John Lee Davis

Brief Life History of John Lee

When John Lee Davis was born in March 1826, in Giles, Virginia, United States, his father, Joshua Davis, was 31 and his mother, Sarah Elizabeth French, was 31. He married Christena Johnston on 17 January 1850, in Glen Lyn, Giles, Virginia, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 6 daughters. He lived in East River District, Mercer, West Virginia, United States in 1900 and East River, Mercer, West Virginia, United States in 1910. He died before 1905.

Photos and Memories (2)

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Family Time Line

John Lee Davis
1826–1905
Christena Johnston
1833–1912
Mary Clementine Davis
1851–1917
Martha S. Davis
1852–1878
Amanda L Davis
1854–1870
Rowland T Davis
1856–
Eliza Jane Davis
1859–1936
William R Davis
1862–1936
Demarius Bea "Della" Davis
1866–1929
Alice Isabella Davis
1869–1945
Robert L Davis
1871–1920
Asa Benjamin Davis
1876–1953

Sources (23)

  • Lee Davis, "United States Census, 1850"
  • John Lee Davis, "Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940"
  • Lee Davis in entry for Asa Benjamin Davis, "Virginia, Death Certificates, 1912-1987"

World Events (3)

1830 · The Second Great Awakening

Being a second spiritual and religious awakening, like the First Great Awakening, many Churches began to spring up from other denominations. Many people began to rapidly join the Baptist and Methodist congregations. Many converts to these religions believed that the Awakening was the precursor of a new millennial age.

1830 · The Oregon Trail

Many people started their 2,170-mile West trek to settle the land found by Louis and Clark. They used large-wheeled wagons to pack most of their belongings and were guided by trails that were made by the previous trappers and traders who walked the area. Over time the trail needed annual improvements to make the trip faster and safer. Most of Interstate 80 and 84 cover most of the ground that was the original trail.

1844 · Lumpkin's Jail

In 1844 when Robert Lumpkin bought land in Virginia, this would be the spot of the Infamous Slave Jail (or Lumpkin’s Jail). The slaves would be brought here during the slave trade until they were sold. Lumpkin had purchased the land for his own slave business.

Name Meaning

English and Welsh: patronymic meaning ‘Dafydd's (son)’, equivalent to Welsh ap Dafydd, the Welsh form of David . The spelling Davis is more typical in southwestern England northwards as far as Lancashire, where the frequency of the surname largely reflects Welsh migration, but may sometimes represent a native English surname based on Davy (compare Davies ). Davis (including in the sense 2 below) is the eighth most frequent surname in the US. It is also very common among African Americans.

Irish and Scottish: adopted for Gaelic Mac Daibhéid ‘son of David’; see McDevitt . Compare Davies .

History: John Davis or Davys (c. 1550–1605) was an English navigator who searched for the Northwest Passage. — By the 18th century there were numerous persons named Davis in America, including the jurist John Davis, born in 1761 in Plymouth, MA, and Henry Davis, a clergyman and college president, who was born in 1771 in East Hampton, NY. — Jefferson Davis, born in 1808 in KY, was president of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865.

Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

Possible Related Names

Story Highlight

Davis ancestry

Christina Johnson wife of John Lee Davis was the sister of John Lewis Johnson husband of Minerva Ann Davis.

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