Inference and Analysis: Pruning the Genealogical Weeds
One of the better genealogical exercises I have found is to draw a name; let it be any name. The exercise is then to prove the line forward, but more so the line ancestrally back. There doesn't have to be any rhyme or reason to the name chosen. The goal is to simply prove the line and resolve the genealogical issue of "one and the same," or to be able to ask yourself, "Does the line hold?"
Can you meet the proof standards?
One of the best parts about approaching genealogy this way is that (for the most part) it is an unbiased approach - at least insofar as you "pluck someone" out of a family tree that isn't your own. (Note to reader: While this exercise can be done with anyone in your own family tree, the desire to "prove something" tends to force a loss of objectivity and promote that deadly weed known as "confirmation bias."
Nah, the best "rando" to "prove out," and/or the best way to pick out any genealogical weed is to pick someone who interests you but to whom you have no familial stake (or no personal bias).
I found such a person this week in Miles Cary, 1622-1667, a seventeenth-century Virginia planter with an alleged descent to my friend and client Paige Dunham. I'd like to tell you why "Miles Cary" struck my eye, but I really can't say. (If I had to guess, it was likely his very cool-sounding name or the rumor that he might have Gateway Ancestry.) Truth be told, I could have picked anyone from Paige's family tree. I just wanted to see how far it would go, and what could be proven out from Paige to Miles Cary of colonial Virginia.
As I looked over the line from Paige to Colonel Cary, I needed to clear the path. My strategy involved proving two separate, high-probability lines to narrow the focus:
Confirmed segment (The Near Line): I knew that I could easily prove Paige's paternal Brown line back to her fourth great-grandfather, James Brown (1757-1846), and his wife, Livina Felton (1812-1885). (Note: She appears as Livina or the nickname Linna in various records.) I needed to be able to connect Livina in this confirmed portion of the line to Susannah in the next.
Hypothetical segment (The Colonial Line): There is some very much less-than-anecdotal evidence of a direct descent of Colonel Miles Cary down to an alleged great-great-granddaughter, Susannah (Cary) Davis (1739-1801), who married Vann Vallier Davis (1725-1810), and subsequently to Livina. Could I prove it? What would it take?
Establishing Susannah's parents would then be key.
Once those two segments are established, the entire connection hinges on the final, most crucial, and weakest link: proving that Livina Felton (1812-1885), wife of James Brown and Paige's four times great grandmother, was in fact the granddaughter of Susannah (Cary) Davis (1739-1801). This is the genealogical gap where the "weed-killing" analysis would need to be concentrated.
Ultimately, I would need to confirm that Susannah (Cary) Davis was the mother of Rachel (Davis) Felton, who in turn was the mother of Livina "Linna" (Felton) Brown, for the line to hold true.
PART I. "Livina"
So just who was Livina Felton Brown? What do we know about her? What can be proven? She is stated to be the daughter of Amariah Felton, 1751-1846, and Rachel (Davis) Felton, 1773-1846. So just how do I prove that Livina ("Linna") was their daughter? Is there any evidence, or what evidence would support this "genealogical supposition," i.e., that which arrived via submitted family trees? What can I find?
Not much.
What there is, however, is an 1853 RW (Revolutionary War) widow's pension application record whereby Livina "Linna" Brown, wife of James Brown, states the approximate year of her marriage (1826) and that her maiden name was "Linna Felton."
Above: Widow's RW pension payments for Livina Brown recorded as "Lavinia"
Okay, that's great, but...
That pension application works to establish Livina as James's wife and her maiden name as "Felton." Still, it does not connect that she is "one and the same" as Livina (Felton) Brown, who was the daughter of Amariah Felton and Rachel Davis (Rachel (Davis) Felton, who was the daughter of Susannah (Cary) Davis).
What do we have to prove that she was? She has no birth record. The only thing we really see is that in 1853 she was forty-one years old, giving her a birth year (and presumably a birth location in South Carolina) of 1812.) What evidence do we have of her parents' names as Amariah and Rachel (Davis) Felton?
I have not found a will for Amariah. There are, however, legal notices and an obituary in the old newspapers that tie Amariah Felton to James Brown, Livinia's husband, as stated in the 1853 widow's pension application.
"The father to his [James Brown] widow" certainly implies that Amariah was Livina's father in this 1846 newsclipping.
But what about Livina's mother, Rachel Davis? What proof do we have that Amariah's wife was, in fact, Rachel Davis, or that Rachel Davis was Livinia's mother?
For this, I have had to rely on published genealogies with cited sources. Part of the issue has been that both Amariah and Rachel were married before, and, at least as far as Amariah goes, were married after. Much of the information about Rachel Davis comes from a book with information about her first husband, John Gary, where her second marriage to Amariah Felton is mentioned almost like a footnote. Still, it appears to establish that she was the wife of the Amariah Felton we've been looking at.
But is she Livina's mother?
Part II. "Rachel"
I have relied heavily on existing published sources to prove that Rachel Davis was the mother of Livina Felton. Let's examine what's out there and see if, in the absence of limited vital records and space here if the presumed mother-daughter relationship can be proven, justified, or if it holds up.
Let's start here with images from The Davis Genealogy, as taken from:
Laura W. Mentzel, Davis Families of the Savannah River Valley: Containing a Record of the Descendants of Van and Harmon Davis from 1725–1978, Covering the Counties of Newberry, Anderson, Pickens, Oconee Counties of South Carolina; Habersham, Franklin, Hart, Ste (Place of Publication: Publisher, 1978), pages various
See below:
Given that Livina is stated to be "forty-one" years old in 1853 (with an approximated birth year of 1812) and that Rachel Davis's first husband, John Gary, died in 1807, and given that it is stated that Amariah was Livina's father, and that the widow Rachel (Davis) Gary would have married Amariah Felton after 1807, and given that there is no evidence that he was married to someone else between 1807 and 1813, and even in the absence of any death record for Rachel (Davis) (Gary) Felton, it can then be inferred that Rachel was Livina's mother.
Above: Glenda G. Gunn, Ethel Speer Updike, Larry Edward Lane, and James Dale Meyer, Gary, Garry, Geary, etc. (Magna, Utah: privately published, 1997), 34, Family History Library collection, FamilySearch.
And while it does not prove that Rachel Davis was Livina's mother, the 1810 Last Will and Testament of Vann Davis, Rachel's purported father, does name a daughter Rachel. This is in keeping with the information in the published genealogies and confirms Rachel was living and known to her father after the death of her first husband, John Gary (d. 1807), and before the birth of her daughter, Livina (b. ), presumably by Amariah Felton, who is stated elsewhere to be Livina's father.
Image of the will below:
So far, so good. I am confident in my analysis that:
James Brown married Livina Felton
Livina Felton was the daughter of Amariah Felton
Amariah Felton married the widow Rachel (Davis) Gary
Livina (Felton) Brown was the daughter of Rachel (Davis) (Gary) Felton by Amariah Felton
On to part three...
III. "Susannah"
In the interest of time and space, and for some means of clarity, I will presume that the secondary sources that list the wife of Vann Davis as Susannah Cary are correct. I'm told, though I have not verified, that her name is shown in connection with his with some deeds and indentures. And while I have not seen the original documents here, I don't have a strong reason to dispute their existence, or the information contained about Susannah "being a Cary" in the secondary sources. No doubt this is cutting corners on my part. However, in light of what follows, I think you will see why "cutting corners" in this instance is not of any genealogical consequence. I would like to mention that Susannah Cary was at least the second wife of Vann Davis, and that the wife he refers to as "Lucy" in his Last Will and Testament was his third. Some family trees have erroneously combined these two women into one and refer to her as "Susannah Lucllle," which is an utter contrivance and one of the worst kinds of "genealogical weeds."
The above information was taken from a FindAGrave.com memorial (No. 74005394). It shows Susannah Cary, born to Edward Cary. The memorial cites records for Abingdon Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia, which were easy enough to find, as evidenced by the images below:
However, even as explicit as the directory is, I cannot read the page. The image is too obscured. I can make out baptisms for January 6th of that year (1733/34), and for what appears to be a baby girl called "Susanna." I can only assume that the illegible parents are the Edward and Mary mentioned in the memorial above. (I have no reason to doubt the transcription) In terms of a verification, though, I suppose it can only be said that it is consistent with the facts as they've been presented, over that which can actually be proven.
Still, even if this is the case, does it prove that this was "one and the same" with the Susannah Cary who married Vann Davis?
Does it give any evidence for Edward Cary's parents or in any way link him back to the immigrant Colonel Miles Cary?
In a nutshell...no.
However, for a moment, let's suppose we're on the right track. Genealogically, can we get from Edward Cary to Colonel Miles Cary? To attempt this, I'm going to go back to the information contained in the FindAGarve.com memorial for Edward (No. 235973216). Here, it states that Edward's parents are James Cary and Sarah (Reade) Cary.
Is there any evidence of this? This James Cary, purported father of Edward, is said to have been born in Gloucester, Virginia, in 1673 to Thomas Cary and Frances Milner.
There looks to be less and less as we push the line back towards Colonel Miles Cary. In fact, I don't see a clear path from the Warwick County, Virginia, Cary family to the Gloucester County, Virginia Cary family to the North Carolina or South Carolina Cary families.
Not only does the proof fall apart at Susannah Cary, wife of Vann Davis, but it shatters.
In conclusion, while we have reaffirmed most of the Confirmed Segments of the Near Line to Livina (Felton) Brown, her mother Rachel (Davis) (Gary) Felton, and even pushed the limits of proof to Rachel's mother as "Susannah (Cary) Davis," there is no proof, ancedotal or otherwise beyond what may or may not be the case in a couple of FindAGrave.com memorials and limited Wikitree sites to connect Susannah (Cary) Davis to any particular branch of the Cary family.
Given the geography and demographics of the time, it is more likely that Susannah was a descendant or at least a relative of Thomas Cary, the fourth and last deputy governor of North Carolina. However, as with Colonel Miles Cary, there is no proof or any clear path to prove such a relationship. For now, the ancestry of Susannah Cary Davis simply remains unknown.
END
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