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Thomas Davenport
Born 1711? King William Co. VA
Died Dec 10, 1809 Burke Co. NC

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Father
SPOUSE CHILDREN
Dorothy Strother

m. 1732?
Hanover Co. VA
b. 1712?
King William Co. VA
d. 1790
Burke Co. NC
Sophia

b. 1733?
Hanover Co. VA
d. 1809/1818
Burke Co. NC
Susanna

b. by 1740
Hanover Co. VA
d. Jul 1763
Culpeper Co. VA
Mary

b. Jun 17, 1741
?Hanover Co. VA
d. Jan 17, 1796
Burke Co. NC
Martin (Capt.)

b. Jun 23, 1742
Hanover Co. VA
d. Jul 12, 1815
Burke Co. NC
Jerusha

b. 1744?
Hanover Co. VA
d. after Jan 31, 1785
Natchez District
Dorothy "Dorotha"

b. 1745/1750
Hanover Co. VA
d. after 1790
?Rachel

b. 1747?
Hanover Co. VA
d. after Sep 22, 1785
See Map of Eastern Virginia in early 1700s, showing adjoining Hanover, King William and Louisa Counties.
Hanover County VA was formed in 1719 (see present day map for location).
Culpeper County VA was formed in 1748 (see present day map for location), and was bounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west. The Rappahannock River forms one of its eastern boundaries.
Thomas Davenport left Culpeper Co. VA in 1776 and came to Burke Co. NC and bought land near Wilson's Creek and Johns River to live with his children there.
About 1752, daughter Sophia married William White (1730?-1818), whose father was James Taylor White. By 1765, daughter Jerusha married James White (1736?-1783?), also a son of James Taylor White.
Daughter Susanna married a man named Cole and had three children before she died, including Alexander Cole who was old enough to witness a deed of gift from Reuben White to his brother's wife Sophia Davenport in Dec 1773 in SC. If Alexander Cole was born by 1759, his mother would be born by 1740, probably after Sophia and before Mary.
The Administrator's account of daughter "Susanna Cole, Decd" was recorded in Jul 1763, leaving her three children orphaned [Vineyard, p. 294]. In his August 15, 1770 petition in SC, William White describes raising three orphans of his wife's relatives. In 1777, Alexander was also in Burke Co. NC where the Whites had relocated, making oath to the deed he witnessed in SC.
Thomas had a nephew James who was employed by son-in-law William White and Reuben White. A James Davenport swore in Jul 1777 in Burke Co. NC that he understood that he was employed jointly by the brothers and that their property was equally held by both. He could be Sophia's oldest sibling born about 1735. The Rowan Co. court wanted a James Leavenport [mispelled] to be examined by Col. Charles McDowell in Burke Co. relating to the disputed "will" of Reuben White after his death [M.L. Vineyard, p. 98].
Nephew James Davenport was among many who accused people of being Tories in Burke Co. on Nov 12, 1782. In many cases son-in-law William White and James accused the same persons. James married a widow of James Blair about 1783 and moved with her and step-children to SC by 1790 [M.L. Vineyard, p. 319]. In Jul 1787 – SUBPOENAS ISSUED: To James Davenport and Reuben Estes in the case of Isaac Martin vs. Joseph White. [Edith Warren Higgins, Burke Co. Court Records, NC Land & Misc. Records, vol. III, p. 131].
No James Davenport is listed in the 1790 Burke Co. Census. In 1780, prior to the Battle of King's Mountain, a soldier named Robert Ballew was "with James Davenport by order of Gen. [Charles] McDowell, as express to Col. Cleveland who was on the lower creek of the Catawba ordering him to rendezvous at Head quarters [at Burke Co. Courthouse]" [Pension Statement, Robert Ballew, Jan 21, 1836].
In 1780, son-in-law John Browning and grandson Alexander Cole, orphaned son of daughter Susanna Cole, surveyed 100 acres of land on White's Mill Creek for Parmenus Taylor who married "Betty" White a daughter of William White. White's Mill Creek was named for the mill run by John White, son of William White the brother of James Taylor White. John White married Sarah Collett by 1760. [M.L. Vineyard, p. 131].
Daughter Mary married William Edward Wiseman (1741-1830) in 1761 in VA, both being pioneers in the Johns River area of Burke Co. NC. He was involved with his eldest son at the Battle of Kings Mountain Oct 1780 in which the Patriots soundly defeated the British.
It is believed Mary and William Wiseman were both buried in a graveyard garden at their home. There is a Memorial Marker off of Route 19 nearby, in Spruce Pine, Mitchell Co. NC.
Son Martin Davenport Sr. was a hero at the Battle of Kings Mountain in Oct 1780. He headed a household of 3 males older than 16, 4 males under the age of 16, and 3 females, and 4 slaves in the 10th Company of the 1790 Burke Co. Census.
North Carolina Counties at beginning of 1775 and at beginning of 1780 showing the creation of Burke and Wilkes Counties.
About 1770 daughter Dorotha married John Browning (1747?-1817) in Culpeper Co. VA, and had 6 sons and 4 daughters at the time of the 1790 Burke Co. Census (listed in 2nd Company). One son, David C. Browning was born Feb 28, 1782 in Burke Co. and died Oct 4, 1861 in Lawrence Co. MO and is buried there.
Daughter Rachel married William Cole and lived in Burke Co. NC. He may be a brother of Alexander Cole who was orphaned after Susanna, Rachel's stepsister, died by Jul 1763. On Sep 22, 1785, Rachel and William had a daughter Dorothy Cole who became the wife of Martin Thomas Davenport, Jr., a grandson of Thomas.
Grandson Martin T. Davenport, Jr. and grandaughter Dorothy Cole Davenport, husband and wife, are buried in Jane Cemetery in Jane, McDonald Co. MO. Photos of the grave markers of Martin T. Davenport Jr., and Dorothy Davenport. They died about two months apart.
SOURCES:
Clark, Walter, State Records of North Carolina Vol XVII 1781-1785, Broadfoot Publishing, Wilmington NC, 1994, pp. 287-8, 294.
Corbitt, D. L., The formation of the N.C. counties, 1663-1943, Dept. Arch. & Hist, Raleigh NC, 1950, 323pp.
Genealogical Register, vol. VIII, No. 3, Sep 1961.
Genealogy Trails, 1790 Census, Burke Co. NC, website, transcribed by Houton, Erica, "John White, Sarah White", Geni, website, trans. from Spanish, St. Martin of Tours Church, St, Martinville LA, record no. 263, image uploaded Jan 19, 2019.
McBee, Mary Wilson, Natchez Court Records 1767-1805, Abstract of Early Records, Greenwood MS, 1953.
Obituary notice of Thomas Davenport, The Star, Raleigh NC, Mar 8, 1810.
Northern Neck Grants, Virginia State Archives, Book G.
Poe, Allan, "The Records, From Virginia to Old Burke Co. N.C.", publ. in Pre-Revolutionary Plat Books, SC Archives Dept., vol. 21, pp 424-433.
"Pension Application of Robert Ballew", transcribed by Will Graves in Southern Campaigns American Revolutionary Pension Statements & Rosters, website.
Vineyard, M.L. & E.M.Wiseman, Wm Wiseman & the Davenports, Pioneers Of Old Burke County, North Carolina, v.2, Franklin NC, 1997, pp. 41-42, 254-256, 294-296, 258.
Virginia Land Patents, Book 8, p. 16.
White, Gifford E., James Taylor White of Virginia and some of his descendants into Texas, Austin, TX, April 1982.
White, Gifford E., "James White and John White", in Wm Wiseman & the Davenports, Pioneers Of Old Burke County, North Carolina, v.2, by M.L.Vineyard & E.M.Wiseman, Franklin NC, 1997, pp. 86-96, 107-112.