Today we’re exploring the life of Absalom Davis (my second cousin 5 times removed) and his wife Polina S. W. Davis (also my second cousin 5 times removed), who raised a family of 16 children. Absalom and Polina were first cousins; his mother Sarah and her mother Hannah were sisters, the daughters of Joshua Gifford and Content (Davis) Davis. Joshua and Content were also related; they were half first cousins twice removed.
Absalom was born 9 December 1809 in Harrison County in what would become West Virginia. Polina was born 8 December 1811 (or possibly 8 February 1811) in Virginia (again, probably what is now West Virginia). On 9 October 1828 the two were married, and 10 months later had their first child. I’ve been able to find at least somewhat detailed information on all the children but one. Of Worthington Davis the only mention I’ve seen is in the obituary of his sister Penelope that appeared in the Seventh Day Baptist Church’s Sabbath Recorder newsletter of 20 January 1919, where he is listed as one of the siblings who predeceased her.
The astute will notice that this listing only adds up to a total of 15 children, not 16. And it’s true that I have an Elen Murry Davis in my records, noted as born 4 April 1853, but I no longer recall where I obtained this information. The perils of not recording one’s sources from the very beginning…
The first U.S. census in which all members of a household are listed by name is the 1850 census. That year Absalom and his family were enumerated in Doddridge County, (now West) Virginia. Absalom was listed as a farmer with real estate worth $300. He was 41 and listed as being born in Virginia and able to read and write. The rest of the household consisted of: Polina, 38; Charlotte, 20; Theadore, 19; “Julian,” 17; Zacharias, 15; Elvira, 14; Donmanuel, 12; Anderson G., 9; Elijah, 8; Elkana, 6; Sylvanus, 3; and Penelopy, 1.1
In 1860 the family was still in Doddridge County, but the census taker unhelpfully listed everyone just by intials: A, P.S.W., D, A.G., E, E, S, V, P, J.W., and E. Inexplicably, V[andelee] and P[enelope] are out of order, as Vandelee is listed as 10, and Penelope as 12. “J.W.” is James W., and the final household member, “E. Davis,” is listed as 30 years old, so it’s unclear who this individual is.2
By 1870 many of Absalom and Polina’s children had left to start families of their own; in that year the couple, living in Grant Twp., Doddridge County, were 60 and 58 years old respectively and had real estate valued at $2945 and personal estate valued at $300. Only Vandelee, 19; and James W., 14 still lived at home, along with a “common laborer” named Edmund Maxwell. Elijah, his wife, and 3 children, were living at the next farm over.3
Ten years later James W. was still living with his parents, along with his wife Martha, whom he had married within the past year. The household was enumerated in the New Milton District of Doddridge County.4 Eight years later Absalom died at age 78. His death was attributed to pneumonia and dropsy.
Polina would outlive Absalom by almost 13 years, long enough to appear in one additional census without him, not counting the lost 1890 census. In 1900 Polina was in Greenbrier, Doddridge County, living with her granddaughter Lovie (daughter of Anderson G.) and Lovie’s husband James McCuen, who was a mail carrier. Lovie and James had been married less than a year.5
The following year Polina died at age 89. She and Absalom are buried in the Greenbrier Seventh Day Baptist Cemetery in Doddridge County. According to the Find a Grave website, there are a total of 126 Davises buried in this cemetery; these include Absalom and Polina’s children Anderson G., Elijah, James W., Theodore, Charlotte, and Penelope. Surprisingly, of the 16 Davis children, at least thirteen lived long enough to reach adulthood and marry. Quite a feat for that time and place. At least in this instance, cousins marrying cousins doesn’t seem to have hindered them much.
- The National Archives in Washington, DC; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M432; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: District 13, Doddridge, Virginia; Roll: 942; Page: 25b ↩︎
- The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M653; Residence Date: 1860; Home in 1860: Doddridge, Virginia; Roll: M653_1342; Page: 450; Family History Library Film: 805342 ↩︎
- Year: 1870; Census Place: Grant, Doddridge, West Virginia; Roll: M593_1686; Page: 22A ↩︎
- Year: 1880; Census Place: New Milton, Doddridge, West Virginia; Roll: 1401; Page: 417c; Enumeration District: 124 ↩︎
- Year: 1900; Census Place: Greenbrier, Doddridge, West Virginia; Roll: 1757; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0022 ↩︎
