Thomas Davis, of Haverhill

It is a frequently copied statement that “according to old Bible records” that he came from Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. There is no evidence to support this and is likely incorrect.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Davis-941

Anderson in his Great Migration profile of this Davis family states that they were from Marlborough, Wiltshire based on their Certificate of Conformity. However, he was clearly unaware of the research into the Davis family and of the wills of the Davis family of Acton-Turville.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Davis-1090

The old families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts ; with some related families of Newbury, Haverhill, Ipswich and Hampton by Hoyt, David Webster, 1833-1921 Publication date 1897

https://archive.org/details/cu31924025963772/page/n139/mode/1up?q=d...

Page 124
Thomas Davis, of Haverhill, " mason," b. ab. 1603 ; m.Christian , who d. April 7, 1668[Hv]. Coffin calls him a "sawyer," from Marlboro, Eng; but in a deed, 1664, he is called a "mason." He came to Newbury in 1641, but settled in Hv. in 1642; selectman in 1646 and '48. He d. July 27, 1683[Hv]. He may have been a bro. of (4) James of Haverill.
Children :
1. Joanna, b. ; m. Oct. 26, 1645[Hv],* (1) GkobgeI Coeliss. +
2. Joseph b. bef. 1632; d. Sep. 15, 1671[Hv] ; res. Hv. ; father was adm.est. in 1673.

Davis, Edwin Pountney. Davis, of Acton Turville, Gloucestershire: The Ancestry of James, Thomas and John Davis, who Settled in Newbury, Massachusetts c1638.
https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000203153722833

"Was a sawyer and resided for a time on Marlborough, Wiltshire. He was at Newberry in 1635; married, and left one daughter who married a Corliss." [Joanna] [No mention of him leaving a son.]

Son of John Davis and Agnes (Unknown).

"Was a sawyer and resided for a time on Marlborough, Wiltshire. He was at Newberry in 1635; married, and left one daughter who married a Corliss."

Daughter Joanna married George Corliss

THOMAS, Newbury, a sawyer, from Maryborough in Co. Wilts, came in the James 1635, embark, at Southampton in Apr. arr. at Boston 3 June, freem. 2 June 1641, rem. next yr. to Haverhill, where he had s. Joseph, and d. 1683, aged 80. He brot. says Coffin, w. Chris tian from Eng. and his posterity is num.

Disputed Wife and Children

Robert Charles Anderson in Great Migration 1634-1635, C-F page 315 shows the wife of Thomas Davis as Christian Bellsire, the only mother of his three children, Joanna, Joseph and Mary.
Christian Coffin was not the name of Thomas Davis wife and not the mother of his children.
Thomas Davis, John Davis and Samuel Davis are not children of Thomas Davis and his wife Christian Bellsire

Disputed parents

John Davis and Agnes Chandler have been disconnected. They are not named by Robert Charles Anderson and proof has not been presented.

If his parents are unknown this baptism is probably incorrect: 13 FEB 1603 in Burbage, Wiltshire, England

Family

From https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Davis-1090

Thomas Davis married Christian Bellsire in Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, England, on 14 Nov 1622.[2]

Their children were:[2]

• Joanna, b. about 1625, m. first George Corliss, m. second James Ordway
• Joseph, about 1627, d. 1671, "apparently unmarried"
• Mary, baptized 29 Mar 1629 in Chipping Sodbury, "no further record"

Notes

Edwin P. Davis concludes that John of Newbury was the John who was the the brother of Thomas baptized in Acton-Turville on April 16, 1601. But Brian Frith, the man who researched the Acton-Turville parish records, states that this is mere conjecture. There is no evidence linking this John Davis to the John Davis who died in Newbury in 1675.

Thomas Davis was born in 1603 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England.[1] [? Acton-Turville, Gloucestershire]

Baptism: 13 FEB 1603 in Burbage, Wiltshire, England.[2]

Sources

• Corliss, Augustus. Genealogical Record of the Corliss Family of America (Yarmouth, Maine, 1875) Page 236

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From: http://jhowell.com/tng/getperson.php?personID=I3160&tree=1

Thomas Davis, of the "James"[1, 2] 1603 - 1683

• Suffix of the "James"
• Birth 1603 Marlborough, Wiltshire, England [2]
• Gender Male
• Immigrated 1635 America on the "James"
• Died 27 Jul 1683 Haverhill, Essex, MA [2]
• Buried Haverhill, Essex, MA [2]
• Family Christian b. 1607, Marlborough, Wiltshire, England
• Married 14 Nov 1622 Chipping Sodbury, Gloucester, England [3]

Children

• > 1. Joanna Davis, b. Abt 1624, Marlborough, Wiltshire, England Last Modified 30 Sep 2009 08:19:00 Family ID F1268 Group Sheet

Notes

Boarded the ship "James" on April 5, 1635 and arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony June 3, 1635, and settled in Newbury, of which he is listed as one of the first settlers. He was made a freeman June 2, 1641 then moved to Haverhill in 1646. Occupation: sawyer, mason, proprietor, town officer.

The following is taken from Mark Davis' website :

"Thomas Davis (1603-1683) was born in England. As a young man, he looked for opportunities beyond his farming community in Marlborough. He acquired a trade, becoming a sawyer according to one history, or a mason, as stated in a deed of 1664. Thomas left his home and made the dangerous journey to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635 aboard the ship James. He arrived in Boston on June 3rd and was made a freeman in 1641. In 1642, he removed to Haverhill, where he became a prominent citizen. He was one of the first selectmen of the town in 1646, and was again selectman in 1648. Thomas signed the deed from the Pennacook Indians to purchase the village of Pentuckett, which was "Entered and recorded in ye County Records for Norfolk ye 29th day of April 1671 as attested, Tho Bradbury Recorder." In 1648, Thomas and two others were appointed to try "small causes under forty shillings." In 1655, repairs to the meeting house were needed and Thomas, given his masonic prowess, was granted "ground-pins and dawb" providing stones and clay for the underpinning. In 1655, he was also appointed Constable. Thomas remained active in town affairs until his death in 1683 at the age of 80 years. Before leaving England, he married Christian Coffer, and had three children: John, Joseph, and Joanna. They came with him to the New World. "

[N.B.: Davis states that Thomas Davis married Christian Coffer. Others have various reported it as Coffin and in Torrey (2nd Supplement) the spouse is reported as Christian Bellsire. However, none of these secondary sources provides a reference for their information.] [4, 5]

Sources

• [SAuth] John Spencer Howell, Jr., John Spencer Howell, Jr., (http://www.jhowell.com/ jhowell@jhowell.com).
• [S874] Ladd Family, (http://www.laddfamily.com/), http://www.laddfamily.com/5578.htm.
• [S841] Second Supplement to Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700, Melinde Lutz Sanborn, (Genalogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD, 1995), LC Number 91-70357., p. 18.
• [S840] Mark Davis, (http://pierre.polymer.uakron.edu/Davis3.html).
• [S834] Bill Prokasy, Bill Prokasy, (wprokasy database on RootsWeb), http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=wprokasy....

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Constable, selectman Haverhill, MA,sawyer

Thomas Davis was born circa 1603 at of Acton Turville, Gloucestershire, England.1 He married Christian Bellsire (Belcher) on 14 November 1622 at Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, England.2 Thomas Davis died on 27 July 1683 at Haverhill, Essex, MA

from http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p3974.htm#...

References

1. WikiTree contributors, "Thomas Davis (abt.1603-1683)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Davis-1090 : accessed 15 February 2024). cites
   1. Anderson. Great Migration, vol. C-F. (2001): page 310.
   2. Anderson, Great Migration, vol. C-F. (2001): page 315.
   3. Topsfield Historical Society, Vital Records of Haverhill, Massachusetts to the end of the Year 1849 Volume II - Marriages and Deaths (Topsfield, Mass. 1911)(Free e-book)(Records are also available at ma-vitalrecords.org) p. 384
   4. Anderson, Robert Charles, F.A.S.G., The Great Migration Directory, (Boston, Massachusetts, NEHGS, 2015), "Concise entries for all immigrant families for the entirety of the Great Migration, from 1620 to 1640."
   5. Anderson, Robert Charles. Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, volume II, C–F. (Boston; NEHGS, 2001): pages 310-316. Great Migration 1634-1635 AmericanAncestors.org link.
   6. Davis, Edwin Pountney. Davis, of Acton Turville, Gloucestershire: The Ancestry of James, Thomas and John Davis, who Settled in Newbury, Massachusetts c1638. (São Paulo, Brazil : privately published, 1984).
   7. Corliss, Augustus. Genealogical Record of the Corliss Family of America (Yarmouth, Maine, 1875) Page 236
   8. England & Wales Christening Records, 1530-1906. Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data - Genealogical Society of Utah. British Isles Vital Records Index, 2nd Edition. Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, copyright 2002. Used by permission.
   9. Ancestry Family Trees (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com) Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Ancestry Profile

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Thomas, received 20 shillings in the will of his uncle Thomas in 1623/4. And he received 12 pence in the will of his father in 1626. He was a "sawyer", and resided for a tine in Marlboro, Wilts. He was at Newburyin 1635; narried, and left one daughter whonarried a Corliss.

concerns

Not the same as Thomas Davis, of Haverhill ?

Is this Thomas supposed to be the same as Thomas Davis (appearing as a half-brother on May 13, 2021)? Further research is warranted.

content to clean up

Abstract of will of JOHN DAVIS, Acton Turville, 1626 is below. He named his children Samuel, Thomas, James, and grandchildren (children of James) James, John and Sarah. His widow was Sara.

Abstract of will of JOHN DAVIS, Acton Turville, 1626

In the name of God Amen, I, John Davis of Acton Turville in the countye of Glouc., yeoma', sycke in bodye but of good and p'fect memory, do make thys my laste will and Testament in manner and form following. My bodye to be buryed in ye Churchyarde of Acton Turville aforesaide. It' I gyve unto my sonne Samyll in regard of one cowe whych . . . Item I gyve unto my sonne Thomas twelve pence. Item I gyve unto ... sonne John twelve pence. Item I guve unto . . . sonne ... twelve pence. Item I geve unto James Davys and John Davis my sonne James his sonness...shillings a peece. I gyve unto Sara my sonne James his daugher (ten shillings?). Item I gyve unto Sara my nowe wyfe on coffer. ffurther my will is that I...which I gyve unto my Sonn Samyll in regard of his...him bymy executor when he have served his apprentis...not then to remayne to my sonne James his children. It'l al the est of my goods moveable and unmoveable and ye executorsyeare of my lease...my sonne James Davys whome I make my executor of this my last will and testament. Also I do Intreate and Apoynt will p'formed...Apryll 1626. The marke of John x Davis

Notes

Edwin P. Davis concludes that John of Newbury was the John who was the the brother of Thomas baptized in Acton-Turville on April 16, 1601. But Brian Frith, the man who researched the Acton-Turville parish records, states that this is mere conjecture. There is no evidence linking this John Davis to the John Davis who died in Newbury in 1675.

References

• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Davis-2259
• Davis, Edwin Pountney. Davis, of Acton Turville, Gloucestershire: The Ancestry of James, Thomas and John Davis, who Settled in Newbury, Massachusetts c1638. (São Paulo, Brazil : privately published, 1984). (document attached)
• https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~cdavis2/