Davis

Please note: The information below is based on the research of others, usually family members of earlier generations. Additional sources are as noted. Earlier Surnames: Ballard, Bullock, Burt, Jennings, Powell, Sims, Swepson; information on these families follows Davis.

DAVIS
• William Henry Davis (b. ca. 1767, Mecklenburg, VA; d. date?, Bedford County, TN?)
Wife -
Parents of:
Thomas and

• William Henry Davis (b. ca. 1790, probably in Mecklenburg County, VA; d/ ca. 1839, in Bedford County, TN)
Wife - Nancy “Anna” Powell Sims (b.Nov. 18, 1794 in Wake County, NC; d. 18 Aug. 1830, in [? Shelbyville ?] Bedford County, TN; interred Willow Mount Cemetery, Shelbyville, TN; see Sims)
Parents of:
Emily, Sarah, Virginia, Mary, Charlotte and

• John Sims Davis (b. November 15, 1818, Shelbyville, TN; d.1867, Fairfield, TN)
Wife - Frances Lenoir Burt (b. 1824, Warren County, NC; m. March 31, 1842, Franklin, TN; d. Wartrace, Bedford County,TN; see Burt)
Parents of:
Henry, Thomas B., Nancy (Nannie), John S., Samuel Powell, Emma, Robert and

• Benjamin Franklin Davis I (b. July 5, 1845 or 1846, Fairfield, TN; d. August 15, 1881, Bedford County, TN)
Wife - Margaret Anita Jennings (b. March 26, 1843 , Edgefield District, SC; m.1875, Bedford County, TN; d. October 23, 1921, Chattanooga, TN) (see separate page on the Jennings family)
Parents of: Frances Eudora Davis Allen, Benjamin Franklin Davis II and:
• Sara Blanche Davis Howard Lynn (b. January 5, 1881; d. December 21, 1969)
Husband - Frederick John Howard (b. January 23, 1884; d. April 30, 1930) (see separate page on the Howard family)
Return to top

BALLARD
• William (Sorrell?) Ballard (b. abt. 1715, possibly Charles City Co., VA; d. February 10, 1774, Halifax Co., NC)
Wife - Elizabeth Clopton
Parents of Mary Allen, Joyce Langley, Elizabeth Freeman, Martha Finch, Nancy Ballard (wife of General William Lenoir), Walter Clopton, Deveraux, William Sorrell and Salumith Ballard (married Cpt. William Burt - see Burt)
Return to top

BULLOCK
• Hugh Bullock (b.1578, Essex, England; d. Nov 1649, York, VA) [See note at end of Bullock listing]
Wife - Mary Nash
Parents of Richard, Thomas, James and:

• William Bullock (b.1594; d.1650, Warwick, VA)
Wife - Elizabeth Lampley (and Ann Taylor?)
Parents of:

• Robert Bullock (b. bef. 1631, Warwick, VA; d.?, New Kent/Nottoway, VA))
Wife - ?
Parents of:

• Richard Bullock(b. bef. 1647); lived New Kent/Nottoway, VA
Wife - ?Dorothy?
Parents of Richard and:

• Edward Bullock (b. about 1660)
Wife - Sarah Dalby (m. abt. 1679, Hanover, VA)
Parents of William, Edward, Micajah, Dorothy, Zachariah, John, Polly, Anne, Sarah and:

• Richard Bullock (b.1680, Hanover, VA; d. abt. 1766, Granville, NC)
Wife - Anne Henley
Parents of Agnes, Zachariah, Susanna, William, Anne, Leonard Henley, John, Nathaniel, Agatha and:

• Sarah Bullock
Husband - John Sims (b.1713, VA; d.1765, Granville, SC); married abt. 1734 (see Sims)
Parents of: Leonard Henley Sims

Note: Hugh Bullock was the owner of the ship “Endeavor” as indicated in VA Colonial Records. (VA Colonial Records, p.169) Captain Hugh Bullock (Colonial Virginia Register, p.32) was a burgess and a member of the assembly in the VA Colony. He registered 2,250 acres of land on the Pocoson River in York Co. on March 13, 1634 (VA History Magazine, Vol. 2, p. 414). About 1637, Hugh and Mary Bullock deeded to their son, William, their corn mill, sawmill and plantation in Virginia. It is believed that Hugh and Mary returned to England at that time.
Return to top

BURT
• Captain William Burt (b. ?, England; d.?)
Wife - Salumith Ballard (see Ballard)
Parents of: Salumith, Lucretia, Harriet, John A., Elizabeth, Ann and:

• William M. Burt (b.[probably] in NC; d. caa. 1840s in TN)
Wife - Susan (or Susanna) Sims (b. 1790s, probably Wake County, NC; d.?)
Note: Family research indicates that Susan Sims was the sister of Sarah "Sallie" Sims, who married Henry Davis (see Davis). Susan's and Sallie Sims' brother, Henry Sims, married Sally Burt, who was one of William Burt's sisters (see Sims).
Parents of: Eliza, Sally Ann, Thomas, Harriet, William H., Susan A., Mary, Cassandra, John L., Nash H., Richard, Lucy, Salumith and:

• Frances Lenoir Burt (b.1825, Warren County, NC; d. August 6, 1891, Bedford County, TN; burial site has not been located, but may be in the New Hope Baptist Church cemetery in Fairfield, TN, in a marked grave next to her husband, John S. Davis; m. March 31, 1842)
Husband - John Sims Davis (see Davis); both John Sims Davis and Frances Lenoir Burt were descendants of Leonared Henley Sims and Sarah Swepson; (see Sims).

Note: "William Burt was a captain under General Lenoir in the Revolutionary War. As he was too patriotic to accept any money for his service, a tract of land was presented him in North Carolina." Relatives were still occupying the land in the early 20th century. (Quote from DAR application of Luna Mildred Sims, 1902)
Return to top

JENNINGS (see separate page on the Jennings family)
Return to top

POWELL
[Information from notes on “History & Genealogies of the Powells in America,” 1935, Charles S. Powell, at that time residing 5304 First Ave. N, St. Petersburg, FL; according to the Powell genealogy, the family came from Wales, were descendants of the royal family and have been traced to 1087.]
• George Powell; father of:

• Cadar Powell; father of

• Dempsey Powell (b. March 11, 1755 (1752?); d. October 15, 1808), Wake County, NC [See note at end of Powell listing]
Wife - Nancy Dempsey (b. 1755; d.1808); married 1773)
Parents of Temple, Mildred (b. 1785;m. John Streeter in 1803; parents of John Streeter, Jr. b. 1805 in Wake County, NC; d.1852, Shelbyville, TN; married Susan Burt). Chloe, Benton, Caswell, Jesse, Dempsey and:

• Charlotte Powell (b. July 29, 1774; d. October 7, 1837, Rutherford County, TN);
Husband - John Sims (see Sims); Charlotte is listed by one source as the 3rd child and 1st daughter but other sources are different.

Note: Dempsey Powell received a tract of land [land grant: 1781] consisting of 977 acres for his military services [in the Revolutionary War]. 250 acres were still owned by his great-granddaughter, Cassie Streeter Shapard [in 1902] near Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tennessee. When Dempsey Powell came to what is now Tennessee to have this land surveyed, he was shot through the heel by an Indian at Nashville, which was then a fort. He returned to NC and sent W. Rutherford to survey it for him." (Quote from DAR application of Luna Mildred Sims, 1902)
Return to top

SIMS (SYMES)
With appreciation to George Ann Sims for sharing information on the early generations of the Sims family, compiled by Larry Sims. His sources include “Visitation of Somerset, 1623” and “Oliver's History of Antigua” as well as “The Genealogy of the Sims family” by Henry Upson Sims

• William Symes (b. about 1554, England, d. July 17, 1597 in Chard, Somerset, England)
Wife - Elizabeth Hill
Parents of Henry, Robert, William, James, Jane Symes Howe, Alice Symes Hodges, Elizabeth Symes Mallett, Mary Symes Hendy, Margaret, Margery Symes Pyne and:

• John Symes (b. March 4, 1571/1572 in Chard, Somerset, England; d. October 21, 1661, Poundsford; buried Frampton Cottrell Church, Gloucestershire)
Wife - Amy Horner
Parents of John, Harry, Jane Symes Seymour, Susan, Elizabeth Symes Martin, Katherine, Amy, Elinor, Dorothy and:

• Thomas Symes (b. about 1605 in Poundsford, Somerset; d. about 1682, also in Poundsford)
Wife - Amy Bridges (m. 1640)
Parents of Thomas, John, Edward, Charles, Henry, William, Richard, Amy, Catherine, Elizabeth, Mary and:

• George Symes (b. about 1651 in Doynton, Gloucestershire, England; d.1688 in Antigua, West Indies)
Wife - Dorothy Everard (m. about 1672 in Antigua, W.I.; d. November 1, 1824 in Antigua, WI)
Parents of: John, Christopher, Henry, Elizabeth Symes Athey and:

• George Symes (b. about 1672 in Antigua, WI; arrived VA in 1687; settled Isle of Wight Co.; d. about 1733 in Isle of Wight Co., VA)
Wife - Elizabeth Sherwood (m. about 1689 in VA; d. February 26, 1726 – or 1726? – in New Kent Co., VA)
Parents of Adam, Matthew, George, Edward, James and:

• John Sims (Symes) I (b. about 1690 in VA; d. about 1751 in Hanover Co., VA
Wife - Mary Rice (b.1694, Hanover, VA; m. about 1705-1712)
Parents of Thomas, Micajah, David, Sherwood, Edward, James and:

• John Sims II (b.1713, Hanover Co., VA; d. about 1766, Granville Co., NC)
Wife - Sarah Bullock (m. abt. 1734, Hanover, VA) (see Bullock)
Parents of William, Elisha, Agnes, Dorcas, Sarah, Susannah, Mary, Lucretia, Euphrates and:

• Leonard Henley Sims (b. July 2, 1739, Hanover Co., VA; d. November 1804, Granville Co., NC)[see note on Leonard Henley Sims at the end of this section]
Wife - Sarah Swepson (b. October 27, 1752, Hanover Co., VA; m. March 12, 1770, Mecklenburg Co., VA; d. June 14, 1811, Granville Co., NC) (see Swepson)
Parents of Richard S., Swepson, Leonard Henley, Thomas, Joseph, Henry, Jane Langley Sims, Susanna Sims Burt, Sarah (Sally) and:

• John Sims (b.1772 or 1773; d. either 1832 or 1841, depending on source; may have settled in Elk River, TN)
Wife - Charlotte Powell (b. July 29, 1774; d. October 7, 1837, Rutherford County, TN) (see Powell)
Parents of:

• Nancy Powell Sims (b.Nov. 18, 1794 in Wake County, NC; d. 18 Aug. 1830, in Bedford County, TN)
Husband - Henry Davis (b. ca. 1790, probably in Mecklenburg County, VA; d/ ca. 1839, in Bedford County, TN) (see Davis)

Note: Leonard Henley Sims served with the NC troops during the American Revolution and bought additional property in Warren Co., NC in 1787. He is listed in both the 1790 and 1800 census for Warren Co. He was listed as a "patriot and a soldier" in the State Records of North Carolina, Vol. 22, p. 175, year 1778.
Return to top

SWEPSON
[Information was from "The Fletcher Collection," unpublished genealogical data in the Tennessee State Archives.]
• Richard Swepson
Wife - Jean [possibly Jeffries or Dandridge]
Parents of:
John Sims, Swepson Sims, Jean Jeffries, Thomas, Susanna, Joseph Newton and

• Sarah (Sallie) Swepson (b. October 27, 1752; d. June 14, 1811)
Husband - Leonard Henley Sims (see Sims)
Return to top