Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 39.djvu/89

 Genealogy of Jefferson Davis. 77

The Davids mentioned in the above list seem to be the ances- tors of President Davis. They fulfill all the conditions of the case. They were of the Baptist faith. They emigrated from Wales and settled near Philadelphia in the early part of the eighteenth century. They retained their Philadelphia home for eighteen months and then removed to New Castle County, Dela- ware. So far as history informs us, there was no other Baptist family of the name of Davis, that came from Wales in the early part of the eighteenth century, and settled at Philadelphia.

President Davis speaks of three brothers, the youngest of whom named Evan was his grandfather. Richard and James David (Records, pp. ii, 12) were charter members of the church and they may have been brothers, but there is no ac- count of Evan Davis. Shion Dafydd subscribed the Philadel- phia Confession in February, 1716 (Records, p. 21), and my edition of Webster's Dictionary affirms that Evan is "the same as John," but Charlotte M. Yonge in her History of Christian Names, p. 273, expresses herself with less confidence, and is only willing to say that "Evan may be intended for John." If Evan was intended for John, then the Welsh Tract Records may supply the names of the three brothers. But I am in- clined to doubt somewhat concerning the three brothers. Richard David seems to have been the head of the family.

Samuel Davis, the President's father, was born in the year 1756, and was an only son. Evan the grandfather may have married his wife, the Widow Williams, about the year 1755, and he is supposed to have been at least sixty years of age at that time. That is a possible construction, but it would seem more likely that Evan 'was born in America rather than in Wales. It is not uncommon for people to omit a generation or two, who undertake to trace their genealogy without the assist- ance of contemporary records.

In the year 171 1 Martha Thomas was added to the Welsh Tract Church by baptism ; apparently a daughter of Elisha Thomas, who later was selected as the second pastor. She was the first and only person with the Christian name of Martha