There probably is no one place called Davenport. The name in an early form dates, so it's been explained to me, to about the 9th century, when the Danelaw was in effect. Remember that after Roman rule ended, around the 4th-5th century, the island of Britain received a steady stream of invaders, mostly Teutons like the Angles and the Saxons. These tribes at first fought like cat and dog, but in time they settled down, intermarried, sat around swilling mead and reciting Beowulf, and thus established the Anglo-Saxon civilization. All went well till about the 8th century, when a new wave of Nordic invaders hit - Danes, aka the Vikings. These fellows were serious about conquest, not intermarriage (they had other plans for the women). The Anglo-Saxons put up a brave fight, but the Danes came close to conquering them. In the end, though, the Anglo-Saxon king Alfred - the only monarch whom the English have ever named "The Great" - fought the Danes to a standstill. The result was an armistice in which southern England was divided, with fairly free civil and trade relations between the Danish and Anglo-Saxon zones. The inter-zonal boundary line was a navigable river, which the Anglo-Saxons called the Dane, and the Danish zone became known as the Danelaw. In time a Dane-Harbor came to mean a trading port along the Dane river, or a trading boat or a trader, and when names were being handed out, it was inevitable some people would receive this word as their name. The syllable "port" is clearly French, so our name in its present form must not have evolved until after the Norman conquest. By that time the river had probably gone dry, and the Danes and Anglo-Saxons had long since intermarried (the women proved smarter). In due course they absorbed the Normans as well, creating Churchill's race of Englishmen. How much of this is right? Don't know, I've never researched any of it independently, but it sounds plausible. If you want to look for some sort of epicenter, I'd start with Nottinghamshire. My uncle was stationed there in WWII and said the name was commoner than Smith. Good luck. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Winifred Auch" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, January 20, 2003 10:24 PM Subject: [DAVENPORT] Curiosity > Message text written by INTERNET:[email protected] > >Just can't go on not knowing where in England we find Davenport/Devenport. > > > Not in my world atlas. Not in my encyclopedia. > > Some one. Oh please come to my rescue. Which shire is it > in?<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< > > Cliff, > > 8Davenport* is a small village near Congleton In the county of > **Cheshire**. Look at your atlas - if you can't find Congleton, it is > just south of Macclesfield.- > > This is the area where most of the Davenport originate from; iow, it was > the land in Cheshire which was given to his knight by William the > Conqueror. Over the years many of the lines spread over into Derbyshire > and other nearby counties.- > > This is not to be confused with the Plymouth/Devonport in Devonshire. > I believe that the part of Plymouth called Devonport gets its name from > the fact that it IS a port in the county of Devon. > Hence the name "Devonport"! > > There are very few Davenport in Devonshire - I know, because I lived > there for 8 years. My father Charles Harold Davenport was born in Exeter, > Devon but HIS father came from Derbyshire.- > Below is a part of a piece I found in the UK Yahoo, mentioning the village > of Davenport:- > > <<<<<There are preserved in the strong room in Congleton Town Hall some 121 > charters and assorted documents. Eighty-one were written before 1500. Ten > or so relate to various places in North Wales (Hawarden), Staffordshire > (Kings Bromley, Longsdon, Lichfield), and Cheshire (Chester, Hough, > Macclesfield, Old Rode, Rope, Stapley, Upton, Wickmalban, Wightreston, > Willaston), but most are concerned with properties in Congleton itself. > > Although for convenience I have characterized the collection as charters, > in reality there are a number of different types of document. The oldest > firmly dated item of c.1272 is a charter of Henry de Lacy granting the men > of Congleton burgage tenure (the holding of their land by a money rent > rather than by personal service) and the right to elect a mayor. There are > several other documents outlining the privileges of the lord and his > burgesses of various dates as well as a return to Quo Warranto proceedings > touching the liberties of the lord of Halton in the early fourteenth > century. There are simple charters granting land, numerous chirographs and > indentures (both, broadly, agreements of one kind or another), two wills, > and Letters Patent granting the right to build a mill after the floods of > 1451. Finally, there are miscellaneous items like plans for the > construction of a gallery in the upper chapel of the early eighteenth > century and a mortgage of the nineteenth. > > The collection is what is left of the borough of Congletons muniments. A > fire destroyed many of its records, but what survived were mounted and > restored by the Bodley Library in Oxford and, interleaved with a > translation by the Rev. Jonathan Wilson, the school master of Congleton, > bound in three volumes. A fourth volume containing four Congleton charters > of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries was given to the town by James > Bradwell in the late nineteenth century. > > By 1272 Congleton was probably already an urban community of long standing. > Its origins as a trading centre are to be found in the now **depopulated > village of Davenport ** .............................<<<< > > Wynne > > > > ==== DAVENPORT Mailing List ==== > The Pamunkey Davenport Chronicles are available on CD. > Visit the link below for a free preview and instructions on ordering. > http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~nvjack/davnport/chronicles.htm > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >

Hey -- You ALL: (thats Missouri talk) I got news for You There is a place in S. Missouri that used to be called Davenport Hollow. Where a large band of Davenports lived. Story I heard was there was one large bunch that were religous and one group of outlaws like -- some were brothers. But and -So they went dif ways -- lot of them stayed in Missory and are still a lot of both related clans here now. Paul ----- Original Message ----- From: "francis davenport" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, January 20, 2003 11:44 PM Subject: Re: [DAVENPORT] Curiosity > There probably is no one place called Davenport. The name in an early form > dates, so it's been explained to me, to about the 9th century, when the > Danelaw was in effect. > > Remember that after Roman rule ended, around the 4th-5th century, the island > of Britain received a steady stream of invaders, mostly Teutons like the > Angles and the Saxons. These tribes at first fought like cat and dog, but > in time they settled down, intermarried, sat around swilling mead and > reciting Beowulf, and thus established the Anglo-Saxon civilization. All > went well till about the 8th century, when a new wave of Nordic invaders > hit - Danes, aka the Vikings. These fellows were serious about conquest, > not intermarriage (they had other plans for the women). The Anglo-Saxons > put up a brave fight, but the Danes came close to conquering them. In the > end, though, the Anglo-Saxon king Alfred - the only monarch whom the English > have ever named "The Great" - fought the Danes to a standstill. The result > was an armistice in which southern England was divided, with fairly free > civil and trade relations between the Danish and Anglo-Saxon zones. The > inter-zonal boundary line was a navigable river, which the Anglo-Saxons > called the Dane, and the Danish zone became known as the Danelaw. In time a > Dane-Harbor came to mean a trading port along the Dane river, or a trading > boat or a trader, and when names were being handed out, it was inevitable > some people would receive this word as their name. The syllable "port" is > clearly French, so our name in its present form must not have evolved until > after the Norman conquest. By that time the river had probably gone dry, > and the Danes and Anglo-Saxons had long since intermarried (the women proved > smarter). In due course they absorbed the Normans as well, creating > Churchill's race of Englishmen. > > How much of this is right? Don't know, I've never researched any of it > independently, but it sounds plausible. If you want to look for some sort > of epicenter, I'd start with Nottinghamshire. My uncle was stationed there > in WWII and said the name was commoner than Smith. Good luck. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Winifred Auch" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, January 20, 2003 10:24 PM > Subject: [DAVENPORT] Curiosity > > > > Message text written by INTERNET:[email protected] > > >Just can't go on not knowing where in England we find > Davenport/Devenport. > > > > > > Not in my world atlas. Not in my encyclopedia. > > > > Some one. Oh please come to my rescue. Which shire is it > > in?<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< > > > > Cliff, > > > > 8Davenport* is a small village near Congleton In the county of > > **Cheshire**. Look at your atlas - if you can't find Congleton, it is > > just south of Macclesfield.- > > > > This is the area where most of the Davenport originate from; iow, it > was > > the land in Cheshire which was given to his knight by William the > > Conqueror. Over the years many of the lines spread over into Derbyshire > > and other nearby counties.- > > > > This is not to be confused with the Plymouth/Devonport in Devonshire. > > I believe that the part of Plymouth called Devonport gets its name from > > the fact that it IS a port in the county of Devon. > > Hence the name "Devonport"! > > > > There are very few Davenport in Devonshire - I know, because I lived > > there for 8 years. My father Charles Harold Davenport was born in > Exeter, > > Devon but HIS father came from Derbyshire.- > > Below is a part of a piece I found in the UK Yahoo, mentioning the > village > > of Davenport:- > > > > <<<<<There are preserved in the strong room in Congleton Town Hall some > 121 > > charters and assorted documents. Eighty-one were written before 1500. Ten > > or so relate to various places in North Wales (Hawarden), Staffordshire > > (Kings Bromley, Longsdon, Lichfield), and Cheshire (Chester, Hough, > > Macclesfield, Old Rode, Rope, Stapley, Upton, Wickmalban, Wightreston, > > Willaston), but most are concerned with properties in Congleton itself. > > > > Although for convenience I have characterized the collection as charters, > > in reality there are a number of different types of document. The oldest > > firmly dated item of c.1272 is a charter of Henry de Lacy granting the men > > of Congleton burgage tenure (the holding of their land by a money rent > > rather than by personal service) and the right to elect a mayor. There are > > several other documents outlining the privileges of the lord and his > > burgesses of various dates as well as a return to Quo Warranto proceedings > > touching the liberties of the lord of Halton in the early fourteenth > > century. There are simple charters granting land, numerous chirographs and > > indentures (both, broadly, agreements of one kind or another), two wills, > > and Letters Patent granting the right to build a mill after the floods of > > 1451. Finally, there are miscellaneous items like plans for the > > construction of a gallery in the upper chapel of the early eighteenth > > century and a mortgage of the nineteenth. > > > > The collection is what is left of the borough of Congletons muniments. A > > fire destroyed many of its records, but what survived were mounted and > > restored by the Bodley Library in Oxford and, interleaved with a > > translation by the Rev. Jonathan Wilson, the school master of Congleton, > > bound in three volumes. A fourth volume containing four Congleton charters > > of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries was given to the town by James > > Bradwell in the late nineteenth century. > > > > By 1272 Congleton was probably already an urban community of long > standing. > > Its origins as a trading centre are to be found in the now **depopulated > > village of Davenport ** .............................<<<< > > > > Wynne > > > > > > > > ==== DAVENPORT Mailing List ==== > > The Pamunkey Davenport Chronicles are available on CD. > > Visit the link below for a free preview and instructions on ordering. > > http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~nvjack/davnport/chronicles.htm > > > > ============================== > > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, > go to: > > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > > > > > > > > ==== DAVENPORT Mailing List ==== > The Pamunkey Davenport Chronicles are now available on CD. > Visit the link below for a free preview and instructions on ordering. > http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~nvjack/davnport/chronicles.htm > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >