Allen Family History

Sources of Information: 1. Will of Isaac Davis, Berkshire County, Massachusetts Probate Records (FHL #0873481) 2. Barnstable, Massachusetts Vital Records (FHL #0001251)

Notes:

ROBERT ALLEN RESEARCH REPORT

[davis011205 / 0346] 3 February 2005

The objective of this research project was to identify the parents of Rebeckah (Rebecca) Davis, the wife of Lemuel Allis. Research was undertaken on location at Hartford, Connecticut and at the Family History Library at Salt Lake City, Utah. The first item was reviewing the pension records listed in Abstracts of Revolutionary War Pension Files [document #1]. Lemuel Allis revolutionary pension records stated [document #2a-m]: Lemuel Allis, of Hampshire Co. in the state of Massachusetts who was a private in the regiment commanded by Colonel E. Porter, of the Massachusetts 4th line for the term of one year. Inscribed on the Roll of Massachusetts at the rate of 8 Dollars per month, to commence 17 of April, 1818. Certificate of Pension issued the 14 of July 1820 and sent to Samuel Hinckley, Judge, Northampton, Massachusetts. Y.Revolutionary claim, Act 18th March, 1818.

Reading through page 2i of the pension records substantiates the pension claim was originally filed by Lemuel Allis himself at the age of 70 on 17 April 1818, and eventually followed up by his son, Lemuel Allis Jr. as the guardian for his father on 20 July 1820. There is no mention of his wife, Rebeckah, which often indicates she had already passed on at this time. It is further stated he was maintained by his children. This would further indicate Rebeckah predeceased him. We located Lemuel Allis in the 1800 Federal Census for Ashfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts with a female 45 + residing there [document #26]. This narrows the timing of her death to 1800 and 1818. We checked the death records for Plainfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts {FHL #1871835}, but were unable to locate a death entry for her [document #25]. This film covered births, marriages, and deaths from 1785 to 1824. In order to learn more about Rebeckah we followed up on her marriage to Lemuel Allis, listed in the Barbour Collection [document #3], to locate the original marriage record. The marriage record states they were both of Somers, and were married at the Congregational Church. We located the Congregational records for Somers, Connecticut [document #4a-b], which list the marriage of Lemuel Allis to Rebecca at the very bottom of the page. The correct date was 20 January 1780, not 1779. One has to look carefully to note this, as there are multiple years listed on the page. Typically, there were no parents listed. However, there was another individual who may have been her sister listed on the upper part of the page: Rachel Davis married Thomas Faxton on 15 October 1777. Further research online shows she was not a sister of Rebecca, in fact, she did not have a sister named Rebecca at all, and is part of a different Davis family [document #24]. We reviewed various local history books for the town of Somers to locate further information on either the Allis or Davis families. A Daniel Davis was listed as a deacon of the Congregational church, and a militia officer [document #5]. As Lemuel and Rebecca were married at the Congregational church, this Daniel may prove to be a relative. In Images of America; Somers, we located a picture of the Old Davis homestead [document #6], possibly where Rebecca Davis grew up.
We located the Lemuel Allis Family in Genealogy of William Allis of Hatfield, Mass. and Descendants, 1630-1919 by Horatio Dana Allis [document #7a]. On pages 32 and 33, it lists his entire family, but there is no additional information about his wife Rebecca Davis family [document #7b-c]. The will for Benjamin Davis was found. He was thought to be the father of Rebecca Davis. The last research report concluded this was questionable. Looking at the two wills located for Benjamin Davis [document #8], neither listed a daughter Rebeckah. At this point, it is safe to conclude Benjamin Davis was not the father of Rebecca Davis. The following volumes were consulted, but we were unable to locate any connection to Rebecca Davis: One line of descendants from Dolar Davis and Richard Everett [Including numerous marriage connections] [document #9]

The Davis Family Record: A Monthly Journal Devoted to the History and Genealogy of the Davis Family [document #10]

History of the Town of Plainfield, Hampshire County, Mass., From its Settlement to 1891, Including a Genealogical History of Twenty Three of the Original Settlers and Their Descendants, With Anecdotes and Sketches [document #11]

We found references to Rebeckah Davis and Isaac Davis in The Mayflower Descendant: A Quarterly Magazine of Pilgrim Genealogy and History [document #12]. We followed up on the three listings in the International Genealogical Index for possible fathers of Rebecca Davis. This was done by seeking probate records for them in hopes she would be listed as a daughter in a will. There was no listing of a daughter Rebecca in any of the probate records for Jonathan Davis, Solomon Davis, or William Davis [document #13]. We found listings for a Rebecca Davis, wife of Lemuel Allis and daughter of Isaac Davis and Charity Hall, in the following Internet resources: RootsWeb.com [document #14a-d, 15a-g]

Ancestry.com [document #16a-e]

OneWorldTree [document #17a-b]

The remainder of the research was conducted at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. We located the corresponding entries for the Mayflower Quarterly, researched at the Connecticut State Archives [document #18a-c]. We reviewed the films for the listings found on Rebeckah Davis and Isaac Davis. These are extracts of the Barnstable, Massachusetts Vital Records. The following entries were found, which are probably the sources for the three Internet listings. Isaac Davis born 20 January 1720, son of Nathan Davis and Elizabeth Phinney B possible father of Rebecca Davis

Isaac born 23 April 1696, son of Jabez Davis and Experience Linnell B possible grandfather of Rebecca Davis [document #18d]

Other children were listed and family group records have been created. The rest of the Davis entries are most likely NOT ancestral [document #19a-b]. Trying to solve the problem of not locating a birth or baptismal record for Rebecca Davis, we checked further on the history of Somers, Connecticut and found that at the time Rebecca was probably born, Somers, Connectict, was recently located in Massachusetts. These records could be located at Somers, Massachusetts [document #20]. We found one film containing vital records for Somers, Massachusetts for this time period [document #21a]. We researched this film for the years 1741 through 1765, but found no listing for a Rebecca Davis [document #21a]. An entry for the Allis family name was found, possibly for a brother to Lemuel as the dates and locations are correct: Samuel Allis Jr. and Zerviah Stockton, Published marriage date: Apr. 16, 1758, Marriage date: Feb. 8, 1758, Residence: Windsor

We looked for the will of Isaac Davis in the Berkshire County, Massachusetts probate index {FHL #1749904}, and found a listing for be volume 1, page 209. The will for Isaac Davis, dated 6 September 1781, with probate 3 August 1801 was located [document #22a-d]. The information listed in the pedigree charts from the above Internet searches matches this source and lists all of his children and his wife as follows: Beloved Wife: Charity Eldest Son: Isaac Second Son: John Third Son: Nathan Fourth Son: Samuel Fifth Son: Solomon Sixth Son: Reuben My two Daughters: Mary & Sarah My Daughter: Rebeckah (Note this is the same spelling as her marriage record)

We then located another entry for Rebeckah (Rebecca) Davis in OneWorldTree, listing her birth as 1746 at Sheffield, Berkshire, Massachusetts [document #23a-c, 24]. This will have to be further looked into, as this is the only record found so far providing this information. Additionally, naming patterns are sometimes used to show a connection to the next generation. In this instance, Lemuel and Rebeckah's children were mostly named after Lemuel's family, with only a couple of the children being named from Rebeckah's family. Both Lemuel and Rebeckah had a brother named John, which was also their first son's name. The second son was named after Lemuel. Lemuel's mothers name was Roxanna, so their first daughter was also named Roxanna. Both Lemuel and Rebeckah have the name Hannah in their ancestry, and their next daughter was named Hannah. Rebeckah had a sister named Sarah, and they named their next daughter Sally. Lemuel had a brother named Julius, and their last son was named Justin. So while the naming patterns are not perfect, there are definite links to the next generations on both sides, adding more creditability to the proposed ancestors for Rebeckah from the research conducted in this project. In summary, it appears Rebecca Davis was the daughter of Isaac Davis and Charity Hall. However, a birth or baptismal record needs to be located to solidify this connection. If this record can be located, all of the pedigree and family group information located on the Internet can be added to the PAF database and take this family back an additional six generations! It is a pleasure to assist you in researching and documenting your family history. We look forward to continuing research according to your instructions. _2005 Price & Associates Incorporated CVBB/mh