Wakefield and Davis Families

One family that is closely tied to the Wakefield family in the early 1800s is the Davis family. Like the Wakefields, the Davis family migrated from the Carolinas into the newly opened up Indiana territory after the War of 1812. The marriages between the families begin in earnest in the 1820s. In 1821, Matilda Wakefield, daughter of Abel Wakefield and Margaret Jenkins, married David Harrison Davis in Franklin County, Indiana. Matilda’s sister, Rebecca also married a Davis, David A. Davis.

Sarah Wakefield, first cousin of Matilda and Rebecca and daughter of Abel’s brother William Wakefield and Polly Shirley, married a Davis as well, Thorton Davis. Sarah’s sister Betsey and brother John also married into the Davis clan.

The Travis Davis Family

Prior to 1821, the Davis family settled in Franklin County near the Wakefield family. The patriarch of the Davis family, Travis Davis was born in North Carolina and had the following nine children:

John Davis, b. 1811
Thorton Davis, b. 1812
William Davis, b. 1816
Lewis Davis, b. 1820
Annie Davis, b. 1823
Charlotte Davis, b. 1824
Cansadia Davis, b. 1825
Rebecca Davis, b. 1827 in Indiana
Polly Mary Davis, b. 1836

It is known that three of Travis Davis’s children married children of William and Polly (Shirley) Wakefield in the 1830s and 1840s. Thorton Davis married Sarah Wakefield, b. 1813, and they had 9 children while residing in Franklin County. Thorton and Sarah Davis’s children:

Jonathan Davis, b. 1835
William Davis, b. 1836
Millie Davis, b. 1840
Henry Davis, b. 1842
George Davis, b. 1846
Nancy Davis, b. 1851
Levi Davis, b. 1855
Sarah Davis, b. 1858
Mary Davis

Lewis Davis, the 4th oldest child of Travis Davis, married Betsey Wakefield, b. 1819. Travis and Betsey’s children:

Christopher Davis, b. 1843
Thomas Davis, b. 1849
Elizabeth J. Davis, b. 1857

Rebecca Davis, the 8th child of Travis Davis, married John Wakefield, b.1822, on September 24, 1844. It is not known if Rebecca and John had any children together but Rebecca is known to have later married Vincent Harrison, John Henry Thompson, and John Robertson and had at least one child, Scott Harrison, with Vincent Harrison.

Note: The Thorton Davis Farm is located west of Brookville in Franklin County, Indiana. Thorton Davis and his wife Sarah both died in 1861 and were buried on the farm in the Thorton Davis Family Graveyard.

The Rest of the Story

A few decades later the marriages between the families continue. William Davis, son of Thorton Davis married Sarah Higgs. Sarah Higgs was the daughter of Samuel Higgs and Lavica Wakefield. Lavica, b. 1815, was the daughter of William Wakefield and Polly Shirley.

But that is not the end of the story. Margaret Wakefield, daughter of the same William and Polly Wakefield, married Jacob Dooley. Together Margaret and Jacob had three boys: Uriah, Joshua, and Samuel. Uriah married Captoria Davis, daughter of William Davis and Sarah Higgs. As you may recall, Sarah was the granddaughter of William Wakefield and Polly Shirley. Not to be outdone by his brother, Samuel married Captoria’s sister Deborah. To put things in perspective, Uriah and Samuel’s grandparents were William and Polly Wakefield. William and Polly were Captoria and Deborah’s great-grandparents. To add to the confusion, Captoria and Deborah’s father was William Davis. William was the son of Thorton Davis. As you may recall, Thorton married Sarah Wakefield, daughter of the same William Wakefield and Polly (Shirley) Wakefield.

When you take a look at the family tree for these families you can see that William Davis married his first cousin Sarah Higgs and sisters Captoria and Deborah married their first cousins, once removed. In all, five of William and Polly Wakefield children married into the Davis family either directly or indirectly. William and Polly’s children:

Sarah Wakefield, b. 1813
Lavica Wakefield, b. 1815
Margaret Wakefield, b. 1817
Betsey Wakefield, b. 1819
John Wakefield, b. 1822
William Tyner Wakefield, b. 1829

For more information on the Wakefield and Davis families see the Wakefield and Davis book.