). In April of 1628, Margery (wife) and 3 children embarked from London for New England on the "Elizabeth." Owned lands in Dunbry in 1640. Had other lands granted him. Took part in founding Barnstable, MA. One of 20 who had lands granted him in Concord, MA. Perhaps of all the families which came to New England, none can be selected more worthy of our esteem and unqualified appreciation than that of Capt. Dolar Davis.
"Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families",pgs.289-303" In 1643, five of the name of Davis were "able to bear arms" in Barnstable, viz: Dolor or Dollard and his sons, John, Nicholas, Simon, and in Yarmouth, Robert Davis, afterward of Barnstable. Dr. Palfrey informed Mr. Savage that the graves of the ancestors of Dolor Davis were at Benefield, Northamptonshire, England, and that was probably his native town. He married as early as 1618, Margery, daughter of Richard Willard, of Horsemondon, in the county of Kent, where all his sons were born, and perhaps his daughter Mary.
He came over in 1634, in company with his brother-in-law ,Major Simon Willard, a man of note in the history of the Massachusetts Colony. He stopped first at Cambridge, and in 1635 was one of the first settlers, and had a house lot on water street. He sold his lands in Cambridge in 1636, and removed. He was also one of the proprietors of the lands in Concord. In 1638, he was of Duxbury, April 6,1640, lands and meadows were granted him and others, at North Hill, in that town, and on the 31st of August following, he granted to him fifty acres of upland, and a proportion of meadows on the Namassacuset River. May,1641, he was bondsman for George Willard of Scituate, and is called of that town.
August,1643, he and his sons were included among those able to bear arms in Barnstable. He probably came to Barnstable in 1639 with the first settlers, though he did not make it the place of his permanent residence until 1642/43. He was a carpenter,and master builder,his son John was also a carpenter, and his sons Nicholas, Simon, and Samuel, probably assisted their father. This fact furnishes an explanation of his frequent removals from place to place. In the new settlements he found more employment than in the older. It did not, however, require much time to construct the rude dwellings of our ancestors.
Neither Dolor or his sons were ambitious of political distinction. In 1642 he was on the jury of trials, in 1645 a grand juror; but was excused from serving on account of sickness, in 1652 surveyor of highways, and in 1654, constable.
In 1655 he removed to Concord. He was one of the original proprietors of Groton, and he and Mr. Thomas Hinkley of Barnstable, were of the first Board of Selectmen appointed by the Legislature May 23,1655, and to hold office two years. The selectmen managed the prudential affairs of the town,laid out the lots, and disposed of them to the first settlers.
In 1656, Dolor Davis was a resident of Concord, and in receipt dated April 9, of that year, calls himself of that town. In a deed executed in that town July 17,1658, describes himself as a house carpenter late of Barnstable. Feb.16,1667/68, he had returned to Barnstable, where he died June 1673, aged about 80 years.
Dolor Davis's house lot was the most northerly on the east side of the ancient Mill Waym discontinued in 1669. In his deed to Abraham Blush, dated July 17, 1658, he says,"all my house lott of lands lying by a place commonly called Old Mill Creek". His house stood not far from the water mill built by the first settlers on the spot where the present mill stands.
Source: Dr. Samuel Green's "Epitaphs" p.238Dolor Davis was a petitioner for the plantation of Groton and his name appears in the first list of selectmen, appointed by the General Court.
Source: History of Cambridge, Massachusetts 1630-1877Preface p.211Source: Acton Memorial Library. house lot E. side Dunster bet. Winthrop and South Sts, rem. to Groton, granted August 4, 1634 and 25 acres of land and sold the land on August 25, 1635. He may have gone to Concord. At Duxbury 1638, Scituate 1639, Barnstable 1640, Concord 1655 and back to Barnstable where he died, 1673. He built Tidewater dam and mill at Barnstable, which was torn down about 1900.
Amos Otis, a historian of the Cape families, wrote of him in the Barnstable Patriot, 1863: "Perhaps among all the families coming to New England, not one can be selected more deserving of our esteem and unqualified approbation than that of Dolor Davis. As a man, he was honest, industrious, prudent. As a Christian, tolerant and exact in the performance of his religious duties; as a neighbor, kind, obliging, and ever ready to help those who needed asssistance; and as a father and the head of his family, he was constantly solicitous for the welfare of all its members, cultivating those kindly feelings and ameneties of life which render home delightful."
Source: One Line of Descendants from Dolar Davis and Richard Everett, by Mrs. William Sumner Crosby, 1911, p. 8There is much uncertainty about Dolor Davis and family ever having had a residence in Cambridge. He sold the house-lot in August, 1635. He moved, with considerable persistence, from place to place during nearly all of his life, possibly because this frequent change in residence gave him a better opportunity to pursue his trade as a carpenter.
The will recites that he has already provided for his sons Simon and Samuel; and then he bequeaths his house and land in Concord to his son, John, adding, "I also bequeath to him my carpenters tools and serge suit and cloke." The inventory of estate in Concord was "L125 5s. 7d." That he made a favorable impression on others is shown by the following:
"Perhaps of all the families which came to New England, not one can be selected more worthy of our esteem, and unqualified approbation than that of Dolor Davis. As a man he was honest, industrious and prudent; as a Christian tolerant and exact in the performance of his religious duties; as a neighbor kind, obliging, and ever ready to help those who needed his assistance; and as a father and the head of his family he was constantly solicitous for the welfare of all its members, cultivating those kindly feelings and amenities of life which render home delightful." (Amos Otis, in "Barnstable Families")
Source: Dolor Davis by Horace Davis, 1811:On the 13th of September, 1672, the old man made the following will: -
"I, Dolar Davis of Barnstable in the Colony of New Plymouth being weak and crazy in body but of perfect mind and memory do make this my last will and testament in manner and form following. "First I commit and commend my soul into the hand of God my Heavenly Father in Christ Jesus hoping in his full grace, and when it shall leave this body he will receive it to himself into his heavenly kingdom. And my body I commit to the Earth to be decently buried therein believing there will be a Resurrection thereof at the last day. The charge of my Burial to be borne by my Executor hereunder expressed.
"For the outward Estate which I have to dispose of, I having already given my Son Symon and Samuel their full portions and deeds for their Lands which I have settled on them, I so hereby bequeath to my dear and loving wife Joanna five Pounds which I have due to me by bill to be paid at Mr. Brattles in Boston and four Pounds to be payed by my Executor to her during the tearm of four years after my decease in English Comodities or otherwise as my wife and my said Executor shall agree, in case my said wife live so long. I do also hereby give and bequeath to my eldest son John my house and barn and outyard with several parcels of Land lying in Concord in the Colony of the Massachusetts hereafter mention, Viz: all my land about the said house bounded by the highway down by the Brood and by the land given to my son Symon and butting on the South Rivers containing by estimation twenty acres more of less , as also a piece of upland and meadow containing six acres more or less near my son Symon's house, bounded by the highway on one side and by the twenty acres on the other side. As also thirteen acres of upland more or less, adjoining to my seven acres of meadow on one side, which said seven acres of meadow are also hereby bequeathed to him, which said upland and meadow is bounded with James Bloods land on the one side, my son Symon's four acres more or less on the other side, and the West bounded by the twenty acres; as also thirty-two acres of upland and Swampyish meadow compassed about with Richard Temples land on three side and bounded with Thomas Batemans land on the other side; as also five acres of upland fenced in bounded by John Heald's Field on the one side, my son Symon's land on another side, and the Highway on a third side, and butting on the "south River, which said five acres my will is, are hereby bound over and engaged for the payment of the four Pounds for the said four years. In case my Executor refuse to pay the said four Pounds for the term aforesaid then, my said wife shall have power to sell the said five acres to my son Samuel for the next crop in the year one thousand six hundred and seventy three. My will also is that in case my said five acres be not sufficient to improve the said four Pounds for four years to my said wife, that then a piece of Pasture Land is hereby added thereto on that account and engaged to her to dispose of for her satisfaction, which said Pasture Land is part of the twenty acres about the house, bounded by the South River on one side, a little Brook on another side and Samuel Hunte on a third side, and the field lots below on the other side. My will also is that my son Symon shall have another crop after this years from that piece of land that lies near his house, for which he is to pay to me my Executor or assigns twenty shillings. "I do also bequeath to my son John a bill of four Pound due to me from Roger Chandler of Concord to satisfy for the Charges of my coming from Barnstable to Concord and to provide his son Joseph who came to attend me. I do also bequeath to him all my Carpenters tools and my serge suite and cloak. I do also bequeath to my son in law Lewis my cloth suite and coal and hat and to my daughter Mary his wife a cow which is a present in my son Samuel's keeping, as also fifty shillings the half of a Bill of five Pounds due to me from my son Samuel. As also my bedding, pewter and brass and other household stuff now in my dwelling house at Barnstable. Also I do give and bequeath to my daughter Ruth Hall besides what she hath received from me, a cow which her husband hath at present in his keeping, as also fifty shillings the other half of the aforesaid Bill due from my son Samuel, provided that her husband or herself pay five shillings for me to William Butterick. I so also give to the poor of the town where it shall please God that I die whether at Concord or at Barnstable the sum of ten shillings to be payed to the Deacons of the Church thereby my Executor. I so also hereby constitute and appoint my said son John the sole Executor of this my last Will and Testament, and my loving and respected friends William Butterick, Richard Hassell, and Thomas Browns the overseers thereof.
"In witness hereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal.
"Signed and sealed in the presence of THOMAS BROWNE.
"Know all Men by these Presents that I Dolor Davis of Barnstable in the Colony of New Plymouth do ratify and confirm this my last Will and Testament, which is signed and sealed in the presence of Thomas Brown above mentioned, only I do further declare that I do give unto my son John Davis twenty acres of Woodland which is by the twenty-seven acres which belongeth unto twenty men, or did belong unto them in the Town of Concord in the Colony of Massachusetts which land is not mentioned in my Will above written. As also I do give my red mare unto my wife Joanna, which is not before disposed of, this thirteenth of September in the year of our Lord one thousand, six hundred, seventy and two. "DOLOR DAVIS and a seal "Signed and sealed in the presence of "NATHANIEL BACON, JUN. "SAMUEL BACON."
"This will above mentioned was acknowledged by Dolor Davis to be his last Will and Testament, according as it is witnessed in both places and sealed before me."NATHANIEL BACON, J.P. Court."
It will be observed that all the real estate bequeathed in this will lies in the town of Concord, and is left entirely to his son John, though burdened with certain charges. He says, "I have already given my son Symon and Samuel their full portions and deeds for their lands which I have settled upon them." He speaks of this "dwelling-house in Barnstable," but only disposes of his "bedding, pewter and brass and other household stuff," contained in it to his daughter Mary Lewis. Whatever real estate he had acquired at Barnstable since his return he must have disposed of before making this will, and very likely to his son John, as we know from Otis that John afterwards owned the dwelling-house which had been his father's. Indeed, the spot where it stood has always been in the possession of John's descendants and is t-day, though the old homestead was torn down long ago.
Amid all this dry detail of dates and transfers of property we gain but little insight into the real character of the man, or of his relations to his neighbors and his family. We discern dimly the figures of a pioneer, bold and hardy to encounter the privations of frontier life, restlessly moving from place to place, yet withal industrious, patient, and frugal, accumulating a moderate independence in property, providing carefully for the wants of his family, and with affectionate forethought dividing his substance among his children during his own life that they might begin the race with a fair start.
He was possessed of some education, as we may judge from his close relations with such men as Willard and Hincley while his signatures are always autographs at a time when the art of writing was by no means universal.
It is a little singular that among those persons nearest to him, George Willard, his brother-in-law, was a variance with the church and emigrate to Maryland; Nicholas Davis, reputed to be his son or brother, was obliged to remove to Rhode Island, where he joined the Quakers; while Dolor's second wife, Joanna, was daughter of Rev. Joseph Hull, who was driven from Plymouth Colony for preaching without a license, and sister of Capt. Tristram Hull, who was fined for befriending Quakers. Coupling these facts with his long delay in joining Barnstable Church, I have suspected that he did not sympathize fully with the rigid discipline of the church, and that his failure to become a freeman of Massachusetts Colony during his long residence there, and his departure from that Colony, might have been owing to a dislike of the still sterner church-rule maintained there; but this may be mere imagination.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The following is written in the Davis Family Book: The family traces descent from Alfred the Great and Rhodri Mohr, King of Wales, A.D. 863. A prominent representative of the family in England at present, Owen Davis, is 17th in irect descent from Edward the third and 32nd in descent from Alfred the Great. The family has had at least two famous men of the sex, John and Edward Davis.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Source: Genealogical and Family History of the State of Maine, published by the Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York, 1909, Vol. 1, p. 216.
"Dolor Davis, immigrant of this Davis family, was one of the most prominent pioneers of both colonies. His posterity is very numerous, and among them have been some very distinguished men, namely: Hon. John Davis, governor and United States senator, and Hon John D. Long, governor, congressman, and secretary of the navy. Dolor Davis married in county Kent, England, March 29, 1624, Margery, daughter of Richard Willard, of Horsemonden, county Kent, yeoman. She was baptized there November 7, 1602, and died before 1667. Accompanied by his wife, three children and Simon Willard, his wife's brother, Dolor Davis came to New England and settled prior to August 4, 1634, in Cambridge. Simon Willard was one of the founders of Lancaster: he was captain of foot in 1646, major in 1654, and at his death in 1673 'the colony lost one [of] its most distinguished members.'
Dolor Davis was a carpenter and master builder. He received his first grant of land in Cambridge, June 4, 1635, and others later. He removed to Duxbury, August 5, 1638-39, and was admitted a freeman and granted land there in 1640. He was a resident of Barnstable in 1643 and was admitted a freeman there June 2, 1646. He was honored in Barnstable with various public offices, including those of highway surveyor and constable. He and his wife were dismissed from the Duxbury to the Barnstable church August 27, 1648. In 1656 he left Plymouth colony and returned to Massachusetts Bay, and purchased in Concord one hundred and fifty acres with a house thereon. In 1666, however, he returned to BArnstable, and died there in June, 1673. His will was dated September 13, 1672, and proved July 2, 1673. It menions sons Simon and Samuel as already having their portions: eldest son John; son-in-law Lewis and Mary his wife; an ddaughter Ruth Hall. Children: 1. John, born in England about 1626, to whom was bequeathed the Concord homestead. 2. Mary, born in England about 1631. 3. Elizabeth. 4. Lietenant Simon, married Mary Blood. 5. Samuel... 6. Ruth, born in Barnstable, March 24, 1645.
found on ancestry.com
, http://www.accessgenealogy.com/scripts/data/database.cgi?file=Data&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=0009356
The writer has taken the liberty to present largely the main facts contained in the narrative of Dolor1 Davis, his son Samuel2 Davis, and grandson Lieut. Simon3 Davis, as given in the pamphlet of Hon. Horace Davis of San Francisco, Cal., in 1881.The career of Dolor Davis, in New England, is that of a pioneer who by his energy and industry in subduing the wilderness was a type of those enduring qualities which distinguished his descendants in later generations. By trade he was a house-builder, added to which was farming.Dolor Davis was born late in the sixteenth century, for he died in dune, 1673, "at the ripe age of 80," says one chronicler. His birthplace was probably in Kent County, England. His wife was from Kent, his associates in New England were largely with Kentish men, and the name of Dams is very common in Kent County.Dolor Davis was twice married, first to "Margerye Wilerd" on March 29, 1624. She was the daughter of Richard Willard, "by second wife Margery," who was buried at Horsmonden, Dec., 1608, when Margery, the daughter, was six years old; for she was christened Nov. 7, 1602. Richard Willard was of Horsmonden, County of Kent. He died 1617, leaving a large estate, mostly in lands, part of which came to his daughter Margery Willard and another part to the son, Simon Willard, who was later the founder of Concord, in New England.The first record we have of Dolor Davis, in New England, is on the Proprietors' Records in Cambridge [New Towne], of a grant of twenty-five acres on Aug. 4, 1634; also a house-lot, June 4, 1635. The wife Margery is supposed to be the "Margerett Davies, age 32, who with three children, John Davies (9 years old), Marie Davies (4), Elizabeth Davies (1), sailed on the Elizabeth, from the port of London, April 17, 1635, Win. Stagg, master." There is much uncertainty about Dolor Davis and family ever having had a residence in Cambridge. He sold the above-named house-lot in August, 1635. He moved, with considerable persistence, from place to place during nearly all of his life, possibly because this frequent change in residence gave him a better opportunity to pursue his trade as a carpenter.In 1638 he was in Duxbury. In 1640 he took part in founding Barnstable. In 1643 he was an inhabitant of Barnstable, "able to bear arms"; freeman 1645. In 1655 he removed to Concord. In the same year he petitioned with others to the General Court of Massachusetts Colony for a grant of land in what is now Groton, Mass., and on the 29th of May was made one of the new selectmen. In 1656 his name appears on a petition for remission of taxes in Groton; but he seems never to have made Groton his home, for on Aug. 020, 1655, "he bought of Roger Draper his house and farm in Concord." In the conveyance he is called "Husbandman." Meanwhile he sold his property in Barnstable for "corn and cattle," the documents recording the various payments and the transfer itself being in the Plymouth Records. In them he is styled "house-carpenter." Margery Davis joined in the acknowledgment, which is the last record we have of her. She probably died in Concord before 1666, in which year Davis left Concord. Dolor Davis had lands granted to him in Concord in 1659, and in 1664 he signed a petition to the General Court as "an inhabitant of Concord."Of the three children brought over from England, John and Mary were married and settled on the Cape, Elizabeth probably died young. Three more children were born in America, and they, too, were married and settled, but in or near Concord.In 1666 Davis left Concord and returned to Barnstable, and was again admitted as an inhabitant, where his name appears on various documents. He married, after his return to Barnstable, Mrs. Joanna Bursley, born in England, 169.0, daughter of Rev. Joseph Hull and widow of Capt.John Bursley. She was living in 1683. Dolor Davis accumulated a large property for those times, which he distributed mostly among his children during his lifetime. On the 13th of September, 167'2, he made his will, which has his autograph signature, showing that he had some education. He always wrote his Christian name DOLAR. The will was proved July 2, 167'3. He probably died late in June.The will recites that he has already provided for his sons Simon and Samuel; and then he bequeaths his house and land in Concord to his son John, adding, "I also bequeath to him my carpenters tools and serge suit and cloke." The inventory of estate in Concord was "£125 5s. 7'd." That he made a favorable impression on others is shown by the following:"Perhaps of all the families which came to New England, not one can be selected more worthy of our esteem, and unqualified approbation than that of Dolor Davis. As a man he was honest, industrious and prudent; as a christian tolerant and exact in the performance of his religious duties; as a neighbor kind, obliging, and ever ready to help those who needed his assistance; and as a father and the head of his family he was constantly solicitous for the welfare of all its members, cultivating those kindly feelings and amenities of life which render home delightful." (Amos Otis, in Barnstable Families.)Samuel 2 Davis, b. 1639; m. at Lynn, Mass., Jan. 11, 1665, Mary Meaddows; settled in that part of Concord which afterwards was set off as Bedford. Mary [Meaddows] Davis d. at Concord, Oct. 3, 1710. He m. second, Oct. 18, 1711, Ruth Taylor. She d. Aug. 6, 1720. He was the father of seven children.Samuel Davis was made freeman March 91, 1689-90. He was with Major Simon Willard at the Brookfield fight on Sept. 28, 167'5. (King Philip's War, p. 121.)His farm was on the back road from Concord to Bedford, about three miles from Concord town, on the edge of the river meadow. A well is there which he is said to have dug. The property is still owned by one of his descendants. He does not appear to have served in civil life.June 90, 1690, petitioned Concord authorities for "a bridal path from his house to Billerica road." In 1706 conveys houses and lands to his "two well beloved sons." On May 8, 1713, he sells house, barn, and 9 acres to Eleazer Davis for £50. His signature is autograph, signing himself as "farmer." The date of his death and place of burial are unknown. It appears that he gave his property to his family while living.Simon3 Davis, b. at Concord, Aug. 9, 1683; m. at Stow, Mass., 1719, Dorothy Heald,dau. of Israel Heald by wife Martha. He lived in Stow, and was a blacksmith; d. Sept. 7, 1738, aged 78. His will is on record at East Cambridge, and mentions daughter Dorothy Davis and grandson Joseph Davis. Wid. Martha d. June 14, 1746. "Lieut." Simon Davis lived at Concord until about 1721, when he moved to Worcester County, and settled in Rutland; selectman 1721; innkeeper 1723; waylaid and nearly killed by the Indians in the same year. Petitions with others to the General Court on May 13, 1740, to be set off in a separate township to be named Holden. This request was granted, and Mr. Davis was made moderator of the first town meeting in Holden, May 4, 1745; chairman of board of selectmen for several years; also juryman. He was closely identified with the church. He d. Feb. 21, 1763; wid. Dorothy d. July 21, 1776. Eight children. He was the ancestor of three Massachusetts governors: "Honest" John Davis, John Davis Long, and George D. Robinson.The ancestry of Hon. Horace Davis separates here from my own. Joseph4 Davis, b. at Concord, July 16, 1790; m. at Weston, May 24, 1743, Catherine Jones. Joseph Davis was grad. Harv. Coll. 1740. He was the first ordained minister at Holden, preaching from 1743 to 1'773. He was a representative to the General Court of Massachusetts 1'781; a member of the convention held in Boston, 1'788, for the ratification of the Federal Constitution by Massachusetts. He d. at Holden, March 4, 1'799; wid. Catherine d. May 15, 1815. From his monument:"He was a man of science,A zealous, pungent preacher." Simon5 Davis, b. at Holden, March 10, 1745; m. at Andover, Mass., June 2, 1771, Elizabeth Clarke.Simon Davis first of Holden, then of Andover, had the pioneer spirit of his ancestors. Soon after his marriage he moved with his friends into the wilderness, and became one of the first settlers in what is now Woodstock, Vt. Here he built a log house, in which his children were born. He was the first deacon in the newly organized church, and, being a man of education, he also organized a school board, and was himself the head of it. He had several grants in land; was selectman and juror; prudent and industrious, adding to farming the trade of Dolor1 Davis, that of housebuilding. He built and owned the first mill for grinding corn and the first saw-mill in Woodstock.My father, his grandson, had the facts relating to Simon3 Davis recorded in a note-book, with his descendants. They had seven children: John, Simon, and Abner settled in Illinois, and were men of influence; William and Gilman Davis removed to Boston, where the youngest son, Gilman, married Sarah Tuttle of Dorchester, and had his home in Cambridge.They had three daughters.Simon Davis d. at Woodstock, Jan. 17, 1793; his wid. Elizabeth d. at Boston, March 11, 1816.William s Davis, b. at Woodstock, Vt., Feb. 2, 1'789; m. at Waitsfield, Vt., March 9, 1815, Sarah Gilbert Wait.Mr. Davis moved to Boston, where his life was uneventful. He was one of the leading building contractors in the city. Both he and his wife were deeply interested in the Baptist church and in their pastor, Rev. Dr. Rowland Neal. Dr. Neal preached the funeral sermon for William Davis in the church on Jan. 10, 1880. The son remembered the text, "In my Father's house are many mansions." The body was interred in the basement of the church. Mr. Davis was highly esteemed by all who knew him. He accumulated a good property. Of his children six died young. Three children survived, the son, Almon Hemenway Davis, and two daughters, Martha Jane and Phidelia Davis, who married Eben Jones Mathes of Rochester, N.H.Almon Hemenway' Davis, b. at Boston, April 12, 1816; m. at Dedham, Mass., June 2, 1844, Elizabeth Everett.Mr. Davis was liberally educated. He had a rare combination of gifts. Not only was he a fine classical student, but he was also a mathematician of unusual excellence. It was at the Baptist Theological School, at Newton Centre, that he was suddenly called upon to teach Greek and Hebrew; in such an acceptable manner that he was urged to become a professor instead of entering the ministry, so admirable was his teaching. He had three parishes. Of the last two, one in Providence, R.I., and one in Boston. He left the ministry in 1851 to become an editor. In 1866 he received a call to become associated, on the editorial sheet of the Chicago Tribune, with his personal friend, Joseph Medill, Esq.Mr. Davis d. in Chicago, Ill., Oct. 20, 1891; wid. Elizabeth d. in California, Dec. 6, 1904.CHILDREN:1. Eleanor Francis.2. Edward Everett Davis, b. Jan. 9, 1849; m. at Boston, Sept. 1, 1881, Margerett Adamson. Children: Elizabeth Everett Davis, b. Oct., 1882, d. in few days; Margerett Everett Davis, b. Sept. 20, 1885; Alice Everett Davis, b. April 16, 1892. Eleanor Francis8 Davis, b. at Dedham, Mass., March 14, 1845; received her middle name of Francis from her mother's brother, Francis Everett; m. at Boston, Mass., Oct. 11, 1877, William Sumner Crosby, b. at Boston, April 22, 1844. The officiating clergyman was Rev. James Freeman Clarke, D. D. Eleanor Francis Davis was given in marriage by Wendell Phillips. It was a home wedding. Mr. Crosby has been for many years a prominent Boston merchant.Sumner9 Crosby, b. at Boston, Nov. H, 1878; m. at Alameda, Cal., Aug. 6, 1901, Idolene Snow Hooper, dau. of Charles Appleton and Ida Geneva [Snow] Hooper. Mr. Hooper is one of the notable merchants of California. Mr. Crosby is grad. Harv. Coll., A.B. 1900, M.A. 1901; Law School, 1901-02; councilman, city of Alameda, 190910; assemblyman, California State Legislature, 1910-12.Children: Charles Hooper Crosby, b. Nov. 28, 1902; Barbara Appleton, b. May 8, 1904; Beatrice Blanchard, b. March 17, 1907; Sumner Crosby, b. June 10, 1911.
Source: One Line of Descendants from Dolar Davis and Richard Everett
found on ancestry.com
Duxbury to Barnstable, including children
, http://www.archive.org/stream/dolordavissketch00davi/dolordavissketch00davi_djvu.txt
It must have been about this time that he joined the church at Duxbury, of which he retained his membership till 1648, long after his removal to Barn- stable, as we shall see hereafter. He seems to have contemplated a permanent settlement at Duxbury, but if so he never accomplished it. He may well have desired a settled home, for his young family was increasing" and must have taxed all his powers to keep the wolf from the door ; the children were now" four or five in number : John, thirteen years of age, Mary about nine, Elizabeth six or seven if still living, Simon, born perhaps in Cambridge, about four, and possibly Samuel, still an infant. With all these incumbrances he made another move, and we find his name among the inhabitants of the new settle- ment at Barnstable in 1640. The church in Scituate had been divided by dis- sensions concerning baptism, and the Rev. John Lo- throp with his followers resolved to found a new set- tlement by themselves ; accordingly they moved with their families into the wilderness and settled the present town of Barnstable in 1639. The particulars of this migration may be found in Deane's " History of Scituate," and Freeman's " Cape Cod." These men were mainly from Kent, England, which I suppose attracted Davis to their compan}^ Amos Otis says: "He probably came to Barnstable in 1639, with the first settlers, though he did not make it his perma- nent residence until 1642 or 1643. He was a car- penter and a master-builder. His son John was also a carpenter, and his sons Nicholas, Simon, and Sam- uel probably assisted their father. This fact fur- nishes an explanation of his frequent removals from place to place. In the new settlements he found more employment than in the older." It wall be noticed that Otis calls Nicholas Davis of Barnstable a son of Dolor, thouuli he is nowhere else reckoned as such. Of this I shall speak hereafter. To sum up all we know of Dolor from 1636 to 1642, it seems that he parted company with Simon' Willard, left Massachusetts Coloii}^, and migrated to the South Shore in Plymouth Colony. He joined the church at Duxbury and acquired some land there, but the early records of that place being lost, we know noth- ing more about his relations to it. Probably during these seven years he shifted his residence from place to place as each offered better employment at his trade. On May 3, 1641, Davis's brother-in-law, George Willard of Scituate, a young man twenty-six years of age, having spoken disrespectfully of the mag- istrates, was bound over at the Court of Assistants of Plymouth Colony, to appear before the General Court. Thomas Chambers, Dolor Davis, and John Twisden, all of Scituate, " planters," were his sure- ties, Chambers for twenty pounds and Davis and Twisden jointly for the same amount. They appear to have been all released from their bonds, for some cause not stated. George Willard, apparently dis- gusted at the rigid discipline of the church, soon afterwards moved, it is said, to Maryland. It will be noticed that Davis signed the bond as a planter of Scituate. (Plym. Col. Kecords, vol. ii. See, also, Deane's Hist. Scituate, and Willard Memoir.) At a General Court held at Plymouth, March 1, 164-2, Dolor Davis signed a verdict as one of a jury of twelve men in the case of John Barnes. (Plym. Col. Records, vol. vii.) By 1643 he had become a fixed resident of Barn* stable and is returned in August of that year with " his sonnes " among the list of '' the males that are able to bear armes from 16 yeares to 60 yeares." (Plym. Col. Records, vol. viii.) At the end of this list appear the names of John and Nicholas, seemingly in a supplementary list; these were probably the " sonnes " intended, as Simon and Samuel were still small children. Speaking of the connection between Dolor and Nicholas, Otis says : " Many circumstances show that they were near relatives ; Nicholas was a favorite name with descendants of Dolor, who joined the Quakers ; and the house-lots of Dolor and Nich- olas were parts of the same original lot; and other circumstances have induced me to call Nicholas the son of Dolor." I might add here that Nicholas had a son named Simon. From all these facts it is likely they were near relatives, but not father and son. Nicholas had died before Dolor made his will, but it will be ob- served that no mention is made therein of him or his family. On March 24, 1645, the Rev. John Lothrop en- tered in his Records of Barnstable Church the bap- tism of '' Ruth, daughter of Dollar Davice." (N. E. H. & G. Reg. vol. ix.) This completes the list of his family, five living children all duly clad in Script- ural names, — passing by the fine old ancestral in- heritance of Richard and Margery, and even the strange cognomen Dolor, which seems melancholy enousrh to suit the most austere taste even in those sober days. All these five children married and be- came heads of families, as we shall see. June 4, 1645, he was sworn in as a member of the Grand Inquest of Plymouth Colony, and is marked as being " sick." The same day he was propounded to the General Court, with twenty-four others, to be- come freemen, and on June 2, 1646, he was admitted as a freeman. (Plym. Col. Records, vol ii.) August 27, 1648, Rev. John Lothrop makes this entry on his records : " Dolor Davis and his wife being dismissed from the Church att Duxbury was joyned to ours." It seems singular that they should have made Barnstable their home for over five years (perhaps eight), without severing their connection with Duxbury church ; possibly he still retained his property in Duxbury and thought he might some day return to it. March 15, 1649, his son John, then about twenty- two years old, was married at Nausett, by Mr. Prince, to Hannah Lynnell. They settled at Barnstable. June 3, 1652, at a General Court of Election, " Dolare Davice " was chosen a surveyor of highways for Barnstable, and June 6, 1654, at a similar court " Dolar Dauis " was chosen constable. (Plym. Col. Records, vol. iii.) June 15, 1653, his daughter Mary, being about twenty-three years old, was married by Thomas Hincley to Thomas Lewis. In 1655 Davis left Barnstable wdth his family and moved to Concord, in Massachusetts Colony, where he remained eleven years, and where his three younger childen married and settled. Before enter- ing on this new scene, let us pause a moment and take a brief look at his condition in Barnstable. Margery, his wife, was still living, while of his chil- dren John and Mary were married and settled in Barnstable, and already four little Davises with one Lewis called him grandfather. His three younger children, born in America, Simon, Samuel, and Ruth, ranged from twenty years of age down to twelve, and went with him to Concord. He had ac- quired a snug little property of land in and about Barnstable, amounting to one hundred and twenty acres or more, in detached parcels. His house-lot, says Otis, "was the most northerly on the east side of the ancient mill-way discontinued in 1669 His house stood not far from the water-mill built by the first settlers on the spot where the present mill stands."
found on ancestry.com
marriage to settlement in New World
, http://www.archive.org/stream/dolordavissketch00davi/dolordavissketch00davi_djvu.txt
Margery Willarcl married Dolor Davis, as above stated, probably about 1624, being, say, twenty-two years of age. We have no record of this marriage nor of the birth or baptism of her children (except Ruth the youngest), three of whom were born in England : John, about 1626 ; Mary, about 1631 ; and Elizabeth, about 1633. A careful search among the parish registers of Kent might disclose Davis's place of residence and give us the exact dates of his marriage and the births of these children. What fortunes befell this young family, what ex- periences turned their faces toward the new world, we have no means of knowing. Simon Willard, Mar- gery's brother, three years younger than herself, grew up to manhood, inheriting the father's lands, married, and had children. How or why he disposed of his landed estate we do not know, but early in 1634 he embarked for Boston with his family, land- ing in May, 1634. The name of the vessel and the port from which she sailed are utterly lost. Dolor Davis came about the same time, leaving his fanr- ily in England, and tradition has always averred he came in the same vessel with Willard. They made their first settlement in " the New Towne," now Cambridge, Mass, where the town rec- ords of August 4, 1634, contain these grants : — " Granted Symon Willard on the west side of the River one hundred acres. " Granted John Bridge there 75 acres. " Granted Tymotliy Tonilins there 10 acres. " Granted Dollard Davis there 25 acres." Having selected his new home, Davis apparently sent for his family to follow him ; and on April 17, 1635, among the persons taking passage on the Eliz- abeth, Wm. Stagg, master, from London, we find the names of " Margaret Davies, aged 32; John Davies, 9 ; Marie Davies, 4 ; and Elizabeth Davies, 1," — there can be little doubt these are the wife and young chil- dren of Dolor Davis, — and of the seventy-six passen- gers on the Elizabeth it is worth noting that a very large proportion are traced to the comity of Kent. John and Mary Davis reached mature years, married, and settled in Plymouth Colony, as we shall see pres- ently, but of Elizabeth we have no flirther trace. On June 4, 1635, Dolor Davis placed on record in the " Proprietors' Records " the grant of land men- tioned above as ^ranted on the town records Auo;ust 4, 1634, and in addition a house-lot in " the New Towne." The Proprietors' Records read thus : — " Grant to Dollard Davis June 4 1635 one house-lot of half a rood more or less ; Water Street northwest John Bridg southwest, William Andrews northeast, William West wood east." " More, upon the west side of Charles River twenty and five acres ; Charles River on the East, Symon Willard south, John Bridg north, the common southwest." The house-lot is easily identified to-day, lying be- tween Harvard College and Charles River, as by the plan on next page. On the arrival of his family it would seem he se- cured a lot w^itliin the palisade erected about the " New Towne," and probably built himself a dwelling- house. Cambridge had been settled in 1629, and in 1635 contained perhaps about sixty or seventy fami- lies, being just then the seat of government of the colony. It was not, however, a contented commun- ity and its troubles reached a crisis in 1G35-36, when over half its settlers abandoned it, a large part emi- grating with Rev. Mr. Hooker to Hartford, while many others were scattered among the outlying set- tlements around Boston. The different views of the cause of these troubles may be read at length in the Willard Memoir, in Paige's " History of Cambridge," and in Palfrey's " New England." Whatever may have been the causes of discontent, Davis and Willard soon left Cambridge. In August, 1635, they sold their " out-lots " across the river, the transfer being recorded in the Proprietors' Records. " D. Davis to Richard Girling 25*^ of August 1635. Know all men that Dollerd Davis for and in the consideration of ten pounds paid have sold unto Richard Girling, mariner, all the right he hath in five and twenty acres of land lying on the bounds of the Newtowne, on the west side of Charles River, to him the said Richard and his heirs forever. Dated as above written." Same date as above Simon Willard sold Girling his adjoining lot, one hundred acres, Davis disposed of his town lot to Willard, of which transfer we have no record ; and Willard, about 1G39, sold it to Edward Mitchelsen, "one dwelling house and garden" (Wil- lard Memoir). Willard then pushed out into the wilderness and became, in 1636, one of the first founders of Concord, Mass. Davis is generally sup- posed to have gone with him ; and Amos Otis says : " In 1635 he was one of the first settlers and one of the proprietors of the lands in Concord;" but I can find no trace of his being there before 1655. If he went there his stay must have been very short, for we soon find him in Plymouth Colony. Otis contin- ues: "In 1638 he was of Duxbury." On the other hand, the Willard Memoir says that on leaving Cam- bridge he joined his brother-in-law, George Willard, and was with him in Scituate early in 1639. I can find no positive verification of these two statements, though both are not improbable. Willard was cer- tainly in Scituate in 1639, and Davis might naturally be led to join him. Turning, however, to the " Plymouth Colony Rec- ords," vol. viii., we find that "Dolord Davis " took the oath of fidelity to the government in Duxbnry at a very early period, probably between 1636 and 1639. This oath was required of all persons coming to re- side in the colony. And on March 5, 1639, he was propounded for freeman at the General Court of Plymouth Colony but not accepted. (Plym. Col. Records, vol. i.) This fixes the date of his removal to Duxbnry as early as 1638, and is probably what Otis refers to.
found on ancestry.com
General Information
, http://www.kick-me-out-of-bed.com/genealogy/pafn32.htm#4885
3584. Capt. Dolor Davis
I. DOLOR1 DAVIS d. in Barnstable, Mass. His wife was Margaret (or Margery), sister of the famous Simon Willard, the surveyor, whose initials are cut in the famous "Endicot Rock," at Lake Winnipisseogee. II. SAMUEL2 DAVIS, his son, m. Mary Meadows, and lived in Bedford, Mass. III. DANIEL3 DAVIS, his son, m. Mary Hubbard and also lived in Bedford. IV. NATHAN4 DAVIS, his son, m. Ellen Hubbard and lived in Rutland, Mass. V. ALPHEUS5 DAVIS, his son, moved from Rutland, Mass., to the west side of Packersfield (Nelson), N. H., near the Sullivan line, at 59 on the map. VI. TILLY M6. DAVIS, his son, m. Catherine Morse, and lived many years near his father, at 60 (in Nelson).
Settled in Cambridge, MA before 1634. Arrived from England with wife, 3 children and wife's brother Maj. Simon Willard (founder of Concord, NH).
Dolor Davis was a carpenter and a master builder. He received his first grant of land in Cambridge, June 4, 1635, and other grants later. He moved to Duxbury, August 5, 1638-39, was admitted freeman, and was granted land there in 1640. He was a resident in Barnstable in 1643. and admitted freeman there June 2, 1646. He held many public offices in Barnstable, including those of highway surveyor and constable. He and his wife were dismissed from the Duxbury church to the Barnstable church, August 27, 1648. In 1656 he left Plymouth Colony and returned to Concord, where he purchased one hundred and fifty acres of land, with a house. In 1666 he returned to Barnstable, where he died in June, 1673. His will, dated September 13, 1672, was proved July 2, 1673. He mentioned his sons Simon and Samuel as already having their portions; his son John and son-in-law Lewis, with Mary, Lewis' wife; daughter Ruth Hall. He married, in county Kent, England, March 29, 1624, Margery, daughter of Richard Willard, of Horsemonden, yeoman. She was baptized at Horsemonden, November 7, 1602, and died before 1667. Children: John, born in England about 1626, inherited homestead; Mary, born in England about 1631; Elizabeth, died young; Lieutenant Simon, mentioned below; Samuel, lived in Concord and Bedford; Ruth, born in Barnstable, March 24, 1645.
Davis' in New England."Some branches of the Davis family spell the name as Davies. The name is acorruption of Davids--the son of David.The first of the family coming to New England was James, a mariner, whois recorded in Boston in 1634.Dolor, came shortly after in the same year to Cambridge, MA. He was amaster builder and moved to Duxbury, MA in 1640. In 1643 he was living inBarnstable, MA.James, born in England, was made a freeman in Newbury, MA in 1635. Hemoved to Haverhill, MA in 1640.John a joiner, came to Boston, MA in 1635Nicholas, came to Charlestown, MA in 1635. He moved to Woburn, MA in1640.Thomas, a sawyer(this is how its spelled) from Wiltchire, England, cameto Boston, MA in 1635.William, of Welsh descent, came to Roxbury, MA in 1635.Francis, born in England in 1620, came to Salisbury MA in 1638. Hemoved to Amesbury, MA.Isaac, was at Salem, MA in 1637. He moved to Beverly, MA in 1650. Hefinally settled in Casco, Maine.James, was made a freeman in Hampton, NH in 1638.John, a shoemaker, settled in Ipswich, MA in 1638.Philip, was at Plymouth, Ma in 1638.Robert, settled in Yarmouth, MA in 1638. He moved to Barnstable.There were over 30 of the name of Davis who also settled in New Englandbefore 1700."
found on ancestry.com
"Dolar Davis"
1634 - 1673 , Massachusetts
Dolar Davis' name is inscribed on panel 594 at the Wall of Honor @ Ellis Island.
Captain Dolar Davis landed in Boston May 1634. In August, he was granted lands in Cambridge, MA (about where Harvard College is today). In April of 1628, Margery (wife) and 3 children embarked from London for New England on the "Elizabeth." Owned lands in Dunbry in 1640. Had other lands granted him. Took part in founding Barnstable, MA. One of 20 who had lands granted him in Concord, MA. Perhaps of all the families which came to New England, none can be selected more worthy of our esteem and unqualified appreciation than that of Capt. Dolar Davis.
"Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families",pgs.289-303" In 1643, five of the name of Davis were "able to bear arms" in Barnstable, viz: Dolor or Dollard and his sons, John, Nicholas, Simon, and in Yarmouth, Robert Davis, afterward of Barnstable. Dr. Palfrey informed Mr. Savage that the graves of the ancestors of Dolor Davis were at Benefield, Northamptonshire, England, and that was probably his native town. He married as early as 1618, Margery, daughter of Richard Willard, of Horsemondon, in the county of Kent, where all his sons were born, and perhaps his daughter Mary.
He came over in 1634, in company with his brother-in-law ,Major Simon Willard, a man of note in the history of the Massachusetts Colony. He stopped first at Cambridge, and in 1635 was one of the first settlers, and had a house lot on water street. He sold his lands in Cambridge in 1636, and removed. He was also one of the proprietors of the lands in Concord. In 1638, he was of Duxbury, April 6,1640, lands and meadows were granted him and others, at North Hill, in that town, and on the 31st of August following, he granted to him fifty acres of upland, and a proportion of meadows on the Namassacuset River. May,1641, he was bondsman for George Willard of Scituate, and is called of that town.
August,1643, he and his sons were included among those able to bear arms in Barnstable. He probably came to Barnstable in 1639 with the first settlers, though he did not make it the place of his permanent residence until 1642/43. He was a carpenter,and master builder,his son John was also a carpenter, and his sons Nicholas, Simon, and Samuel, probably assisted their father. This fact furnishes an explanation of his frequent removals from place to place. In the new settlements he found more employment than in the older. It did not, however, require much time to construct the rude dwellings of our ancestors.
Neither Dolor or his sons were ambitious of political distinction. In 1642 he was on the jury of trials, in 1645 a grand juror; but was excused from serving on account of sickness, in 1652 surveyor of highways, and in 1654, constable.
In 1655 he removed to Concord. He was one of the original proprietors of Groton, and he and Mr. Thomas Hinkley of Barnstable, were of the first Board of Selectmen appointed by the Legislature May 23,1655, and to hold office two years. The selectmen managed the prudential affairs of the town,laid out the lots, and disposed of them to the first settlers.
In 1656, Dolor Davis was a resident of Concord, and in receipt dated April 9, of that year, calls himself of that town. In a deed executed in that town July 17,1658, describes himself as a house carpenter late of Barnstable. Feb.16,1667/68, he had returned to Barnstable, where he died June 1673, aged about 80 years.
Dolor Davis's house lot was the most northerly on the east side of the ancient Mill Waym discontinued in 1669. In his deed to Abraham Blush, dated July 17, 1658, he says,"all my house lott of lands lying by a place commonly called Old Mill Creek". His house stood not far from the water mill built by the first settlers on the spot where the present mill stands.
Source: Dr. Samuel Green's "Epitaphs" p.238Dolor Davis was a petitioner for the plantation of Groton and his name appears in the first list of selectmen, appointed by the General Court.
Source: History of Cambridge, Massachusetts 1630-1877Preface p.211Source: Acton Memorial Library. house lot E. side Dunster bet. Winthrop and South Sts, rem. to Groton, granted August 4, 1634 and 25 acres of land and sold the land on August 25, 1635. He may have gone to Concord. At Duxbury 1638, Scituate 1639, Barnstable 1640, Concord 1655 and back to Barnstable where he died, 1673. He built Tidewater dam and mill at Barnstable, which was torn down about 1900.
Amos Otis, a historian of the Cape families, wrote of him in the Barnstable Patriot, 1863: "Perhaps among all the families coming to New England, not one can be selected more deserving of our esteem and unqualified approbation than that of Dolor Davis. As a man, he was honest, industrious, prudent. As a Christian, tolerant and exact in the performance of his religious duties; as a neighbor, kind, obliging, and ever ready to help those who needed asssistance; and as a father and the head of his family, he was constantly solicitous for the welfare of all its members, cultivating those kindly feelings and ameneties of life which render home delightful."
Source: One Line of Descendants from Dolar Davis and Richard Everett, by Mrs. William Sumner Crosby, 1911, p. 8There is much uncertainty about Dolor Davis and family ever having had a residence in Cambridge. He sold the house-lot in August, 1635. He moved, with considerable persistence, from place to place during nearly all of his life, possibly because this frequent change in residence gave him a better opportunity to pursue his trade as a carpenter.
The will recites that he has already provided for his sons Simon and Samuel; and then he bequeaths his house and land in Concord to his son, John, adding, "I also bequeath to him my carpenters tools and serge suit and cloke." The inventory of estate in Concord was "L125 5s. 7d." That he made a favorable impression on others is shown by the following:
"Perhaps of all the families which came to New England, not one can be selected more worthy of our esteem, and unqualified approbation than that of Dolor Davis. As a man he was honest, industrious and prudent; as a Christian tolerant and exact in the performance of his religious duties; as a neighbor kind, obliging, and ever ready to help those who needed his assistance; and as a father and the head of his family he was constantly solicitous for the welfare of all its members, cultivating those kindly feelings and amenities of life which render home delightful." (Amos Otis, in "Barnstable Families")
Source: Dolor Davis by Horace Davis, 1811:On the 13th of September, 1672, the old man made the following will: -
"I, Dolar Davis of Barnstable in the Colony of New Plymouth being weak and crazy in body but of perfect mind and memory do make this my last will and testament in manner and form following. "First I commit and commend my soul into the hand of God my Heavenly Father in Christ Jesus hoping in his full grace, and when it shall leave this body he will receive it to himself into his heavenly kingdom. And my body I commit to the Earth to be decently buried therein believing there will be a Resurrection thereof at the last day. The charge of my Burial to be borne by my Executor hereunder expressed.
"For the outward Estate which I have to dispose of, I having already given my Son Symon and Samuel their full portions and deeds for their Lands which I have settled on them, I so hereby bequeath to my dear and loving wife Joanna five Pounds which I have due to me by bill to be paid at Mr. Brattles in Boston and four Pounds to be payed by my Executor to her during the tearm of four years after my decease in English Comodities or otherwise as my wife and my said Executor shall agree, in case my said wife live so long. I do also hereby give and bequeath to my eldest son John my house and barn and outyard with several parcels of Land lying in Concord in the Colony of the Massachusetts hereafter mention, Viz: all my land about the said house bounded by the highway down by the Brood and by the land given to my son Symon and butting on the South Rivers containing by estimation twenty acres more of less , as also a piece of upland and meadow containing six acres more or less near my son Symon's house, bounded by the highway on one side and by the twenty acres on the other side. As also thirteen acres of upland more or less, adjoining to my seven acres of meadow on one side, which said seven acres of meadow are also hereby bequeathed to him, which said upland and meadow is bounded with James Bloods land on the one side, my son Symon's four acres more or less on the other side, and the West bounded by the twenty acres; as also thirty-two acres of upland and Swampyish meadow compassed about with Richard Temples land on three side and bounded with Thomas Batemans land on the other side; as also five acres of upland fenced in bounded by John Heald's Field on the one side, my son Symon's land on another side, and the Highway on a third side, and butting on the "south River, which said five acres my will is, are hereby bound over and engaged for the payment of the four Pounds for the said four years. In case my Executor refuse to pay the said four Pounds for the term aforesaid then, my said wife shall have power to sell the said five acres to my son Samuel for the next crop in the year one thousand six hundred and seventy three. My will also is that in case my said five acres be not sufficient to improve the said four Pounds for four years to my said wife, that then a piece of Pasture Land is hereby added thereto on that account and engaged to her to dispose of for her satisfaction, which said Pasture Land is part of the twenty acres about the house, bounded by the South River on one side, a little Brook on another side and Samuel Hunte on a third side, and the field lots below on the other side. My will also is that my son Symon shall have another crop after this years from that piece of land that lies near his house, for which he is to pay to me my Executor or assigns twenty shillings. "I do also bequeath to my son John a bill of four Pound due to me from Roger Chandler of Concord to satisfy for the Charges of my coming from Barnstable to Concord and to provide his son Joseph who came to attend me. I do also bequeath to him all my Carpenters tools and my serge suite and cloak. I do also bequeath to my son in law Lewis my cloth suite and coal and hat and to my daughter Mary his wife a cow which is a present in my son Samuel's keeping, as also fifty shillings the half of a Bill of five Pounds due to me from my son Samuel. As also my bedding, pewter and brass and other household stuff now in my dwelling house at Barnstable. Also I do give and bequeath to my daughter Ruth Hall besides what she hath received from me, a cow which her husband hath at present in his keeping, as also fifty shillings the other half of the aforesaid Bill due from my son Samuel, provided that her husband or herself pay five shillings for me to William Butterick. I so also give to the poor of the town where it shall please God that I die whether at Concord or at Barnstable the sum of ten shillings to be payed to the Deacons of the Church thereby my Executor. I so also hereby constitute and appoint my said son John the sole Executor of this my last Will and Testament, and my loving and respected friends William Butterick, Richard Hassell, and Thomas Browns the overseers thereof.
"In witness hereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal.
"Signed and sealed in the presence of THOMAS BROWNE.
"Know all Men by these Presents that I Dolor Davis of Barnstable in the Colony of New Plymouth do ratify and confirm this my last Will and Testament, which is signed and sealed in the presence of Thomas Brown above mentioned, only I do further declare that I do give unto my son John Davis twenty acres of Woodland which is by the twenty-seven acres which belongeth unto twenty men, or did belong unto them in the Town of Concord in the Colony of Massachusetts which land is not mentioned in my Will above written. As also I do give my red mare unto my wife Joanna, which is not before disposed of, this thirteenth of September in the year of our Lord one thousand, six hundred, seventy and two. "DOLOR DAVIS and a seal "Signed and sealed in the presence of "NATHANIEL BACON, JUN. "SAMUEL BACON."
"This will above mentioned was acknowledged by Dolor Davis to be his last Will and Testament, according as it is witnessed in both places and sealed before me."NATHANIEL BACON, J.P. Court."
It will be observed that all the real estate bequeathed in this will lies in the town of Concord, and is left entirely to his son John, though burdened with certain charges. He says, "I have already given my son Symon and Samuel their full portions and deeds for their lands which I have settled upon them." He speaks of this "dwelling-house in Barnstable," but only disposes of his "bedding, pewter and brass and other household stuff," contained in it to his daughter Mary Lewis. Whatever real estate he had acquired at Barnstable since his return he must have disposed of before making this will, and very likely to his son John, as we know from Otis that John afterwards owned the dwelling-house which had been his father's. Indeed, the spot where it stood has always been in the possession of John's descendants and is t-day, though the old homestead was torn down long ago.
Amid all this dry detail of dates and transfers of property we gain but little insight into the real character of the man, or of his relations to his neighbors and his family. We discern dimly the figures of a pioneer, bold and hardy to encounter the privations of frontier life, restlessly moving from place to place, yet withal industrious, patient, and frugal, accumulating a moderate independence in property, providing carefully for the wants of his family, and with affectionate forethought dividing his substance among his children during his own life that they might begin the race with a fair start.
He was possessed of some education, as we may judge from his close relations with such men as Willard and Hincley while his signatures are always autographs at a time when the art of writing was by no means universal.
It is a little singular that among those persons nearest to him, George Willard, his brother-in-law, was a variance with the church and emigrate to Maryland; Nicholas Davis, reputed to be his son or brother, was obliged to remove to Rhode Island, where he joined the Quakers; while Dolor's second wife, Joanna, was daughter of Rev. Joseph Hull, who was driven from Plymouth Colony for preaching without a license, and sister of Capt. Tristram Hull, who was fined for befriending Quakers. Coupling these facts with his long delay in joining Barnstable Church, I have suspected that he did not sympathize fully with the rigid discipline of the church, and that his failure to become a freeman of Massachusetts Colony during his long residence there, and his departure from that Colony, might have been owing to a dislike of the still sterner church-rule maintained there; but this may be mere imagination.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The following is written in the Davis Family Book: The family traces descent from Alfred the Great and Rhodri Mohr, King of Wales, A.D. 863. A prominent representative of the family in England at present, Owen Davis, is 17th in irect descent from Edward the third and 32nd in descent from Alfred the Great. The family has had at least two famous men of the sex, John and Edward Davis.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Source: Genealogical and Family History of the State of Maine, published by the Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York, 1909, Vol. 1, p. 216.
"Dolor Davis, immigrant of this Davis family, was one of the most prominent pioneers of both colonies. His posterity is very numerous, and among them have been some very distinguished men, namely: Hon. John Davis, governor and United States senator, and Hon John D. Long, governor, congressman, and secretary of the navy. Dolor Davis married in county Kent, England, March 29, 1624, Margery, daughter of Richard Willard, of Horsemonden, county Kent, yeoman. She was baptized there November 7, 1602, and died before 1667. Accompanied by his wife, three children and Simon Willard, his wife's brother, Dolor Davis came to New England and settled prior to August 4, 1634, in Cambridge. Simon Willard was one of the founders of Lancaster: he was captain of foot in 1646, major in 1654, and at his death in 1673 'the colony lost one [of] its most distinguished members.'
Dolor Davis was a carpenter and master builder. He received his first grant of land in Cambridge, June 4, 1635, and others later. He removed to Duxbury, August 5, 1638-39, and was admitted a freeman and granted land there in 1640. He was a resident of Barnstable in 1643 and was admitted a freeman there June 2, 1646. He was honored in Barnstable with various public offices, including those of highway surveyor and constable. He and his wife were dismissed from the Duxbury to the Barnstable church August 27, 1648. In 1656 he left Plymouth colony and returned to Massachusetts Bay, and purchased in Concord one hundred and fifty acres with a house thereon. In 1666, however, he returned to BArnstable, and died there in June, 1673. His will was dated September 13, 1672, and proved July 2, 1673. It menions sons Simon and Samuel as already having their portions: eldest son John; son-in-law Lewis and Mary his wife; an ddaughter Ruth Hall. Children: 1. John, born in England about 1626, to whom was bequeathed the Concord homestead. 2. Mary, born in England about 1631. 3. Elizabeth. 4. Lietenant Simon, married Mary Blood. 5. Samuel... 6. Ruth, born in Barnstable, March 24, 1645.
found on ancestry.com
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteIn case you are interested, today is the official launch of my “new research discoveries” regarding Dolor & Margery (Willard) Davis and their 4 children born in England.
This research paper can be purchased and downloaded as an “e-book” on Google Play Books at: https://books.google.com/books?id=IpBDEAAAQBAJ&newbks=0&hl=en&source=newbks_fb.
I hope you understand that I had to charge a fee in an attempt to recoup some of the 2K that I paid for several expert English researchers and for document copies.
Have a nice weekend!
Kind regards,
Mike Davis (8th Great-Grandson of Nicholas Davis; Ancestral “Cousin” of Dolor Davis.)