Henry Davis of Romulus NY Origins

Migration of Henry’s son Randolph to Michigan

Martin — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 23:31:35 +0000

We pick up Randolph (b. 1798) for the first time on the 1820 census for Romulus, NY as a 22 year old in Henry’s household along with 3 younger brothers, 2 sisters and Henry’s wife Phebe. Randolph was probably about 14 when he came to Romulus with his parents.

In 1821 Randolph married Mary “Polly” Geddes (b. 1799), daughter of John Geddes and Prudence Smalley, and, by the 1830 census has his own children and is now living in Varick, which was split off from Romulus into it’s own township in January of that year. He has 4 sons (John G, Henry G, George A and Martin L) and a wife, Mary “Polly”.

In 1831 he migrates to Lodi, Wastenaw County, Michigan, where he and Mary add 4 more children to their family (Mary Jane, Charles Melvin, Randoph Jr, and David). Randolph and Mary both died in Lodi and are buried in the Lodi Cemetery, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Henry’s daughter Sarah Jane - Life in Seneca County NY

Martin — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 21:45:14 +0000

Sarah Jane was born in 1800, in New Jersey, and came to Romulus with her father in 1812 as best we can determine. Sarah married Jonathan Ogden in 1817. Jonathan Ogden had come to Seneca County in 1817 and became one of the early settlers of Romulus. As recorded in “The History of Seneca County”, the land on which he resided, though then included in the town of Romulus, is now within the limits of Varick. In 1843 he moved to the farm where Charles, his son, resided. There he died in 1874.
Jonathan was a Mason, interested in all that pertained to that occupation, but his time was given principally to teaching, and for thirty years he followed that profession. Jonathan and Sarah had two children, one of them named Charles born 1818. We have not yet found information on the other child.

Sarah Jane passed away in 1875. Both she and Jonathan died in Varick, and are buried in Union Cemetery, Ovid, Seneca County, NY.

Migration of Henry’s son Charles of Romulus to New Jersey and back

Martin — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 23:10:54 +0000

Charles Davis was born 1815 in Romulus and at some point, we feel, first married a Phebe Brown b. 1821, origin unknown. This Phebe (Brown) Davis was the daughter of John and Lydia Brown and is buried in Mount Green Cemetery, Varick, NY in Lot 126, whereas Charles and a Sarah, whom we think he married around 1849, are buried same cemetery in Lot 307.(Phebe’s inscription reads, quote: “Phebe Davis, wife of Charles Davis, daughter of John and Lydia Brown, died 7 Mar. 1845 aged 24).

We feel Charles must have met Sarah and remarried at least by 1849 as his first daughter Sarah J. was born in 1849, from wife Sarah Cain (daughter of James or Jamies Cain and Ellen Quackenbush). In 1860 Charles is still living in Varick NY but leaves again with his wife Sarah and five children by 1870 for New Brunswick, but has returned to Varick by 1900. We have identified all the children of Charles we think, there are 5 (Sarah J, Katherine R, Mordecai O, Searing E.P., and George W). These identities are based on census images, born 1849 or later, and reflected on the 1900 census stating that wife Sarah had 5 children and 5 living.

Father Henry Davis’ migration to Romulus, NY from NJ about 1812

Martin — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 04:00:39 +0000

The first time we pick up Henry Davis’s whereabouts is the time he left the Princeton area of New Jersey and migrated to Romulus, Seneca County, New Jersey with his family “circa” 1812. In 1812, Henry Davis purchased 136 acres in the township of Romulus, Seneca County (Lot 84) from a Tomkins C. Delevan. We believe this is the year he arrived in Romulus.

I am wondering when Henry was born (we assume 1760-1770) but we do know that based on a note written in a journal kept by Minirva Lorinda Geddes (wife of Randolph’s son Charles Melvin) that Grandfather Henry Davis died Nov 25th, 1836. The would have made Henry fairly old at over 50 years of age when he moved to Romulus.

On the 1820 census for Romulus, Henry is living with his family in Romulus, but I wonder where he was in 1830. On February 6, 1830, Varick Township was formed from the then northern portion of Romulus. On the 1830 census, Henry is not to be found in either Romulus or Varick, but his son Randolph is living in Varick with his family. By 1831 Randolph migrated to Washtenaw County, Michigan.