The Father of Rowena Lee Davis

I had made the mistake earlier in my research of the Davis family, of accepting already existing research as fact.

As Rowena Lee had married into the Davis family, with James M. Davis, the brother of my 3rd Great-Grandfather, Henry Davis, both sons of Job, and she was not a direct ancestor in my family tree, I had no reason to research further and had just accepted the popular opinion that she was the daughter of the renown "Rocky River Bill" aka William Lee.

However, this was wrong.

Stretching out my research of the Davis family has helped a great deal. My first discovery was the land left to Eliza Jane Davis from John Lee and witnessed by another Davis brother, E. W.

The Mystery of Eliza Jane Davis

I knew this girl had to be a member of the family and sought to determine exactly who she was. I determined that she was the oldest daughter of James and Rowena Davis.

While that document did not clarify the relationship between John and Eliza Jane, another I have discovered has. Certainly great-uncles and even complete strangers can transfer 'property' to someone, but between a Grandfather and Grandchild makes much more sense.
And he was her Grandfather. While Rocky River Bill and John Lee were certainly from the same 'set' of Lees. Brothers, I believe, John Lee was the father of Rowena Lee Davis. The will of James Lee mentions a grand-daughter named Rowena, but that Rowena was a good generation or two younger than our Rowena.

The document that proves this is from the Stanly County, North Carolina Register of Deeds, dated February 27, 1851.

"John Lee to James M. Davis
State of North Carolina

Know all men by these presents that I, John Lee of the County of Anson the state aforesaid for the natural love and affection which I have for  my son in law James M. Davis of the County of Stanly and State aforesaid do give and bequeth unto him one negro woman named Lucy about forty years old also three negro boys, one by the name of Wade about twenty years old, one by the name of Tom about seventeen years old, one by the name of Jack about fifteen years old, to have and to hold as his own.......seal this 12th day of November 1850 in presense of Abraham Hinson, M. F. Davis.

John Lee (seal)
Stanly County, proved in court by the oath of Abraham Kimrea and ordered to be registered.
Registered the 27th of Feby, 1851   R. Harris clerk    S. S. Stone Regr. 

As distasteful as this document is, is it still a document of historical fact, and shows that John Lee was the father of Rowena Lee Davis, not his kinsman and probable brother, Willilam Lee. The following is a link to the will of Robert Lee, who mentions his beloved brother John Lee, as well as sons John and William, among others. As this will is from 1766, the John Lee above, father of Rowena was most likely John the son, not John the brother. John is such a common name as to be most annoying while doing research. There were far too many of them.

Will of Robert Lee from Angelfire, Benjamin Thomas research



These early families from the Rocky River are rampant through the blood of current generations of this area. If anyone knows more on the illusive Lee and Randle families of Virginia and then Anson and Montgomery Counties, please contact me.

The Mystery of Eliza Ann Davis

Looking through the early deeds of Stanly County, I came across this interesting document:

This document was interesting in many ways. I knew that "Eleazer Jane" had to be a member of our set of 'Davis's' due to the witness of Edward Winfield Davis. Also, John Lee and other members of his family were closely involved with our Davis's. Edward Winfield, uncle of E. W. Davis, had married Susanna Lee and James M. Davis, brother of E.W., had married Rowena Lee.

This document was a transfer of a 7 year old girl from the possession of John Lee to that of Eliza Jane Davis. (Eleazer was likely how her name was pronounced in the old Southern syncopation). The fee involved was $1.00. A dollar was, even in 1845, a nominal fee, meaning, the transaction was more of a gift, and that the dollar involved was merely nominal, as in when one family member sells a house, or car, for $1.00, just to show a change of hands with the money and property. The 'property' in this case was a little girl named Clementine.

I have already done a post on Clementine Barringer who was found living with great, great grandfather H. H. "Hawk" Davis in 1880 with her 3 young daughters. Clementine Barringer was born a slave. The age given for Clementine in 1880 was 35, meaning she was born around 1845. In the document, the child is 7. The ages in census records can be far off, as census takers guessed an age, or was speaking to an individual who guessed an age. Could Clementine actually have been several years older than 35 in 1880? Could she have been the Clementine involved in this document? I've found that she had married a James Barringer. Could this have been her beginning with the involvement with the Davis family? Clementine "Tiny" Barringer is buried in the Old Davis cemetery on Old Davis Road in southern Stanly County, along with Job and Sarah and other members of the Davis family.

Horton Hampton "Haut" Davis

But who was Eliza Jane, exactly. I thought the best place to look would be the branch who had married a Lee, the family of James "Jim" Davis, second born son of Job.

Jim and Rowena had 13 children. Their oldest daughter was Elizabeth Jane. She was born July 12, 1829. Her first husband was Steven Crump, Jr. The Davis girls were much involved with the Crump family. Elizabeth's cousin Sarah "Sallie" Davis would marry Steven's brother, Woodson Crump and Sallie's younger sister, Margaret Victoria Davis, would marry Woodson's son William D Crump, a stepson to her sister.









Elizabeth Jane and Steven Crump, Jr. would have only one daughter, Charlotte Sophronia Crump and the Elizabeth would marry a widower, Ephraim Mauney, brother-in-law of her younger sister, Wincy Catherine Davis, or "W. C."  She and Ephraim Mauney would have one daughter, Tallulah. They would move to Gold Hill, just up the road a short distance from Stanly County in southern Rowan. Gold Hill was a gold mining community.

But was Elizabeth Jane Davis and Eliza Jane Davis, the same?

Then I found this history of the Crump family.

47. STEPHEN5
 CRUMP, JR. (STEPHEN4
, JOHN BUSHROD3
, ADAM2
, JAMES1
) (Source: 1850 U S Census NC, Stanley
County.) was born Abt. 1823 in North Carolina, and died Bef. 1858 in North Carolina. He married ELIZA JANE
DAVIS (Source: 1850 U S Census NC, Stanley County.) Abt. 1849 in Stanley County, NC, daughter of JAMES
DAVIS and ROWENE. She was born 12 Jul 1829 in North Carolina, and died 01 Jan 1880.
Notes for STEPHEN CRUMP, JR.:
Stephen, Jr. is in the household of his uncle James Crump just two doors away from his father, Stephen in the
1850 Stanley County census. ELC 4/2004
Child of STEPHEN CRUMP and ELIZA DAVIS is:
i. CHARLOTTE6

 CRUMP (Source: 1850 U S Census NC, Stanley County.), b. May 1850.



The Crump family history has Elizabeth as "Eliza Jane" and not Elizabeth. This is most likely what she was known by. As others with this name were not born or not old enough in 1845 to have recieved such a gift, this has to be the case. in 1845, Eliza Jane herself was only 16 years old. Clementine was possibly a 'coming of age gift' from John Lee.

The following is the inscription on the headstone of Eliza Jane:

The pain of life is past.

warefare now is o'er

For God & sun & song

Triumphing in Paradice.

ELIZA JANE,

wife of

EPHRAIM MAUNEY

Daughter of J & R Davis

Died Jan 1, 1880,

AGED

50 yrs. 5 mos. & 19 dys.

Ther e is a simple Footstone bearing the initials E.J.M.