Col. George F. Davidson, Jr.

Abt 1703 - Bef 1760  (~ 56 years)

• Name	George F. Davidson  [1]
  Prefix	Col.
  Suffix	Jr.
  Born	Abt 1703	Ireland
  	As with his brother John and his likely brother Samuel, there is no reliable evidence of the date or place of his birth. However, based on the date of his marriage, estimated from the date of the birth of his first know son, I place him as younger than John and probably born between 1697 and 1707. Evidence shows that he had at least two marriages. From his first, he had a son George who was of age when George wrote his will in 1760. From that you know that George was married before. He could have been married as early as 1730 if we can prove that he was the George Davidson who married Rachel Jones and had Mary in 1731.
  Gender	Male
  Name	George Davison
  Alt. Birth	Abt 1707	Ireland   [1]
  User ID	DNA 001 George
  Group	American Colonial Immigrants
  	Immigrants from the UK who came to United States or Canada before the Revolutionary War
  Group	Davidson 001 Family of Immigrant George Davidson
  	Descendants of immigrant George Davidson of DNA Family 001
  Group	Davidson Direct Descendant
  	Direct Descendant of any immigrant Davidson
  Group	Davidson DNA Family 001
  	Descendants of John, George, and Samuel Davidson of Beverley Manor, Virginia, and Iredell county, North Carolina
  Group	Davidson Head of Line Immigrant Ancestor
  	Davidson Immigrant Ancestors who are designated as the Head of a Family Line
  Group	Immigrant Ancestors
  	Immigrant Ancestors
  Group	Proven Davidson DNA Family 001
  	Proven as a descendant of DNA Family 001 by YDNA test of a direct descendant
  Will	29 May 1758	Rowan County, North Carolina
  	The Will of George Davison is recorded in Will Book A of Rowan county (page A-35) and has been abstracted in several sources, including the Hand book. I had been interested in it as I was looking for clues as to what had happened to George's sons George and Samuel. The following is a transcription of the Will. Several parts are hard to read and some of the page appears to be missing from the microfilm copy that I read. The Will was probated in the January 1760 court session. I have not yet found any additional estate papers, but they may exist. ___________ "In the Name of God Amen this twenty ninth day of May one thou- sand seven hundred & fifty eight I George Davison of the Province of north Carolina and County of Rowan Planture[?], being sick and weak in body but of perfect Mind and Memory blessed[?] be God Therefore calling to mind the Mortality of my Body knowing that it is appointed for all men over[?] to Die and after Death the Judgment Do make & ordain this my last Will & Testament That is to say prin- cipally and first of all I give and recommend my Soul into the Hand of Almighty God that gave it and my Body I recommend to the Earth to be buried in christian like and decent Manner at the Discretion of my Executor. And as touching such worldly Estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this Life I give dimise[?] & dispose of in the following manner & Form viz: First I appoint and allow all my legal Debts and funeral Charges to be punctually paid out of the whole of my Estate. Secondly I bequeath unto Margaret my much beloved Wife one Tract of Land at Broad River on the Beaver Dams and one Tract at Fishing Creek to her own proper Use and Bike[?] I with the use of the plantation I now live on during her natural Life and all the ready Cash now in my possession or at my Death and aft the Debts then due beside her Third. Item I give and bequeath unto my beloved Son George the Plantation & tract of Land on which I now live to be en- joyed by him as his own lawful Inheritance after his aforsd Mother's missing Item I bequeath unto my other Son William Davison all that [land?] missing on the North side of Fourth Creek adjoining William Rea's Land containing three hundred Acres. Item I give and bequeath unto my Wife's Son James Simmeril a Tract of Land adjoining the Land of Wm. Edwards[?] wherein Fort Dobbs now stands. Item to my son Samuel son in law Robert Gibson and Grandson George Davison I give a shilling Sterling each. The remaining part of my personal Estate I leave equally divided between my Sons George and William Davison & my stepson James Simmerel. Lastly I hereby confer[?] missing appoint my beloved wife Margaret Davison sole Executor missing is my last Will & Testament and ? appoint my trusty[?] & well beloved Friends Alexander Osburn and John Brevard Esqr Guardians to take Tuition[?] and Guardianship of my Children and to assist my Wife in the Management and Execution hereof. And I do hereby utterly disallow revoke and disanull all and evey other Testament Will or Wills[?] Legacys & Bequests and Esr:s by me in anywise before named willed and bequeathed - ratifying & confirming this and no other to be my last Will & Testament In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & Seal the Year above written.                               George Davison his mark and seal Signed sealed published pronounced and declared by the said George Davison as his last Will & Tes- tament in presence of -- John Neill James Templeton (his mark) George Davison"
  Died	Bef Jan 1760	Rowan County, North Carolina   [1]
  Probate	Jan 1760
  	____, Rowan Co., NC
  Person ID	I396	DNA Family 1 Genealogies
  Last Modified	10 Dec 2023

  
  

  Father	George Davison,   d. Unknown
  Mother	Miss [--?--],   d. Unknown
  Family ID	F250	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Rachel Jones,   d. Bef 1743
  Married	Bef 1731
  Children	1. George Davidson,   b. Between 1731 and 1743,   d. Bef 1776  (Age ~ 44 years)   2. Mary Jones Davidson,   b. Abt 1731,   d. 29 Sep 1794, Washington County, Tennessee  (Age ~ 63 years)   3. Daughter Davidson,   b. Bef 1743,   d. Unknown
  Last Modified	4 May 2006
  Family ID	F248	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	Margaret Ware,   b. Between 1712 and 1718, Donegal, Ireland, UK ,   d. Aft 1765, Rowan County, North Carolina  (Age ~ 54 years)
  Married	Abt 1743	Pennsylvania   [1]
  Children	1. Gen. William Lee Davidson,   b. 1746, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania ,   d. 1 Feb 1781, Cowan's Ford, Rowan County, North Carolina  (Age 35 years)   2. Samuel Davidson,   b. Abt 1748,   d. Unknown
  Last Modified	4 May 2006
  Family ID	F249	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - Abt 1703 - Ireland Alt. Birth - Abt 1707 - Ireland Married - Abt 1743 - Pennsylvania Will - 29 May 1758 - Rowan County, North Carolina Died - Bef Jan 1760 - Rowan County, North Carolina  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Badges		Davidson DNA Family 001 This family are the Descendants of John Davidson of Beverley Manor, Virginia; George Davidson of North Carolina, and Samuel Davidson of Beverley Manor and North Carolina.
  		Immigrant Ancestor

  
  

• Notes

  George Davidson was one of two known brothers who emigrated from Scotland to America in the 1730s.  He settled near his brother, near Lancaster County, PA.  Although his brother John moved on to Tinkling Springs, VA, he stayed in Pennsylvania until 1748 and migrated then to what is now Iredell County, NC. He married there a Mrs. Summerville (or Somerville) and they had several children.  The youngest was General William Lee Davidson who was born in 1746 in Chestnut Level, Chester (now Lancaster) County, Pennsylvania. About 1748 the family removed to Center Church in what was then Rowan County (now Iredell Co.), NC. When Governor Tryon's commissioners were running the Indian boundary in 1767 their escort was commanded by a Captain George Davidson and his son Lieutenant William Davidson.  This would have to be a different George Davidson as George's will was proved in 1760. _______________ Robert Stephen Hand says: "It appears that George Davison / Davidson (oldest son of William of Ireland and first generation in America*) married in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, for his son (later Maj. Gen.) William Lee Davidson, was born there in 1746. Chestnut Level, which some researchers have hinted may have been his birthplace, is now in that County (it was Chester County then). Lancaster County was a gateway to the Old Carolina Road, also called the Great Waggon Road, leading southward to Winchester, VA, up the Shenandoah valley, to cross the upper waters of the James to the Roanoke, then down through the Blue Ride and past Tinkling Springs (near Staunton, in what was then Augusta, but is now Rockbridge County, Virginia), across the Dan to the Catawba Trading Path, and our Davidson ancestors (at least second-generation John), tarried a while near Tinkling Spring, then pressed on to the fertile valley of the Catawba River, which rises on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, and flows past Charlotte into South Carolina." "About 1743 he married Margaret Ware, widow of ( ) Summerville, by whom she had two children, James and Rhoda. ... "In Nov of 1748 second-generation George Davison / Davidson and his family were situated in what is now Iredell County, NC, probably as squatters, since no land deeds can be found for that date. Tradition locates his log cabin on the east side of Davidson's (then Davison's) creek, to the right of the Centre Church road, which spurs west from the modern Statesville highway. In 1749 George petitioned for and was granted two tracts of 300 acres each. He received seven grants in all, including one from Lord Granville in Anson and Rowan counties. "On his plantation, as early as 1753, George had an "ordinary" or taven. On his application for a tavern license, he named as securities John Brevard, Edward Hughes, Walter Carruth, John Dunn, Alexander Osborn and William Morrison, all outstanding citizens. In the late 1750s the family of George Davison / Davidson consisted of wife Margret (Margaret), sons George, William, and Samuel, a grandson George, a stepson James Summerville (Simmerel) and a daughter who married Robert Gibson, and there was at least one other son, a minor at the time George made his will in what was then Rowan, and is now Iredell County. The will was proved in 1760. Margaret was still living in 1765, having made her mark on a deed that year. Nothing further is known of her." * Compiler's Note: Please note that I no longer believe that William Davidson of Armagh was the father of John and George Davidson. _________________________________________ In January of 2000, I discovered the following message that I found on GenForum. I have never been successful communicating with the author of this message. This may be an important lead concerning George Davidson, father of Gen. William Lee Davidson, while he was living in Pennsylvania before moving to North Carolina: ______________________ Posted By: Heather Sherrill Davis (heather_s_davis@hotmail.com) Subject: Re: Katherine "Bonnie Kate" Sherrill Post Date: May 03, 1999 at 18:45:13 Message URL: http://www.genforum.com/sherrill/messages/324.html Forum: Sherrill Family Genealogy Forum Forum URL: http://www.genforum.com/sherrill/ I am following up on some of my Mother's research so please correct me as I am only going by what I have on my family tree chart. I would LOVE to get the research that you have on Mary Preston. I am the gggGranddaughter of George Davidson Sherrill. I always thought George was named after Mary's father and grandfather. I always heard that Samual Sherrill b. 10/01/1725 d. 6/22/1800 was married to Mary Jones Davidson b. 1731? d. 11/29/1794 daughter of Colonel George F. Davidson Jr. b. 1711 and Rachel Jones Davidson, daughter of Henry Jones and Elizabeth Preston Jones. _____________________________ The first two major families settling the Iredell area were the Sherrills and the Davidsons.  This Samuel Sherrill did settle in Iredell based on study of the Sherrill family. Given that George Davison's son was Gen William Lee Davidson, would it not stand to reason that his father was a military person also. My research indicates that Gen. Davidson's mother was not the first wife of George Davidson.  This is based on the George Davison Will which notes children that seem to be older than the estimated date of the marriage of George and the widow Mrs. Margaret (Ware) Sommerville, the mother of the general. john. __________________ Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 19:44:18 -0400 Subject: [DAVIDSON-L] George Davison, father of Gen. Wm. Lee Davidson Long time readers of this list are aware of my interest in the Iredell county Davidson families. I recently had the opportunity to spend a few hours at the North Carolina Archives in Raleigh in an attempt to try to answer some nagging questions about the family. Of course, I did not have enough time... This note is, in part, a request for some lookup help from someone on this list to follow up on a line of investigation. George Davison - father of Gen. William Lee Davidson - was the brother of John Davison from whom a large family of Davidsons have sprung, and many on this list count him as an ancestor. An 1840 letter from George Samuel Franklin Davidson, great-grandson of John Davison spells out a lot of the early family relationships as we have come to know them. This letter is transcribed in the Robert Stephens Hand genealogy of these families on page 143. The Will of George Davison is recorded in Will Book A of Rowan county (page A-35) and has been abstracted in several sources, including the Hand book. I had been interested in it as I was looking for clues as to what had happened to George's sons George and Samuel. The following is a transcription of the Will. Several parts are hard to read and some of the page appears to be missing from the microfilm copy that I read. The Will was probated in the January 1760 court session. I have not yet found any additional estate papers, but they may exist. ___________ "In the Name of God Amen this twenty ninth day of May one thou- sand seven hundred & fifty eight I George Davison of the Province of north Carolina and County of Rowan Planture[?], being sick and weak in body but of perfect Mind and Memory blessed[?] be God Therefore calling to mind the Mortality of my Body knowing that it is appointed for all men over[?] to Die and after Death the Judgment Do make & ordain this my last Will & Testament That is to say prin- cipally and first of all I give and recommend my Soul into the Hand of Almighty God that gave it and my Body I recommend to the Earth to be buried in christian like and decent Manner at the Discretion of my Executor. And as touching such worldly Estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this Life I give dimise[?] & dispose of in the following manner & Form viz: First I appoint and allow all my legal Debts and funeral Charges to be punctually paid out of the whole of my Estate. Secondly I bequeath unto Margaret my much beloved Wife one Tract of Land at Broad River on the Beaver Dams and one Tract at Fishing Creek to her own proper Use and Bike[?] I with the use of the plantation I now live on during her natural Life and all the ready Cash now in my possession or at my Death and aft the Debts then due beside her Third. Item I give and bequeath unto my beloved Son George the Plantation & tract of Land on which I now live to be en- joyed by him as his own lawful Inheritance after his aforsd Mother's missing Item I bequeath unto my other Son William Davison all that [land?] missing on the North side of Fourth Creek adjoining William Rea's Land containing three hundred Acres. Item I give and bequeath unto my Wife's Son James Simmeril a Tract of Land adjoining the Land of Wm. Edwards[?] wherein Fort Dobbs now stands. Item to my son Samuel son in law Robert Gibson and Grandson George Davison I give a shilling Sterling each. The remaining part of my personal Estate I leave equally divided between my Sons George and William Davison & my stepson James Simmerel. Lastly I hereby confer[?] missing appoint my beloved wife Margaret Davison sole Executor missing is my last Will & Testament and ? appoint my trusty[?] & well beloved Friends Alexander Osburn and John Brevard Esqr Guardians to take Tuition[?] and Guardianship of my Children and to assist my Wife in the Management and Execution hereof. And I do hereby utterly disallow revoke and disanull all and evey other Testament Will or Wills[?] Legacys & Bequests and Esr:s by me in anywise before named willed and bequeathed - ratifying & confirming this and no other to be my last Will & Testament In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & Seal the Year above written.                               George Davison his mark and seal Signed sealed published pronounced and declared by the said George Davison as his last Will & Tes- tament in presence of -- John Neill James Templeton (his mark) George Davison" ________________ I wonder if the George Davison who was a witness was his son or his nephew? The mystery of this family is that I have been able to find little about any of his children besides Gen. William and the understanding is that Gen. William was largely raised after George's death by his nephew George Davidson, s/o George's brother John. This would not make any sense unless Margaret and George, Jr. had died shortly after the father. A Rowan County tax list from 1778 only lists a single George Davidson and no Margaret Davidson (or Davison) or James Simmeral - and that George would be Col. George Davidson, s/o John. This would indicate that by that time they had either sold their land or died. Hand references a 1765 deed that Margaret put her mark on indicating that at that time she was still living and had not remarried. Other observations: I have speculated in other notes that George had been married before he married Margaret (Ware) Simmeril. Possibly to Rachel Jones. Evidence suggests that Margaret and George married between 1740 and 1743 as Margaret's first husband James Simmeral (or Summerville) died at sea about 1740. It is unlikely that George or the unnamed daughter who married Robert Gibson were children of Margaret Ware, but were children of some earlier wife. And either George, Jr. (most likely) or Samuel were the father of George Davison the grandson. If it was this George Davidson, Sr., who married Rachel Jones, then why is the daughter Mary who married Samuel Sherrill not named in the will as she is known to have lived past 1800? Why was son Samuel given such a paltry inheritance? I had thought that Samuel was a son of Margaret, but my thinking is that he was a "second" son and of the first wife, and he either was out of favor or had left the area with his share earlier. It is interesting to note that John's family, with the exception of Col. George, left Iredell county. I wonder if this is because the younger children went to live with their mother Jane and her new husband William Morrison in Burke county. However, the youngest daughter Margaret married David Alexander in Rowan County on 1 April 1762. Help requested: I would appreciate if someone who has access to the NC Archives could try help by collecting all of the Davidson [also James Simmeral and Robert Gibson] land records to see if I can find out what happened to the land mentioned in this Will. Some of the Rowan county land transactions may have happened after the land became part of other counties: Iredell, Burke, Mecklenburg, or even York Co., SC. [There is land on Fishing Creek - that ended up in SC - that fits into the Thomas Davidson and Sarah Davidson/Lambert Clayton story. In that story there is mention of a William and George Davidson who could have been children of George as well as children of John except we have no record of George having a son Thomas or as of 1765 William was too young to have had legal standing.] There are some books at the archives that provide abstracts of some of this data. And the deeds are on microfilm. If someone could help by, at least getting me a transcript of the abstracts to the deeds, we might be able to sort out some of this important family. john. Nashua, NH

  
  

• Sources

  [S8] Davison/Davidson Family, Robert Stephens Hand, (2nd Ed., 1991), p. 9 (Reliability: 3).