Goodwife “Goody” Davis

Ffulke Davis was one of the founding fathers of East Hampton but was convicted of public indecency and molesting men and chased out of town. His 2nd wife, (her 3rd husband) Mary was also evicted for witchcraft.

"Fulk Davis was a Tenant Farmer, who could neither read nor write. He originally served as a gardener for Lion Gardiner on Gardiners' Island, New York. He was married twice, first in 1639. She died around 1660. He wed his second wife, Mary, on March 11, 1660. She died before May 4, 1699. He was granted two (2) acres of land on October 9, 1642 (originally described as "Old Land Upon the Playne") in Southhampton, N.Y. He is said to be a native of Wales. Before 1674 he moved to Jamacia, N.Y.

http://longislandgenealogy.com/Surname_Pages/davis.htm

East Hampton was founded in 1648, and until 1662 was usually known as Maidstone although in 1650 there is at least one reference to East: Hampton. In 1657 Ffulke lived on the Island - this is clearly indicated in the records of the "witch" matter in 1657 in East Hampton - "...Goody Davis saith y't she had dressed her children in clean linen at the island...". Additionally, in this same matter his wife is identified as a serving woman on Gardiner's Island.

" The Town WEAVER was a very important person in each colonial town and the Davis family was instrumental in meeting this need... Goody Davis, the first wife of Foulk Davis of Southampton, Long Island, New York, had used her home as a place of business to prepare materials such as combed flax for the weaver and teach others the trade...she had a good taste for fine linen....she made a work place in her home for her neighbors and family members to comb flax and weave on a loom both at Gardiner's Island, East Hampton and South Hampton townships. She taught her children the trade as well, as later shown in the Brookhaven Town Records, where Joseph Davis in (1668) became the Town Weaver and his brother Jonathan Davis worked at the loom..(1671).Charles Salyer the grand son of Goody Davis worked as a weaver in Woodbridge, New Jersey in the year of (1695)......by: Gerald Dee Salyer m[10]

Family

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Davy-295

William Church Davis further suggests Foulk's children (all by his first wife) are:

• Benjamin b.1640, d. 20 Dec 1692 at Southhampton; m. Rebecca __, b.1644, d. before 1692. (Information sourced by W.C. Davis from "Early L.I. Wills").
• Joseph b. probably ~1645 at Southampton; d. 1691 at Brookhaven; m. Elizabeth __ ?. Joseph's DoB derived from Southampton records in 1668, noted below.
• Samuel, b. probably aftger 1642 at Southampton; d.1692 at Jamaica, New York. m. Mary ____, who survived him ("Jamaica Town Records")
• Jonathan, b. ?, place unknown; d.1674 at Jamaica, New York. ("Abstract early N.Y. Wills"); m. Sarah ___, who survived him. (ditto)
• Sarah, b. ?, place unknown; d. ?; m. William Salyer ("Early Brookhaven Records")
• John, b. ?; place unknown; d. ?; (John's name appears "Small Book of Deeds", Southampton, transfers land to brother Benjamin 1678)

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https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2018/11/witch-be-gone-a-witch-trial...

But, whereas Lion Gardiner was described as an honorable, sagacious, patient and open- minded, Faulke was described as impulsive, irritable and untrustworthy. Faulke left Gardiner’s Island with his then wife “Goody” (for “Good-wife”) Davis for East Hampton in the early 1640s, where he purchased land. In 1654, East Hampton town records indicate that Faulke was found guilty (along with his son and their neighbor) for public lewdness. Davis was placed in the village pillory for several days by an East Hampton tribunal.

Goody Davis had also worked at Lord Gardiner’s Island home (concurrently with her husband) as a maid and house-servant. When the Davis’s relocated to East Hampton Village, she was a weaver. Her descendants would bring the family business to Brookhaven Town, after her death. Goody Davis was well-known and respected enough to gave instruction at the loom to her fellow townsfolk. ....

Elizabeth Howell died on February 23rd , 1657, but the fallout of her death and accusations were just beginning. An East Hampton inquest was conducted in the case of Goody Garlick’s purported witchcraft. The village elders felt unqualified to bring charges against Garlick, but they were certain of Garlick’s unearthly guilt and complicity. Goody Davis accused Garlick with witchcraft, saying Garlick had killed her infant with the “evil eye,” only moments after paying the baby a compliment. Davis was a woman a generation younger than Garlick. Both had worked for Lion Gardiner at his island estate, prior to moving to East Hampton Village. Was there a prior grudge between Goody Davis and Goody Garlick that was left unsettled?

Goody Davis’ derisive rumors concerning Goody Garlick would quickly come back to haunt her. Following the preliminary inquest against Garlick at East Hampton, her husband Joshua Garlick filed a libel lawsuit against Goody Davis. Davis would quickly change her accounting of Goody Garlick, publicly declaring (though not under oath) that Goody Garlick had been kind to her over the years. Two weeks after these charges were filed against Davis, she died of unknown causes according to Kerri Ann Flanagan-Brosky. Then, other Puritan women came out against Goody Garlick: several of them swearing under oath to their accusations.

Notes

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Unknown-366341

And this excerpt from Warrem Skidmore's excellent history of the Skidmore Family proposes that the wife of Ffulke Davies may be "Belliharen":

"I have long suspected that Fulke Davis of East Hampton, who left a large family, was the father of Susannah, wife of John Skidmore of Jamaica. The circumstantial evidence is most convincing, but final proof positive will probably elude us. Thomas Skidmore, Senior, was at East Hampton as early as 1668-71, but by this time his son John Skidmore and Fulke Davis had both settled at Jamaica. I went to extravagant lengths to see the original records at East Hampton (listed below) hoping that some mention might be made of Fulke Davis’ wife, whose uncommon Christian name could not be read but apparently started with the letter “B.” She is mentioned repeatedly in the East Hampton records, but always called “Goody” Davis and not with any given name. It seems certain that John and Susannah Skidmore’s only daughter Abigail (orphaned young) was brought up by Davis kinfolk at Brookhaven. She in turn gave her only known daughter the marvelous name of "Belliharen." For some other bits and pieces of the puzzle see John Skidmore (family no. 4) in my book on the Westerleigh family. ...It would be very nice to find a Fulke and a Belliharen marrying before 1639 somewhere in England or Wales. (WS)" [2]

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"The Witchcraft Delusion" by John M. Taylor, Gramercy Books (1995) states: "In 1657 at East Hampton "Goody" BIRDSALL testified regarding the accusations of witchcraft toward "Goody" GARLICK, wife of Joshua GARLICK. She states that while dressing flax at Goody DAVIS's house that Goody DAVIS said that she had dressed her children in clean linen at the island... (From this we learn that Goody DAVIS was a resident of the island - GARDINERs Island - and had more than one child.) Goody BIRDSALL later states that according to Goody DAVIS, after she took her child from Goody GARLICK the child sickened, and after five days and five nights it died. Since death dates for all of Ffulke's identified children are recorded and none match the 1657 date, it is reasonable to assume there was another child, sex unidentified, that died on GARDINER's Island that year. A source which I did not record stated that Ffulke had a child named Jane, and without further evidence it is possible that Jane was the child that died in 1657."

"Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 21 May 2018, 01:41), entry for (goody) Davis(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LB6C-432); contributed by various users.