Ancestry of Nancy Carlisle - Powhatan Connection
By Albert Morgan
The purpose of this work is to document the connection between Nancy Carlisle and her Powhatan ancestors, and to highlight some of the issues and questions concerning the connections. There are many, many descendants who claim a connection to Opechancanough through his child Nicketti. Though this link is extended over multiple generations and is not alone sufficient to apply for membership in recognized nations, still it is real and those in Wayne County who connect to certain Ellis, Smith, Davis, Floyd, Cabell and many other lines, may find pride and satisfaction that they too have a link to Jamestown, the Powhatan, Pocahontas and her niece Nicketti.
Descendants of Opechancanough Powhatan
9 Opechancanough Powhatan 1545 - 1644
.. +Cleoparta 1590 - 1641
........ 8 Nicketti 1638 -
............ +Trader Hughes 1636 -
................... 7 Elizabeth Hughes 1655 - Unknown
....................... +Nathaniel Davis 1655 -
............................. 6 Nathaniel Robert Davis 1676 - 1771
................................. +Abadiah Lewis 1680 - 1750
........................................ 5 Robert Davis 1722 - 1780
............................................ +Jane Jopling 1735 - 1842
.................................................. 4 Hannah Davis 1764 - 1851
...................................................... +William Calmes Smith 1761 - 1810
............................................................. 3 Elizabeth Smith 1785 - 1820
................................................................. +James Smith 1777 - 1850
........................................................................ 2 Hannah Smith 1812 - 1848
............................................................................ +John Carlisle 1807 - 1877
.................................................................................. 1 Nancy Carlisle 1840 - 1885
...................................................................................... +Charles Rawlings Ellis 1832 - 1885
History, Musings, and Background
Wahunsenacawh, was the Werowance (literally "commander") of the Powhatan nation) and as the principal chief was called Powhatan. Each subsequent principal chief was called Powhatan and generally inherited the right to rule from his mother. After the death of Wahunsenacawh the Werowance title went to his next eldest brother (or half brother) Opitchapam, then to Opechancanough, an ancestor of Nancy Carlisle. All of these leaders married many times as was required by their culture. Leaders were expected to cement alliances with other villages by marrying women from the village and fathering a child. Powhatan leaders were, according to Helen Rountree, "prodigiously polygynous" and "had a horde of wives and children". She also noted that these women did a great deal of the work. Rountree, Helen C., "Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough", University of Virginia Press, 2005.
Wahunsenacawh was the father of Pocahontas who was also called Amonute. Her secret name was Matoaka. She was born about 1596. A good deal of the Pocahontas and John Smith story is actually myth and is probably part of Smith's ability to rewrite history in his favor, a characteristic of the winners in colonization. Also, he made money selling the books and using his story to influence investors in his exploration ventures. In any event Pocahontas is the niece of Opechancanough, the half brother of Wahunsenacawh.
Opechancanough was born about 1545 in the Powhatan Nation and died in1646 in Virginia at the age of "near upon 100 years.". He had been captured and was imprisoned. An English guard bravely shot this aged, frail old man in the back because he "didn't like Indians". Opechancanough became Principal Chief in 1629 at the age of eighty of so.
According to oral traditions and some written sources Opechancanough had a daughter named Nicketti. Many researchers believe Nicketti's parents were Opechancanough and an Indian woman named Cleoparta (1590-1641). However, we do not know for certain whom Nicketti's parents were. The Powhatan did not maintain written records so vital in English inheritance and land laws, and appeared to think the idea that one could own land was rather silly. This lack of documentation requires one to rely on historical sources, family histories, Native Oral traditions and a certain amount of faith.
Building the case one can begin with Pocahontas, husband John Rolfe, and son Thomas Rolfe. (Pocahontas b. 17 September 1595 Werowocomoco, York River, Virginia; d. 21 March 1617 Gravesend, Kent County, England of smallpox or one of the other plagues of the day. John Rolfe b. 6 May 1585 Heacham, Norfolk, England. Died 22 March 1622. Son Thomas Rolfe b. 30 June 1615 Smith's Fort Plantation, Varina, Virginia.). Thus Pocahontas had a son named Thomas Rolfe.
N. J. Floyd wrote a family history of the Nicketti connection and believed that Cleopatre was the sister of Pocahontas and the mother of Nicketti. Incidentally this name is not Cleopatra but the English wrote it to look like Egyptian Royalty. So be it. They won the war. It is to be noted that the social consequences of having Indian blood were considerable and could result in enslavement and death. For this reason many family histories written a hundred years or so ago "revised" history to make their ancestry more acceptable. Many even today speak of their ancestor as an "Indian Princess."
Note: There are no Indian Princesses or royalty of any kind in Indian societies. This was an English invention so various Indians could be presented to the court. They had to have status.
Alexander Brown and others hide the Indian/ White relationship by claiming a "clandestine marriage" kept secret to avoid shame. (Brown, Alexander, "The Cabells and Their Kin") I'm not sure which side should be ashamed. In reality most early pioneers were involved in trade with the Indians. It was perfectly acceptable to marry a daughter of the village where one was doing business and this tended to keep one's hair growing on top of one's head. Hunters and traders who spent many years in the bush would marry someone and given the choice of a Native woman or a bear the woman won. Not surprisingly this resulted in many children who generally could move in White as well as Indian societies.
Several authors have said "It is hard to come out of the American South and not have some Indian blood." I can personally vouch that at least some of the Terry, Lowry, Morgan, Ellis, Smith, Davis and Harris lines in Wayne County IL have Indian connections however tenuous.
N. J. Floyd presented the Floyd family perspective in this abstract from his book:
Floyd, N. J., "Biographical Genealogies of the Virginia-Kentucky Floyd Families", Williams & Wilkins Co, Baltimore, 1912
"WILLIAM FLOYD, the progenitor of the Virginia-Kentucky branch of the family, was born in Accomac County, Virginia, about the year 1720. He was a son or grandson (more likely the latter) of John Floyd, the wealthy owner of over two thousand acres of fine tobacco land in Accomac and Northampton Counties. He received the rudiments of a substantial education, which was completed only in the line of mathematics. He commenced active life as a surveyor working in the James River Valley from the settlement at Richmond up to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In a region which was little more than a primeval forest, now known as Amherst County, he patented a body of land on which he made a home for himself. A dozen miles distant was the commodious Bungalow of Nathaniel Davis, a Welshman by descent, and one of the very early settlers in that region. He had made quite a large fortune by trading with the Catawba and other Indians, and by locating choice river-bottom lands from the present site of Lynchburg up to the Balcony Falls. Mr. Davis had among other children a beautiful daughter named Abadiah, whom the young man fell in love with and won for his bride. She was of excellent Welsh ancestry on her father's side, and one fourth of her blood on her mother's side, was derived from the most distinguished Indian ancestry. Her mother's mother, Nicketti-Indian equivalent for "Beautiful Flower"--was a granddaughter of the noted Powhatan (the daughter of his youngest daughter) while the father of Nicketti was a chief of the small but warlike Cayuga tribe. Nicketti, whom the white people dubbed "Princess Nicketti," married a noted Scotch hunter and fur trader by the name of Hughes who made his chief headquarters near the beautiful Balcony Falls of James River, where Nathaniel Davis met and married a daughter of his who was the mother of Abadiah.
Floyd Page 11
Children of Nathaniel Davis and His Wife Elizabeth Hughes
1. ROBERT DAVIS who became, when quite young, his father's agent and assistant in business. On account of his densely black hair and eyes, and his dark Indian complexion he was nicknamed "the black Davis" to differentiate between him and his fair-haired father. He married quite young, and removed to Georgia with his bride. After the Floyds went to Kentucky several of the Davises removed there from Georgia and settled in the eastern part of Christian County, which part was named Todd after the division of the county. One of the descendants, born in Todd County and carried to Mississippi as a weanling, lived to become the President of The Confederate States of America.
2. MARY DAVIS, who married Samuel Burkes, of Hanover County, the ancestor of several prominent Virginia families.
3. MARTHA DAVIS, who married Abraham Venable, another prominent family whose descendants number many prominent persons.
4. ABADIAH DAVIS, who married William Floyd.
Nathaniel Davis' granddaughter, Elizabeth Burks, married Capt. William Cabell, and they became the ancestors of the distinguished Virginia family of that name.
Another granddaughter, Martha Venable, married General Evan Shelby, of Maryland, and they became the ancestors of the noted family of Shelbys in the West. A list of the more or less distinguished members of these families would be very lengthy.
It may be well to state, out of its proper chronological order, that many years after the period of the marriages of the young people noted above, the truth of the tradition concerning the ancestry of Princess Nicketti was denied in Kentucky. The cause of this denial originated at the battle of Point Pleasant in 1774, when the allied tribes, the Shawnees, the Guyandottes and Delawares, under the great war-chief, Cornstalk, were defeated by the Virginians and the Kentucky pioneers under General Andrew Lewis. Cornstalk was regarded as a ferocious and vindictive tool of the Lieutenant-Governor of Canada and no Indian could have been more thoroughly detested. Prisoners taken in that epoch-making battle stated that he was a descendant of Powhatan, through his youngest daughter.{It is quite probable that Cornstalk's tradition was a fact. Although he was the great war-chief of the Shawnees he was not a member of that tribe, but was by birth a chief of a small tribe which, giving way before the advance of civilization, had straggled westward and become nomadic-a "tramp" tribe, which eventually disintegrated. A scrap from old memoirs of the Preston family says that in 1767 Colonels William Preston and Thomas Lewis were appointed to hold a treaty with the Indians at the mouth of Big Sandy on the Ohio river. Though other chiefs were present, Cornstalk made the treaty and seven years later led the allied tribes which broke it. Several histories of that period speak of him as "the masterful Cayuga chief." In that treaty he posed as a representative of the Shawnees and the Delawares.} The Virginians and Kentuckians who admired the character of the gentle Pocahontas as cordially as they despised Cornstalk, indignantly denied the tradition, and asserted that Pocahontas, if not the only daughter of Powhatan, was certainly the youngest, and the child of his old age. When the Floyds removed to Kentucky and heard the denial, being no longer in touch with those who knew the facts in Virginia, and therefore not prepared to discuss the point, they simply ignored the matter and "let it go at that." Hence it came about that later generations of nearly all the descendants of Nicketti ultimately came to doubt the perfect accuracy of the old tradition, as no historical or other writing known to them credited Powhatan with a younger daughter than Pocahontas; nor had any name been heard as that of such daughter. The descendants of Charles Floyd, however, at whose home in Kentucky his mother, Abadiah Davis Floyd, died, never for a moment doubted the entire accuracy of the tradition.
Alexander Brown--member of the Virginia Historical Society; the American Historical Association; and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of England--the distinguished author of "The Genesis of the United States," and a high authority on historical and genealogical subjects, did much to add to the confusion of the old tradition. In his genealogical work "The Cabells and their Kin" (descendants of Princess Nicketti, and himself an honored kinsman) he gives the genealogies and traditions of the descendants of Nathaniel Davis as they are known to the Floyds with the exception that, by a supposed error in the use of numerals to designate generations, he makes the ancestor of Jefferson Davis appear as the uncle instead of the brother of Abadiah. And when he came to speak of the Indian blood he shied at the tradition of a younger sister of the gentle Pocahontas, and said:
"Opechancanough had a lovely daughter, the child of his old age, the Princess Nicketti, which name means 'She sweeps the dew from the flowers.' A son of one of the old cavalier families fell in love with Nicketti and they married and had a daughter who married a Welshman, Nathaniel Davis by name."
.
Floyd Page 13
The author evidently entertained some misgivings regarding the exact accuracy of that version of the tradition, but quietly passed on with the assertion that the fact could not be denied that no lovelier women ever "swept the dew from the flowers" than many of the descendants of Princess Nicketti.
This perversion of the old tradition gives a lively fancy room to imagine that some one of the Indian-blood branches--other than the Floyds--that is to say, the Burkses, the Venables, the Shelbys, the Cabells or the Jefferson Davis branch, might have held a family meeting, after the batile of Point Pleasant, and have recorded the result somewhat after this style:
"WHEREAS: The wise genealogists residing in the primeval forests of Kentucky have ascertained that the gentle Pocahontas never had a younger sister, if any sister at all, therefore,
RESOLVED: That the Princess Nicketti was, and of right ought to have been heralded, not the grandniece and ward, as has been taught, by tradition, of her uncle, Opecancanough, but in very fact his own queenly daughter--the child of his very old age."
The writer, feeling confident that the original tradition was correct, made an exhaustive search for information on that and many similar matters, and finally found, in the old library of the Maryland Historical Society, an item of three lines in a fragment of Jamestown records covering eleven years--1630 to 1641-which furnished in a positive and indisputable form the proof sought. During the period, covered by the fragment, matters became so bad between the Whites and Indians, that Opechancanough was induced to agree upon a line being established which neither White nor Indian, excepting truce-bearers, should cross under penalty of being shot on sight. To insure strict obedience to the compact a law was passed at Jamestown imposing a heavy penalty on any of the people crossing the line without a special permit from the Governor's Council and the General Court. This accounts for the item alluded to, which is given verbatim et literatim. In the Council record it reads:
"Dec. 17th, 1641.--Thomas Rolfe petitions Governor to let him go see Opechankeno to whom he is allied, and Cleopatra, his mother's sister." The record of the General Court was evidently intended to be a verbatim copy, though they differ somewhat in phraseology and spelling:--"Dec. 17th, 1641.--Thomas Rolph petitions Gov. to let him go to see Opechanko, to whom he is allied, and Cleopatre, his mother's sister."
Floyd Page 14
It is a well known fact that when Pocahontas died in England in 1616 her husband, John Rolfe, left their infant son, Thomas, to be reared and educated in England by an uncle. Twenty-five years had elapsed; the young man had finished his education, and naturally desired to look upon the face of his mother's younger sister. That she was younger--seventeen years or more, younger --her name proves. Neither Pocahontas nor her father had ever held communication with a white person until the two had a little controversy as to the future fate of Captain John Smith. Pocahontas was then twelve years old, and it is not possible that she or Powhatan could have previously heard the name of the Egyptian queen; and it is not likely that either of them had an opportunity to be "coached" upon Egyptian history for a number of years later. Indeed it is more than probable that Powhatan and his people first heard of the fascinating Cleopatra from John Rolfe, after he had married Pocahontas. What could be more likely than that the young Englishman himself made selection of the name, and with his own lips pronounced the difficult foreign syllables when the gentle-savage infant received her baptismal dip into the purling water of the James River, near where Richmond city now stands?"
(It is granted that this supports a link between Pocahontas, Cleopatre, and Opechancanough but does not identify Nicketti. Other resources make this claim.
Nicketti b. about 1615 m. Unknown Hughes b. 1620. Sources: Kegley, "The Virginia Frontier")
Many abstracts from these references and pertinent discussion can be viewed at "The Steven and Allied Families," pat@patmstevens.com. Pat Stevens has collected information from many researchers and has published data supporting many different view points pertaining to the descendants of Opechancanough. Many researchers have contributed independent verification and interpretation, sometimes using the same sources, but the reader is encouraged to visit Pat's site. It really is an excellent source. Always do your own verification.
Ancestors of Nancy Carlisle
Generation No. 1
1. Nancy Carlisle, born February 03, 1840 in Orange County, Indiana; died August 20, 1885 in Johnsonville, Illinois Wayne County. She was the daughter of 2. John Carlisle and 3. Hannah Smith. She married (1) Charles Rawlings Ellis August 08, 1854 in Orange Co, Indiana. He was born January 21, 1832 in Washington County, Indiana, and died August 14, 1885 in Wayne County Illinois.
Joseph B Scudamore was adminstrator of her estate.
Burial: Thomason Cemetery, Wayne City Johnsonville IL
Notes for Charles Rawlings Ellis:
Reference Alma Geradine Morgan Mayfield notes: Conversation with grandmother Martha Jane Ellis Close. (Compiled Sept 9 1987, 202 Fairway Dr, Bloomington, IL)
"History of Wayne and Clay Counties Illinois 1884 (Four Mile Township)
Charles Ellis was a miller. He lived in Indiana, Newton CO MO, Wayne CO IL, Clay CO IL, and Johnsonville IL. He was a member of the Christian Church and A.F> and A.M. Lodge 713. He was born near Hardinburg, Washington CO IN. He died intestate in Wayne City IL. Estate administrator was Joseph B Scudamore. Burial: Johnsonville Cemetery
In 1855 Charles and Nancy moved to Newton County MO but because of raiders in the Civil War problems they moved back to Wayne County then Clay County IL. (Re: Euil W Morgan "Comments Along The Way"). Charles owned and operated several (at least five) grist mills in Clay and Wayne Counties, IL. He lost an arm in a mill accident.
1860 Newton Co MO census, Jackson Twp, p 162
Line 39 (1114) Charles Ellis 25 M Farmer $600 Indiana
Nancy 20 F Indiana
P 163 Line 1 Martha 3 F Missouri
Mary 1 F Missouri
1870 Wayne Co IL census Indian Prairie Twp Aog 2 1870 p 2 Johnsonville P.O. Line 26 (14) (14)
Ellis, Charles R 38 M W Miller $4500 $400 Indiana
Nancy 30 F W Keeping House Indiana
Martha J 13 F W Missouri
Mary E 10 F W Missouri
John D 9 M W Missouri
Nancy M 2 F W Illinois
Effie P 2/12 F W IL
2. John Carlisle, born September 11, 1807 in Kentucky; died December 11, 1877 in Flora, Clay County, IL. He married 3. Hannah Smith Bet. 1830 - 1831.
3. Hannah Smith, born April 28, 1812 in KY; died Abt. 1848 in Orange Co., IN. She was the daughter of 6. James Smith Jr and 7. Elizabeth Smith.
Notes for John Carlisle:
Census: 1850 Indiana, Orange County Stamper's Creek Township name is spelled Carlile.
John (42, M, farmer, $200, KY); Amelia (46, F, VA); John R (16, M, Farming, IN); Franky J (12, F, IN);
Nancy (10, F, IN); Mary Ann (8, F, IN); James M (5, M, IN); Thomas G Green (2, M, IL)
Census: 1870 Illinois, Clay County, Harter Township.
John Carlisle (63, M, W, Carpenter, $300, $140, KY, Father foreign born); Tabitha (43, F, W, Keeping House, North Carolina); Crawford Carlisle (0, M, W, IL); Moore, William (23, M, W, Farmer, IN); John M Carlisle (26, M, W, Farmer, IL)
John moved April 10, 1848 to the SWSE acreage (T1N R2E Section 20) of Stamper's Creek Township.
John was reported to have been a captain in the Blackhawk war (unproven). (History of Wayne and Clay Counties, Illinois, 1884-Four Mile Township).
The 1870 census records that John's father is foreign born is a key reference supporting the possibility that his parents were Irish immigrants.
Elizabeth Carlisle was born 14 Nov 1827 in Flora, Clay County IL according to an Ancestry.com reference (Schiffer, Tony). She is listed as the child of John Carlisle and Hannah Smith. This would argue for an earlier marriage date for John and Hannah.
More About John Carlisle:
Burial: Brush Creek Cemetery Wayne County IL
Census: 1870, Harter Twp., Clay Co., IL
Notes for Hannah Smith:
1830 Orange County IN (Family Group In Census)
SMITH, James 10001 00001 p46
1 M <5; ` M 20-30; 1 F 20-30 (James was married)
SMITH, James 00000011 0001001 p47
1 M 50-60, 1 M 60-70; 1 F 15-20; 1 F 40-50 (M 50-60?, 60-70 James; F 15-20 Anna?, 40-60?)
(The other adult couple may have been staying w James, or not)
CARLILE, William 00002 0001
2 M 20-30; 1 F 15-20 (John and William; Hannah)
SMITH, Martin 00001 10001
1 M 20-30; 1 F <5; 1 F 20-30 (Martin was married)
Children of John Carlisle and Hannah Smith are:
i. John Rawls Carlisle, born 1834; died WFT Est. 1869-1927.
ii. Frances J. Carlisle, born December 12, 1838 in Orange County Indiana; died August 06, 1856 in Orange County Indiana; married William F. Faucher August 06, 1856.
iii. Elizabeth Carlisle, born November 14, 1831 in Orange Co IN; died November 28, 1890 in Clay Co IL; married James Thomas Shore March 14, 1849 in Orange County, IN; born April 05, 1823 in Winston Salem, Forsyth City NC; died March 07, 1903 in Flora, Clay City IL.
iv. Mary Ann Carlisle, born 1842 in Orange Co IN; died WFT Est. 1870-1936.
1 v. Nancy Carlisle, born February 03, 1840 in Orange County, Indiana; died August 20, 1885 in Johnsonville, Illinois Wayne County; married Charles Rawlings Ellis August 08, 1854 in Orange Co, Indiana.
vi. Sarah C Carlisle, born October 13, 1834 in Orange Co IN; died April 02, 1892 in Clay Co IL; married Bennett Vandeveer May 07, 1849 in Orange Co IN. Burial: Onstott Salem IL or Xenia Clay County
vii. James Madison Carlisle, born 1846 in Illinois; died 1895 in Illinois; married Mary Ann Rebecca Stokes November 12, 1871 in Orange Co IN. Burial: Bunker Cemetery Rinard Wayne Co IL
viii. Thomas G Carlisle, born 1848 in Orange County IN; married Mary Hannah Smith April 18, 1861; born May 14, 1847 in Songer Twp., Clay Co., IL; died February 02, 1930 in Flora, Clay Co., IL.
6. James Smith Jr, born 1777 in Greenbrier CO VA; died Bef. December 24, 1850 in Orange Co IN. He married 7. Elizabeth Smith April 09, 1801 in Lincoln CO KY.
7. Elizabeth Smith, born 1785 in Lincoln CO KY; died Bef. 1820 in Orange Co IN. She was the daughter of 14. William Calmes Smith and 15. Hannah Davis.
James m 1) Elizabeth Smith in KY 1801 and 2) Elizabeth Allgood in Orange Co IN 1834
Orange County IN census data records:
1820 Greenfield Twp p 129 M33-14
James Smith 011210 21000 0400
1 M 10-15 (Martin) 1 M 16-18 (James) 2 M 18-25 (Wm + ?) 1 M 26-44 (James) 2 F <10 (Hannah , Anna?, Mary?) 1 F 10-15 (Sarah) Four Engaged in Agriculture
1830 Orange County IN
SMITH, James 10001 00001 p46
1 M <5; ` M 20-30; 1 F 20-30 (James was married)
SMITH, James 00000011 0001001 p47
1 M 50-60, 1 M 60-70; 1 F 15-20; 1 F 40-50 (M 50-60?, 60-70 James; F 15-20 Anna?, 40-60?)
(The other adult couple may have been staying w James, or not)
CARLILE, William 00002 0001
2 M 20-30; 1 F 15-20 (John and William; Hannah)
SMITH, Martin 00001 10001
1 M 20-30; 1 F <5; 1 F 20-30 (Martin was married)
1840 Stampers Creek TWP p 41A
Smith, James _ _ _ 1 _ _ _ _ 1 _ _ _ _ _ _ 1 _ _ _ _ 1
1 M 15-20 (?) 1 M 60-70 (James 63) 1 F 10-15 (?) 1 F 50-60 (Elizabeth Allgood?)
According to the Orange Co IN website:
Smith James Allgood Elizabeth 06-12-1834
1850 Stampers Creek (all family names; Hannah died and John remarried)
94-94 CARLILE John 42 Farmer KY
Amela 46 VA
John R. 16 Farmer IN
Franky J. 12 IN
Nancy 10 IN
Mary Ann 8 IN
James M. 5 IL.
GREEN Thomas J. 2 IN
95-95 SMITH James 73 Farmer 500 VA
Elizabeth 62 NC
BLALOCK Elhanon 30 Farmer TN
Elizabeth C. 22 IN
John W. 4/12 IN
96-96 VANDEVER John 67 Farmer 500 VA
Susannah 63 VA
Lewis 25 Farmer TN
Joel 21 Farmer IN
Tandy 17 Farmer IN
Children of James Smith and Elizabeth Smith are:
i. William Smith, born December 04, 1801; married Jane Fortney July 12, 1821 in Orange Co IN.
ii. James Smith, born February 25, 1804; married Mary Ann Denbor September 07, 1830.
iii. Sarah Sally Smith, born July 07, 1806 in KY; died July 1849; married John Totten in Crawford IN. iv. Martin VanBuren Smith, born December 06, 1808 in KY; died August 03, 1879 in Clay County Illinois; married (1) Ellender Totten July 10, 1828 in Crawford Co IN; married (2) Sarah Ann Spenser Aft. 1834. Burial: Smith Cemetery Marion County IL
1830 Orange County IN Census
SMITH, Martin 00001 10001
1 M 20-30; 1 F <5; 1 F 20-30 (Martin was married to Ellender Tottent; Martha was the daughter living in 1830)
3 v. Hannah Smith, born April 28, 1812 in KY; died Abt. 1848 in Orange Co., IN; married John Carlisle Bet. 1830 - 1831.
vi. Anna Smith, born March 19, 1815; married Rueben Bundy April 24, 1834 in Orange Co IN.
vii. Mary Polly Smith, born July 09, 1817; died 1826.
14. William Calmes Smith, born July 15, 1761 in Virginia; died October 09, 1810 in Lincoln County KY. He married 15. Hannah Davis January 29, 1785 in Lincoln County Kentucky.
15. Hannah Davis, born January 01, 1764 in Amherst County Virginia; died October 10, 1851 in Lincoln County KY. She was the daughter of 30. Robert Davis and 31. Jane Jopling.
Marriage Records of Lincoln County, Kentucky 1781-1792:
Name: William Calmes Smith Spouse: Hannah Davis Marriage Date: 29 Jan 1785
Children of William Smith and Hannah Davis are:
7 i. Elizabeth Smith, born 1785 in Lincoln CO KY; died Bef. 1820 in Orange Co IN; married James Smith Jr April 09, 1801 in Lincoln CO KY.
ii. Robert D Smith, born 1786 in KY; died May 29, 1888 in Marion IL; married Catherine Eastman February 16, 1819.
iii. Delilah Smith, married Ralph Bailey January 08, 1806 in Lincoln KY.
iv. Mary Smith, born 1793; died in Marion IL; married Terry Crutchfield February 25, 1807 in Lincoln County KY.
v. William Calmes Smith, married Polly.
vi. Mary Jane Smith, born April 02, 1794; died February 08, 1890; married Daniel C. Goode March 19, 1811 in Lincoln CO KY or IL; born April 02, 1794 in VA.
vii. John C Smith, born October 19, 1804 in KY; died May 19, 1887 in Newton County MO.
viii. Ann Smith, married Alexander Johnson 1826 in Lincoln CO KY.
30. Robert Davis, born Abt. 1722 in Amherst Co VA; died May 18, 1780 near Cumberland Ford KY. He was the son of 60. Nathaniel Robert Davis and 61. Abadiah Lewis. He married 31. Jane Jopling Abt. 1750.
31. Jane Jopling, born Abt. 1735; died Bef. 1842.
Robert Davis b c 1722 d May 1780 was killed by Indians near Cumberland Ford. He was a planter.
Mary Davis was the youngest daughter of Robert Davis and Jane Jopling. Mary Davis married Edward McCown. Her brother Thomas deeded land in Bullitt Co, KY (part of the original 900 acres) to Edward and Mary, "for the love and affection Thomas has for his sister Polly". They later moved to Harrison County, Indiana.
Robert Davis is mentioned in 1842 Casey County Circuit court papers: "Robert Davis was many years ago killed by the Indians and Jane the mother of the children Robert, Landon, and Hannah, has departed this life many years ago." The eleven children of Robert Davis and Jane Joplin as listed in the Casey County, Ky Circuit Court Records were: John, Thomas, Hannah, Abigail, Jane, Robert, Patsey, Anne, Landon, Lucy, and Polly.
"In the neighborhood of Cumberland Ford, Fleming and his fellow travelers met three white men and a Negro - the survivors of a party of twelve men from Lexington ambushed five miles ahead. In silent marching order, Fleming and his men rode on to the scene. They found the bodies of John and Robert Davis of Amherst lying scalped and mangled on the road. Two war clubs lay by the bodies, and on one of them was the figure of a lizard, which Colonel Fleming believed belonged to Chief Spring Lizard of the Chickamauga. The travelers buried the bodies and continued their journey across Cumberland Gap."
Ref: Kinkead, Robert, "The Wilderness Road", Bobbs-Merrill Company, Kingsport, Tennessee, Kentucky, 1947, p156.
The Robert Davis who married Jane Jopling was the Robert who bought land in 1779 in Lincoln County, KY (later Jefferson, later Bullitt). This land is now reported to be part of Fort Knox. The land was purchased with a Virginia Treasury Warrant with Robert's name and one that Robert bought from William Deal for a total of 900 acres, but Robert did not live long enough to claim the land. The actual patent was acquired by Robert's son, Thomas, as "heir at law" in 1787. In 1782, Thomas gave his grandfather, Thomas Jopling, his power of attorney to settle his father's estate and lay claim to Robert's land in Montgomery Co, VA. In this power of attorney, Thomas Davis listed all of his siblings. Thomas Jopling is also listed in the Amherst court records asking to be appointed administrator of Robert's estate and it mentions Robert's wife, Thomas Jopling's daughter Jane. Hannah Smith is Robert daughter, sister to Thomas Davis. She married in William Calmes Smith, 29 Jan 1785 in Lincoln County, Kentucky.
Children of Robert Davis and Jane Jopling are:
15 i. Hannah Davis, born January 01, 1764 in Amherst County Virginia; died October 10, 1851 in Lincoln County KY; married William Calmes Smith January 29, 1785 in Lincoln County Kentucky.
ii. Thomas Davis, born 1765; married Susannah Johnson February 14, 1786 in Lincoln KY.
iii. John Davis, born Abt. 1752; died Abt. May 18, 1780 in Cumberland Ford KY. Killed by Indians near Cumberland Ford May 1780.
iv. Abigail Abadiah Davis, born Abt. 1764; died 1825; married John Tuley November 23, 1790 in Lincoln KY.
v. Jane Davis, born Abt. 1768.
vi. Patsy Davis, born Abt. 1772.
vii. Ann Davis, born Abt. 1774; married Richard Mason March 26, 1793 in Lincoln CO KY; born Abt. 1774.
viii. Landon Davis, born Abt. 1778 in Amherst Co VA; died January 03, 1854 in Casey Co KY; married Priscella Taylor Abt. 1796; born Abt. 1782; died Bef. 1850. Landon is given in the Casey County Vital Records, 1854, as dying at age 72, a widower, and born in Va. His father is given as Robert Davis.
ix. Lucy Davis, born Abt. 1780; married Andrew Potts April 08, 1797 in Jefferson Co KY; born 1771 in MD.
x. Mary Polly Davis, born Abt. 1780 in VA; married Edward McCown Abt. 1799; born Abt. 1778.
xi. Martha Davis, married Thomas Kay January 06, 1791 in Lincoln KY.
xii. Robert Davis, born Abt. 1771; died Bef. January 1847 in Casey KY; married Sarah Sally Smith November 15, 1796 in Lincoln KY; born 1778. This is Robert Davis III, a tie to Nathaniel Davis m Elizabeth Hughes Residence: August 16, 1842, Living in Casey County Kentucky
60. Nathaniel Robert Davis (or Robert Davis), born 1676 in Virginia; died 1771 in Fla. He was the son of 120. Nathaniel Davis and 121. Elizabeth Hughes. He married 61. Abadiah Lewis Abt. 1693.
61. Abadiah Lewis, born 1680; died Bef. 1750. She was the daughter of 122. Hugh Ap Lewis and 123. Elizabeth.
The ancestry and history of Nathaniel Robert Davis (or Robert Davis) is the subject of much lively debate and the researcher will find many interpretations of the same data in genealogy records. The reader is encouraged to do their own verification. Robert had three wives. His children ranged over decades, and he lived to be very old. While his will was dated in 1771, it was not proved until 1790.
Will of (Nathaniel) Robert Davis of Georgia
The Natchez Court Records, 1767-1805, Abstracts of Early Records
Compiled by May Wilson McBee, Reprinted for Clearfield Company Inc by Genealogical Publishing Co,. Inc. Baltimore, Maryland 1994 p 182
5 September 1771
In the name of God, Amen, I Robert Davis of the Province of Georgia, Planter, being very sick and weak of body but of perfect memory thanks to be given to God, calling unto the mortality of my body and knowing that it is appointed for all once to die, do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament that is to say; principally and first of all I give and commend my soul unto the hands of Almighty God who gave it, and my body I recommend to be buried with a decent christian burial at the discretion of my Executors.,
First; I give and bequeath to my well beloved son Lewis Davis two negro slaves, Bowling and Phobe, with a feather bed and furniture. Secondly; I give and bequeath unto my well beloved son Landon Davis, two negro slaves, Samson and Sarah, with a feather bed and its' furniture. Thirdly; I give and bequeath unto my well beloved son Hugh Davis, three negro slaves, Roger, Joe, and Cochena, with a feather bed and its' furniture. Fourthly; I give and bequeath unto my well beloved wife Grace Davis, one negro girl, Hannah, forever, with a feather bed and furniture. Fifthly; I lend unto my well beloved Grace Davis, four negro slaves with their increase, named as follows; Charles, Peg, Harry and Ivy, during her widowhood, and out of the income of the four negroes, Charles, Peg, Harry, and Ivy, to maintain, clothe, school, and bring up my son Hugh Davis till he comes to the age of twenty years. If the said Grace Davis should marry or die, then the said four negroes, Charles, Peg, Harry, and Ivy, with their increase shall be equally divided between Lewis Davis, Landon Davis, and Hugh Davis share and share alike; and if either of my three sons, Lewis, Landon, and Hugh shall die before the said four slaves with their increase are divided among the survivors that shall be then living; Sixthly; I give unto my well beloved son Nathaniel Davis, twenty Shillings lawful money of Great Britain, likewise I give unto my well beloved son Isom Davis, twenty Shillings lawful money of Great Britain, also I give unto my well beloved son Robert Davis, twenty Shillings lawful money of Great Britain, I also give to my beloved daughter Abediah Floyd twenty Shillings lawful money of Great Britain, I also give to my beloved daughter Sarah Burks twenty Shillings lawful money of Great Britain, I also give to my beloved daughter Elizabeth Sexton twenty Shillings lawful money of Great Britain. Seventhly, I give and bequeath unto my three sons Lewis, Landon, and Hugh all the remaining part of my estate real and personal to be equally divided among them share and share alike when the youngest child reaches the age of twenty one years. Lastly, I do hereby constitute, nominate, and appoint my two sons Lewis Davis and Landon Davis or the survivors of them Executors and Executor of this my last Will and Testament, to pay all my lawful debts and to will out all legacy or legacies as is above mentioned in this my last Will and Testament. In Natchez whereof I have set my hand and seal the fifth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand Seven hundred and Seventy One
Witness Thomas Spell, Mager Spell, Starling Spell
Nathaniel Robert Davis lost his land in Amherst Co., Va. in a disputed filing by a Nicholas Davies. Robert acquired a large amount of land in Amherst county, but failed to patent it correctly. Nicholas Davies entered the patents on Robert Davis' land. Because it was not properly patented before, the courts awarded all of Robert's land to Nicholas. He moved to Georgia with his third wife Grace and his sons and daughters and in July, 1759, he petitioned for a Spanish land grant on the south side of the Sapala river known as Cedar Point. Other entries for Thompson Creek and the Homochitto River are found in the Natchez Court Records which include French and Spanish records. (Natchez was included at various times in Florida, West Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi.) Those in his will to whom he leaves money are the children who remained behind in VA or KY.
Children of Nathaniel Davis and Abadiah Lewis are:
i. Phillip Davis, born 1693; died Bef. 1771; married Hannah Bendy; born 1705.
ii. Samuel Davis, born Abt. 1695.
iii. Isham Davis, born Abt. 1697.
iv. Nathaniel Davis, born 1720 in Amherst Co VA; died November 01, 1779 in Amherst VA; married Elizabeth Atkins 1752 in VA; born Abt. 1730; died Aft. 1779 in Amherst Co VA.
30 v. Robert Davis, born Abt. 1722 in Amherst Co VA; died May 18, 1780 in Near Cumberland Ford KY; married Jane Jopling Abt. 1750.
vi. Abadiah Davis, born 1728 in Accomac Co VA; died Abt. 1823 in Beargrass Creek KY; married William Floyd January 1746/47 in Amherst CO VA; born Abt. 1720 in Accomac Co VA; died Abt. 1800 in Amherst Co VA.
vii. Elizabeth Davis, born 1728; married Unknown Sexton; born Abt. 1720.
viii. Sarah Davis, married Burke.
120. Nathaniel Davis, born April 17, 1655 in St. Michael's Parish, Devonshire England; died in Possibly Hanover Co VA. He married 121. Elizabeth Hughes Abt. 1675 in Jamestown Virginia.
121. Elizabeth Hughes, born 1655 in Virginia; died Unknown. She was the daughter of 242. Trader Hughes and 243. Nicketti.
THE COMPENDIUM OF AMERICAN GENEALOGY. THE FIRST FAMILIES OF AMERICA. VOLUME VII. 1942. Page 684 - Nathaniel Davis, from Wales; an Indian trader in Virginia said to have married Hughes, a daughter of the Indian Princess Nicketti, niece of Powhatan.
"Cabells and Their Kin"
"....(It is said that) Elizabeth Cabell was descended from an Indian princess of the Powhatan tribe (some accounts have it 'of the Catawba tribe,' but this is not tenable), and that it was the knowledge among the neighboring Indians of this descent which protected her husband while locating these lands, and herself when she was managing them in his absence. It was more probably owing to her relationship to members of the Society of Friends, with whom the Indians were on friendly terms. However, the story is interesting, and "the evidences of its truth" are said to "have been carefully collected" in several branches of the Breckinridge, Floyd, and other families. I cannot vouch for it, but I will give it as I find it in the Floyd tradition.
"Opechancanough, the celebrated chief of the Powhatans, who was brutally murdered, while a prisoner, in 1644, left a lovely young daughter, the child of his old age, the Princess Nicketti -- 'she sweeps the dew from the flowers.' Some years after this graceful Indian maiden had reached the years of mature womanhood, a member {the name is not given} of one of the old Cavalier families of Virginia 'fell in love with her and she with him,' and the result was a clandestine marriage, and a half-breed Indian girl who married about the year 1680 a Welshman (others say a native of Devonshire, England,) named Nathaniel Davis, an Indian trader, and, according to some accounts, a Quaker; and from this alliance many notable people in the East and in the West have descended. Their daughter, Mary Davis (born about 1685), married Samuel Burks of Hanover (the ancestors of the Burks family of Virginia), and their daughter, Elizabeth Burks, married Capt. William Cabell, the ancestor of the Cabells; Martha Davis, another daughter, married Abraham Venable, the ancestor of the Venables. Robert Davis, Sr., a son (the ancestor of 'the black Davises' of Kentucky, and from whom Jefferson Davis descended), had a daughter, Abadiah (or Abigail) Davis, who married William Floyd, the ancestor of the Floyds of Virginia and of the West. A daughter, or granddaughter, of the Quaker, married Gen'l Evan Shelby of Maryland, the ancestor of the Shelbys of the West. Samuel and Philip Davis of the Blue Mountains were sons, and there may have been other sons and daughters.
"William Floyd left the eastern shore of Virginia, went up the country as far as the present Amherst County, which was then a very wild region, where he met with this family of Davis, who had traded with the Indians and had gotten much property in that way. (The Quakers were much given to friendly trading with the Indians.)
"William Floyd and his wife's brother, Robert Davis, Jr., with their families, emigrated to Kentucky with the first settlers, and finally located in the Bear-grass region, near Louisville, where the kinsmen (Floyds and Davises) had a fort, called Floyd's Station.
"But it is not necessary to follow the Floyd narrative farther. It seems well to say, however that I have seen a Davis pedigree which asserts that 'the Indian blood first entered the family through the marriage of Abby Davis with William Floyd, a half breed Indian.' Other Davis pedigrees and traditions do not deny the Indian blood, while every Floyd with whom I have corresponded has asserted positively that 'it was through Abby Davis the Indian blood came.'
"The Princess Nicketti's name (it may be because the marriage was clandestine) has not been popular among her traditional descendants. The first Governor, John Floyd of Virginia, named one of his daughters for her. I know of no other namesake; but if the tradition is true, no more lovely women than some among her descendants ever "swept the dew from the flowers." (Note: There are many Floyd daughters named Nicketti.)
"I don't think that there is any doubt that there was Indian blood in the Davis family, for James John Floyd a son of Abadiah was described by a contemporary as 'somewhat slender, straight as an Indian, and almost as dark as one,' and had 'brilliant black eyes, and straight black hair.' A brother of his, Robert Floyd, once took a woman to court because she was alleged to have said the Floyd's were "of the mustic breed" and Robert Davis, a brother of Abadiah was known as the Black Davis, because of his dark complection, high cheekbones, black eyes, and dark skin, (which) occurred in various members of the family for generations." (Note: Robert Davis went to court in Kentucky to prove his ancestry was Indian because of allusions by neighbors who coveted his holdings. By Kentucky law at the time he could be part Indian and still be white with all rights but if he had even a small amount of African blood he lost all rights and his land. He proved his ancestry to the satisfaction of the court.)
"....(It is said that) Elizabeth Cabell was descended from an Indian princess of the Powhatan tribe (some accounts have it 'of the Catawba tribe,' but this is not tenable), and that it was the knowledge among the neighboring Indians of this descent which protected her husband while locating these lands, and herself when she was managing them in his absence. It was more probably owing to her relationship to members of the Society of Friends, with whom the Indians were on friendly terms. However, the story is interesting, and "the evidences of its truth" are said to "have been carefully collected" in several branches of the Breckinridge, Floyd, and other families. I cannot vouch for it, but I will give it as I find it in the Floyd tradition.
"Opechancanough, the celebrated chief of the Powhatans, who was brutally murdered, while a prisoner, in 1644, left a lovely young daughter, the child of his old age, the Princess Nicketti -- 'she sweeps the dew from the flowers.' Some years after this graceful Indian maiden had reached the years of mature womanhood, a member {the name is not given} of one of the old Cavalier families of Virginia 'fell in love with her and she with him,' and the result was a clandestine marriage, and a half-breed Indian girl who married about the year 1680 a Welshman (others say a native of Devonshire, England,) named Nathaniel Davis, an Indian trader, and, according to some accounts, a Quaker; and from this alliance many notable people in the East and in the West have descended. Their daughter, Mary Davis (born about 1685), married Samuel Burks of Hanover (the ancestors of the Burks family of Virginia), and their daughter, Elizabeth Burks, married Capt. William Cabell, the ancestor of the Cabells; Martha Davis, another daughter, married Abraham Venable, the ancestor of the Venables. Robert Davis, Sr., a son (the ancestor of 'the black Davises' of Kentucky, and from whom Jefferson Davis descended), had a daughter, Abadiah (or Abigail) Davis, who married William Floyd, the ancestor of the Floyds of Virginia and of the West. A daughter, or granddaughter, of the Quaker, married Gen'l Evan Shelby of Maryland, the ancestor of the Shelbys of the West. Samuel and Philip Davis of the Blue Mountains were sons, and there may have been other sons and daughters.
"William Floyd left the eastern shore of Virginia, went up the country as far as the present Amherst County, which was then a very wild region, where he met with this family of Davis, who had traded with the Indians and had gotten much property in that way. (The Quakers were much given to friendly trading with the Indians.)
"William Floyd and his wife's brother, Robert Davis, Jr., with their families, emigrated to Kentucky with the first settlers, and finally located in the Bear-grass region, near Louisville, where the kinsmen (Floyds and Davises) had a fort, called Floyd's Station.
Children of Nathaniel Davis and Elizabeth Hughes are:
i. Mary Davis, born 1680 in Albemarle Co VA; married Samuel Burks Abt. 1703 in Albemarle Co VA; born Abt. 1680; died February 1756 in Albemarle Co VA.
ii. Martha Davis, born July 14, 1703; died February 13, 1765 in Louisa VA; married Abraham Venable 1723 in Hanover, VA; born April 27, 1701 in New Kent County, Virginia; died December 16, 1768 in Louisa County, Virginia.
60 iii. Nathaniel Robert Davis, born 1676 in Virginia; died 1771 in Fla; married (1) Abadiah Lewis Abt. 1693; married (2) Anna Atkins Abt. 1700 in Virginia; married (3) Grace 1756.
242. Trader Hughes, born 1636 in Wales. He married 243. Nicketti.
243. Nicketti, born 1638 in Powhatan Nation Virginia. She was the daughter of 486. Opechancanough Powhatan and 487. Cleoparta.
Notes for Nicketti:
From Kegley's "Virginia Frontier," reprinted from an earlier version in 1937, page 23: The Settlements Along the James Move West: ...up to this time (1721), the land from the Falls of the James to the mountains belonged to the Indians. In advance of the settlements there lived in this region a noted Scotchman by the name of Hughes who hunted and traded with the Indians and finally married one of their number, the Princess Nicketti, a daughter of a younger sister of Pocahontas and granddaughter of Powhatan. A child of Nicketti's, Elizabeth Hughes, married NATHANIEL DAVIS and her children and grandchildren became the ancestors of many prominent families of middle and Southwest Virginia. Her daughter, Mary, married Samuel Burks, her daughter, Martha, married Abraham Venable, Jr.; another daughter, Abadiah, married William Floyd and became the mother of John Floyd, asst. to Col. William Preston of Fincastle and Montgomery Counties."
Johnson, Patricia Givens, "Irish Burks of Colonial Virginia and New River", p 19: " All following is proven: Samuel Burk of Goochland/ md. Mary Davis; Mary was daughter of Nathaniel Davis/Elizabeth Hughes; Elizabeth Hughes was daughter of _____Hughes/Nicketti; Nicketti was daughter of Cleopatre/Cayuga Chief. Cleopatre was living with Opechancanough, who Brown, "Cabells and Kin," says is Nicketti's father. Kegley, "Virginia Frontier," says Nicketti is the granddaugher of Powhatan. Cleopatre was sister of Pocahontas." The children of Elizabeth Hughes and Nathaniel Davis are named as Martha Davis md. Abraham Venable, Mary Davis b. 1685 md. Samuel Burk, Robert Davis, Sr. md. Abadiah Lewis (*Note says "Venables of Virginia", p. 19, says she is the daughter of Hugh ap Lewis and their son is Robert Davis, II. Other genealogies differ in this.)"
Child of Trader Hughes and Nicketti is:
121 i. Elizabeth Hughes, born 1655 in Virginia; died Unknown; married Nathaniel Davis Abt. 1675 in Jamestown Virginia.
486. Opechancanough Powhatan, born 1545 in Powhatan Nation; died 1644 in VA. He married 487. Cleoparta.
487. Cleoparta, born 1590 in Powhatan Nation; died 1641.
Child of Opechancanough Powhatan and Cleoparta is:
243 i. Nicketti, born 1638 in Powhatan Nation Virginia; married Trader Hughes.
All Pages Copyright © 2007 Laurie Selpien
All Rights Reserved