Ref. S21
See here for an alphabetical list of all surnames in the Davy pages with links to the relevant text.
Our interest in this Northumberland name starts a long time ago when Mary Davy married Robert Rule (See Ref. S2) at Wooler 3.2.1799. They were both aged 26.
Davy-Grey Family
Mary Davy’s parents, John Davy and Margaret Grey (see Ref. S211) married in Wooler 17.9.1762. They had three boys and two girls, Mary being the youngest girl. Their family is given as Appendix 1 hereto. John Davy was a joiner, according to one of the baptismal entries and his son John seems to have followed in the trade, judging by an 1841 Census entry at Wooler where there is a 78 year old John Davy said to be a joiner. Margaret Davy was buried at Wooler 27.9.1804 “aged 73” and John Davy also at Wooler 22.5.1812 “aged 76”. We think that that meant in his 76th year and correspondingly for Margaret.
Davy-Barker Family
According to a reliable fellow researcher, although most of the baptismal entries of John Davy’s grandchildren (Robert Rule’s children) cited him as of Wooler, one of them (Barbara 29.4.1810) said he was a native of Longframlington. This leads us, on a reasonable hypothesis basis, to say that John Davy was baptised 25.9.1736 at Longframlington as the fifth child and third son of John Davy. There are earlier baptism entries for this family at Felton, which is about three miles from Longframlington. Indeed, in two cases the indexers have the baptism in both locations on the same day! Given the date of baptism of the eldest child, we assume that John Davy was the man that married Isabel Barker at Felton 10.6.1722. Details of this family are at Appendix 2 hereto. In a Poll Book of 1735 and another of 1747 that we have seen there is a John Davy residing at Longframlington who qualifies by owning a freehold in Thropton in Rothbury Parish (see next paragraph!). Another researcher similarly mentions 1748 and 1772, although the latter date is after our John Davy’s death, since the same researcher believed that John Davy was buried at Wooler 12.12.1765, aged 71 and Isobel Davy likewise 1778, aged 72. See footnote at the end of this chapter for further comment on the Thropton connection.
Davy-Davy Family
We have only been able to find one John Davy baptism in Northumberland 1684-1704, i.e. 25.3.1694 at Rothbury, the son of William Davy. The latter appears to have married “Mary Davy” at Rothbury 25.5.1690. Perhaps she was a cousin or they had been living together long enough for her to adopt William’s surname.
Thropton is two miles west of Rothbury and part of that parish. There is a geographical connection, in that, going from west to east, Thropton, Rothbury and Felton were consecutive bridging points over the River Coquet, with a road eastwards running along the Coquet valley and then taking an arc to Felton, via Longframlington.
William and Mary Davy had just two sons, i.e. Robert baptised 20.12.1691 and our John. In fact our Davy lineage came perilously close to a sudden stop in 1695 when there were burials at Rothbury of Mary Davy “wife of William Davy of Thropton” 9.4.1695, William Davy “of Forest” 18.4.1695 and for Robert son of William “late Thropton” 22.5.1695. This left John Davy as a one-year old orphan. The cause of this situation was probably some sort of local plague and we can only speculate as to who took John in and brought him up. It must have been some cousins or other of the other Davy clans that are known to have been living at Thropton, as is hinted at below.
Davy-Davison Family
Wondering about William Davy’s origins, we noticed a family resident at Thropton, i.e. Robert Davy and Isbell Davison who married at Rothbury 6.8.1667. Entries in the Rothbury registers show their son William was baptised 19.5.1668 (so that his 1690 marriage, aged 22, is very reasonable) and then Katherine 14.11.1669 (buried 21.9.1674) and Jane 26.4.1671 (buried 13.7.1671). Robert was buried 21.2.1688 (from Thropton). We cannot say how old he was when he died as no registers survive at Rothbury for periods prior to 1653, but if he married in his early twenties he might have been no more than mid-forties. The book Upper Coquetdale, referred to below, mentions a death in Rothbury Parish that same year from smallpox – a reminder that our ancestors were exposed to such epidemics from time to time. We speculate that Isbell might have died even younger, given how few children there were.
A diversion
During one of inevitable pauses in our search into the past we decided to produce Appendices 3 to 11 and we need to explain their purpose. As we say in the Introduction to the Series, in recounting what we think we know of our ancestral families our standard approach is to tell the story relating to each family name going backward in time, starting at the point where the particular name joined an existing one. On this basis, our interest in the Davy family is only for the period prior to Mary’s marriage in 1762. This leaves us saying nothing about the Davy family’s history over the 250 or more years since then. This omission conflicts, however, with one of our main objectives in publishing all this material: to encourage other researchers who are related to us to share their knowledge. We have therefore made an exception in the case of the Davy family by presenting in Appendices 3 to 11 information about the descendants of our Mary’s grandparents, John Davy and Isobel Barker, with the intention of offering other researchers a foothold, as it were.
Further back
Reverting now to the main story, where we were considering Robert Davy who got married in 1667 and who died at Thropton in 1688. The only indexed Robert Davy baptism we were able to find in Northumberland 1629-1649 was at Morpeth 12.1.1645, the son of William Davy. Over a number of generations we have noticed numerous Davy references at Morpeth but never with any apparent connection to our family, so we were very hesitant about this.
In due course we felt justified in this because our attention was drawn to The Davy Family of Northumberland, a booklet produced in 1983 by Michael Davy, then resident in Newcastle upon Tyne, as his first (only?) foray into family history, which, with numerous appendices and supporting papers, he lodged with Northumberland CRO, expressly for the benefit of other Davy researchers. Michael Davy’s 5 x gr-grandfather turns out to be John Davy (1736-1812) who was married to Margaret Grey, i.e. the family featured in Appendix 1, with Michael’s descent proceeding through James Davy and his wife Mary Burn and their son John baptised 24.1.1802, per Appendix 11. Thus Michael Davy’s 5 x gr-grandparents were also Sheena’s 4 x gr-grandparents, i.e. our children and Michael Davy (hereafter MD) are sixth cousins.
Having diligently got back seven generations, MD was disappointed to discover that Rothbury registers prior to 1653 were destroyed, with the Church, during what MD refers to as the Great Rebellion of 1640 to 1648, i.e. part of the first English Civil War. With admirable persistence MD looked for any references to Davy that he could find, for instance in the book Upper Coquetdale by David Dippie Dixon, first published in 1903, and also in Wills held by the Department of Paleography, University of Durham. In fact it turns out that the Davy family of Thropton must have been prominent and prosperous citizens over a long period.
Davy-Humble family
We followed MD’s lead and obtained a copy of the Will of William Davy of Thropton dated 16.1.1676. As well as his wife Mary, he mentions his two children Jane and Elinor, a brother Robert and sisters Elinor and Jane. From these clues it is possible to use the Church registers to build up a picture of William and Mary’s family as shown in Appendix 12. Crucially, MD has it that the aforesaid brother Robert is the man who married Isbell Davison whom we featured in Davy-Davison section above. That was at Rothbury 6.8.1667 compared to the 24.11.1670 marriage date for William – all very credible.
William Davy was buried 19.1.1677 NS leaving just two infant daughters but with a son born posthumously and named William. We think it likely that this lad died just after his tenth birthday so that he did not survive to inherit the whole of his father’s lands, as the Will provided. This would mean that the lands would instead be allocated, in due course, in three parts to the widow and the two daughters (who, in any event and as a minimum, were to receive £120 each from the value of the lands). [The modern equivalent of the £120 is getting on for £28,000.] The widow Mary remarried at Rothbury in the following January, the husband being Ralph Potts, and we have seen records of six children thereafter. MD has Ralph Potts voting in 1710 by virtue of owning property at Thropton, which seems to fit in.
Davy family of Thropton
We have reached a rather curious position of believing that in 1676 there were four Davy siblings living at Thropton, i.e. William, Robert, Elinor and Jane whose land-owning parent was quite influential and well-to-do but whose identity we cannot confirm. MD persuasively argues for the parent being a John Davy who part-owned Thropton in 1663 and who was buried at Rothbury in 1666. As MD says, Dixon’s book states that property owners at Thropton in 1663 included “Jno Davie” and, by way of confirming what MD says (see previous section) in 1710 Ralph Potts likewise. Although we know little about him this John Davy could well be Sheena’s 8 x gr-grandfather and the most ancestral person we have yet found.
Footnote
Dixon’s book also has a John Davy owning property in Thropton in 1715. We think this is the man who married Isabel Barker (see Davy- Barker family section above). Born in 1694 and orphaned the next year, he would inherit any property his father had been left when grandfather Robert Davy died in 1688. The latter was the brother of William Davy whose 1676 Will left shares in his Thropton property to his widow and two daughters. We surmise that one share, probably that of daughter Elinor, eventually ended up with her uncle Robert – and thence to our John Davy of Longframlington.
Coquetdale Longevity
Michael Davy remarks that the impression given by average longevity statistics in centuries gone by seem to be contradicted by the ages our actual grandparents actually achieved. He concluded that when child mortality is stripped out a picture of a quite vigorous and healthy population emerges. In this regard, Dippie Dixon provided an analysis of the ages of those buried at Rothbury 1800-1825:
Age at Death No.
0-74 744
75-79 282
80-89 140
90-99 29
100+ 3
Total 1,044
Acquisition
At the end of 2022, we were contacted via the website by a Davy descendant whose father, in the course of his researches, had acquired a copy of Michael Davy’s book. As he was satisfied that he was not descended from our Northumberland family he was enquiring for a good home for it. We were naturally very pleased to accept it and, apart from (in due course!) digesting the detail of MD’s work, we hereby offer to look at the two large pages of descent that accompany the book, on behalf of any enquirer.
January 2023
John Davy and Margaret Grey Family
John Davy, the son of John Davy and Isabel Barker, married Margaret Grey in Wooler 17.9.1762. They had children in Wooler as follows:
John Born 13.5.1763 baptised 15.5.1763. Buried 16.5.1763
John Born 18.8.1764 baptised19.8.1764. Carpenter. Married Barbara Richardson at Chatton 16.5.1788 and had four children, further details being at Appendix 9.
Isabella Born 20.6.1768 baptised 10.7.1768.
Mary Born 19.7.1772 baptised 26.7.1772. See main text.
James Born 19.7.1776 baptised 28.7.1776. Married Mary Burn 26.5.1795 at Wooler. See Appendix 11. Ancestor of fellow researcher Alan Turnbull, the source of certain details of the above
Appendix 2 to Ref. S21
John Davy and Isabel Barker Family
John Davy, the son of William Davy and Mary Davy, married Isabel Barker 16.6.1722 at Felton. They had children as follows:
Baptised at Felton:
Robert Davie* Baptised 23.8.1723 Married Isable Henderson of Longframlington 18.5.1752 – see Appendix 3. Isable is thought to have been baptised at Kirkharle 21.10.1729, daughter of John Henderson and Dorothy Carruthers who married there 2.6.1726. She had siblings baptised James 7.5.1727 (who was buried 17.3.1732) and Mary 25.3.1733.
George Davie* Baptised 12.12.1725
Mary Davy* Baptised 21.11.1731
Baptised at Longframlington:
Margaret Davy Baptised 1.4.1733
John Davy Baptised 25.9.1736. See main text.
* Also indexed as being at Longframlington, either on the same day or a few days later.
Appendix 3 to Ref. S21
Robert Davy and Isable Henderson Family
Robert Davy, son of John Davy and Isabel Barker, married Isable Henderson at Longframlington 18.5.1752. They had children baptised there as follows:
William Baptised 18.3.1753
John Baptised 9.11.1754. Married Jane Snowden at Longframlington 7.6.1783. See Appendix 4.
Elizabeth Baptised 5.7.1757
Margaret Baptised 5.7.1757
William Baptised 16.7.1758
Isable Baptised 18.5.1860. Indexed as “Gable” thought unlikely.
Appendix 4 to Ref. S21
John Davy and Jane Snowdon Family
John Davy, son of Robert Davy and Isable Henderson, married Jane Snowdon at Longframlington 7.6.1783. There seems to be no Davy baptisms indexed as Longframlington, so we assume they settled at Rothbury with children baptised there as follows:
Robert Baptised 22.5.1785. He Married Ann Bell at Alwinton 24.6.1810. In 1851 they both said that they were born in Thropton. See Appendix 5.
William Baptised 20.5.1787. He said he was born at Thropton. Married Mary Riddle at Rothbury 10.5.1828. Cooper and innkeeper. See Appendix 7.
Isabel Baptised 11.9.1761.
Mary Baptised 26.2.1794.
Appendix 5 to Ref. S21
Robert Davy and Ann Bell Family
Robert Davy, son of John Davy and Jane Snowdon, married Ann Bell at Alwinton 24.6.1810. Ann Bell was the daughter of Matthew Bell. The children were baptised at Rothbury, unless stated, as follows:
John Baptised at Alwinton 12.1.1811 (said by others to be born 6.1.1811). We have seen a memorial inscription at Rothbury for his death 19.12.1832, age 22.
Jane Baptised 6.6.1813.
Mary Baptised 14.7.1816. There is a baptism entry at Rothbury 17.7.1836 for Mary Ann Davy daughter of Mary Davy. In 1841 the child was with her grandparents.
Isabel Baptised 7.4.1818.
William Baptised 4.5.1823 at Whittingham, father Robert said to be of “Dancingham”, which we take to be Dancing Hall*. William became a master joiner and married Mary Hall 1846 Q1 at Newcastle. We think she was baptised 30.11.1822 at Ulgham, the daughter of William Hall, master joiner, and Anne. See Appendix 6.
*Dancing Hall is near the village of Callaly and a certain website has it that it was used as for holding prisoners due to appear before Powburn magistrates. As the majority suffered capital punishment, i.e. to “dance on the hangman’s rope”, it acquired its name.
Robert Baptised 17.7.1825.
Matthew Baptised 11.1.1829.
At the 1841 Census the family was at Thropton (Parish of Rothbury) Robert being a husbandman. In 1851 there was just Robert, 67, a freeholder and Ann, 60 at Thropton. Robert died 2.2.1871 and Ann 12.8.1858, per M.I.s.
Appendix 6 to Ref. S21
William Davy and Mary Hall Family
William Davy, son of Robert Davy and Ann Bell, married Mary Hall 1846 Q1 at Newcastle.
They had children born in Rothbury as follows:
Anne Elizabeth Born 1847 Q3 Died 28.10.1861, aged 14.
Margaret Born 1848 Q4. Died 7.2.1864, aged 15.
John George Born 1851 Q1. Died 20.5.1827, aged 26.
William Hall Born 1853 Q2. Died 16.2.1863, aged 10.
Mary Born 1856 Q1. Died 21.5.1858, aged 2.
Jane Born 1857 Q2.
Frederick Robert Born 1858 Q3. Died 4.7.1882, aged 23.
Ellen Alice Born 1862 Q4. Died 24.11.1862, 1 month.
William Davy died at Rothbury 31.7.1873, aged 51, and Mary died there 15.8.1877, aged 55. Death dates and ages per memorial inscriptions at Rothbury.
Appendix 7 to Ref. S21
William Davy and Mary Riddle Family
William Davy, son of John Davy and Jane Snowdon, married Mary Riddle 10.5.1828 at Rothbury. They had children baptised there as follows:
William Baptised 31.8.1828. He became a draper and grocer and married 1852 Q3 at Rothbury Jane Crawford. See Appendix 8.
Isabella Born 1823-24.
Mary Baptised 11.12.1830. Died 18.7.1850, aged 20.
William Davy was a cooper and innkeeper. He died 18.7.1877 at the age of 90, no less. Mary had already died, i.e. 7.3.1852 at only 53.
Appendix 8 to Ref. S21
William Davy and Jane Crawford Family
William Davy, son of William Davy and Mary Riddle, married Jane Crawford 1852 Q3 at Rothbury. They had children born there as follows:
Mary Jane Born 1853 Q2. Died 25.8.1942, aged 89.
William Born 1855 Q2. Died 23.5.1881. At the Census that year he was unmarried, farming 600 acres at Caistron, Rothbury and employing 9 men and had with him his mother, young brother George and two of his mother’s sisters.
Elizabeth Born 1857 Q2.
Lionel Crawford Born 1860 Q4 Bank manager
George Crawford Born 1869 Q2 Bank clerk. in 1891 with his brother Lionel in High Street, Rothbury.
In 1851 William Davy was a draper at home at Hudson’s House, where his father William was the innkeeper. Ten years later he was the householder, a draper and grocer and in 1871 he was in Presidence Lane, Rothbury, near the Blue Bell.
John Davy and Barbara Richardson Family
John Davy, son of John Davy and Margaret Grey, married 16.5.1788 at Chatton Barbara Richardson. Other researchers have her as baptised 29.9.1765 at Chatton as the daughter of Joseph Richardson and Ann Atchinson. They had children baptised at Wooler as follows:
Ann Baptised 11.3.1792.
Mararet Baptised 2.2.1794.
John Baptised 17.4.1796. Buried 3.2.1797
John Baptised 25.2.1798. Married 4.4.1817 Wooler Ann Fairnington, daughter of Andrew and Helen. See Apendix 10.
Barbara is said by others to have died 12.2.1822. John seen as a Carpenter aged 76 at Wooler High Street 1841, with an Elizabeth Davey “aged 56” and Ralph Moffat “aged 25-29”. Subsequent Censuses suggest that Elizabeth’s true age in 1841 was 76, the same as John’s, and Ralph was her nephew, she being baptised Elizabeth Moffet 20.10.1765 at Wooler , the daughter of David Moffet and Hannah. This hints at remarriage for John Davy but so far we have not seen one. John died 1843 Q1, aged 79 and Elizabeth remained in High Street until she died 1861 Q1.
John Davy and Ann Fairnington Family
John Davy, son of John Davy and Barbara Richardson, married 4.4.1817 at Wooler Ann Fairnington, daughter of Andrew Fairnington and his wife Helen. They had children baptised at Wooler as follows:
John Baptised 22.2.1818.
Andrew Baptised 9.1.1820
Barbara Baptised 14.4.1822
Ellen Baptised 1.6.1823
Barbara Baptised 10.6.1825
Ann Baptised 13.5.1827
Robert Baptised 23.2.1830
Margaret Baptised 17.7.1831
Jane Baptised 7.4.1833
Isobel Baptised 20.9.1835. “Isobel Davy or Fairnington”
There is a fleeting reference in the sundry Rule papers of “John Davy, junior” leading loads of stone in the second half of 1825 and we assume that this is the man. The 1871 reference below supports the idea of the family being in the carrier business. There was until recent times in Wooler a place called Davy’s Yard which could well have been where they operated.
The entry for the youngest child hints at a posthumous birth, implying John Davy dying 1834-35, i.e. only 35 or 36. Certainly Ann seems to have been the head of the household at the 1841 Census (at High Street, Wooler). In 1851, aged 53, she was in Ramsays Lane, Wooler, said to be a farmer, with son John, carrier, and daughter Ellen, servant. In 1861 and 1871 they were at West Street, Wooler, with John referring to himself as occupier of land and carter. Ann Davy died at Wooler 1875 Q1, aged 77.
Appendix 11 to Ref. S21
James Davy and Mary Burn Family
James Davy, son of John Davy and Margaret Grey, married 26.5.1795 at Wooler Mary Burn. They had children baptised at Wooler as follows:
George Baptised 13.9.1795.
Mary Baptised 14.4.1797.
Margaret* Baptised 7.7.1799 at Bamburgh. Said to have married George Robertson and to have died 6.4.1869.
John Baptised 24.1.1802.
Ann Baptised 18.3.1804. Married William Turnbull and emigrated to USA, (per their great-grandson Alan Turnbull). She left her illegitimate daughter Mary (baptised Wooler 3.12.1826) with her parents.
Isabella Baptised 30.3.1806.
Eleanor Baptised 22.5.1808.
James Baptised 22.7.1810.
William Baptised 29.11.1812.
Robert Baptised 2.4.1815.
Barbara Baptised 6.7.1817.
Andrew Baptised 26.5.1822.
*Margaret was “missing”, i.e. there was an anomaly in the Wooler entries for “first daughter, second daughter” etc until Sheena’s cousin and fellow researcher, Alan Turnbull, picked up a clue from family correspondence.
In 1841 James, a joiner, and Mary were at Cheviot Street, Wooler, with son Robert and granddaughter Mary. James Davy is said to have died 10.7.1846 in Wooler (GRO reference 1846 Q3), aged very nearly 70. Mary is said to have died 21.5.1846, likewise.
Appendix 12 to Ref. S21
William Davy and Mary Humble Family
William Davy and Mary Humble married at Rothbury 24.11.1670. They had children baptised at Rothbury as follows:
Ellen Davy October 1671. Assumed to have died very young.
Jane Davy 2.3.1673 NS. Michael Davy (MD) has her being educated by her mother’s family at Hepple from where she married Edward Bell in 1793 and there is such a marriage indexed at Rothbury 30.7.1693. Jane was left a share of her father’s property and we noted that Edward Bell of Thropton features in the 1710 Poll Book by virtue of holding property in Rothbury.
Robert Davy 14.6.1674. Buried 16.9.1674
Ellinor Davy 11.6.1676. Not seen any burial or marriage for her. If she reached maturity, inherited a one-third share of her father’s estate, as his Will provided and did not surrender it in marriage her interest could have passed to her uncle Robert and eventually to his grandson John Davy of Longframlington. (See main text under Davy-Barker Family)
William Davy 7.10.1677 Possible burial at Rothbury 5.11.1687 William Davy of Snitter (just north of Thropton).
The parent William Davy was buried 19.1.1677 NS so that the above William was born posthumously. The widow married in the following January Ralph Potts at Rothbury and we have seen records of six children thereafter.
Young Family History 