John Scott "Jersey Doc" Davenport Robert L. "Billy Bob" Davenport Nevada Jack Ralph Judy G. Russell Whitley "WCV" Davenport Many thanks to all of you, and I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Doc in your busy schedule, I would appreciate it if you could or would pass this on to the people mentioned. P.S.: I am now 91 and fading. Hence the request . Fl Doc ----- Original Message ----- From: <JSDDOC@aol.com> To: <DAVENPORT-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 11:25 AM Subject: [DAVENPORT] Progress Report on Further Pamunkey Davenport Chronicles > KINFOLK AND OTHER INTERESTED: > > After five years, we appreciate that some of you are getting impatient > relative to the release of the "Further Chronicles of the Pamunkey > Davenports," but we're facing both quantity and quality challenges. > > Part 1, "Beginnings and Settlement North of the James River," left > Doc's > hands a month ago and is now being edited by Dr. Judy G. Russell, a > Davenport-Baker Pamunkey who is a professional book editor--meaning Part > 1 is getting > a thorough edit and vetting, which takes time, for Judy has a full-time > job > in book publishing and also teaches Law at Rutgers University. She has > no > deadline, will move Part 1 along as rapidly as possible. Hopefully it > will be > ready for publication sometime before 1July2006. > > Part 1 took almost two years longer than initially expected because > we > encountered so much error in earlier research that we had to go back to > scratch and start over, documenting as we went. In addition to required > error > correction, we found the Pamunkey Davenport Family to be larger than we > thought--and it was big already--meaning we had new lines to identify and > take > through the Colonial and Post-Revolution years. However, because of > out-migration > we were able to cut off Part 1 neatly at 1820 with only a few items > thereafter. > > Part 2, "Settlement South of the James River," is now getting Doc's > full > attention. It has few of the error problems encountered in Part 1 > because > little research has been done and even less has been published concerning > Southside Virginia Pamunkeys. If less has been published, then less has > been > misinterpreted or erroneously hooked onto, meaning less overburden. The > worst > errors we have encountered are pasted together marriages (Henry > Davenport, > Sr.'s totally missed first family of eight was an omission, not an > error), but > those wronged marriages are easily rectified although some Mormon > baptisms of > the Dead should be redone. Where we had scads of errors to overcome in > Part > 1, we had and have scads of original record research to do for Part 2. > We > mistakenly concluded eighteen months ago that once we had Part 1 done > with all > its difficulties and record losses, that Part 2 would be downhill, no > burned > counties other than Buckingham--which we could work around. Not so, > while we > did what we thought was a thorough search of the records of Cumberland, > Halifax, Charlotte, Powhatan, and Buckingham (such as it is), we now know > that we > must give Campbell and Bedford a thorough vetting if we are to maintain > our > quality level. Further, we need to take the research as far forward as > 1850 > in some instances, for the Pamunkey Davenports squirted from Amherst > (north of > the James) into Campbell and Bedford, back and forth between Campbell and > Charlotte, between Cumberland and Powhatan, Powhatan and Prince Edward, > Prince > Edward and Buckingham, and Prince Edward and Halifax after 1805. Where > Part > 1 included movement to South of the James in Virginia, it primarily noted > movement out of Virginia to the Carolinas, Georgia, and Kentucky, Part 2 > includes movements within Virginia for decades before out migration. > Then too, we > had the large accumulation of Pamunkeys in far southwest Washington > County, > Virginia, who proliferated mightily then exploded in migration in all > directions but East. We've delegated those folk to Whit Davenport, a > California-born > WCV (Washington County, Virginia) Pamunkey, who is doing his kin as Part > 3 of > the Chronicles. Where Whit is in terms of completion, we know not, for > he, > too, has encountered errors in research that have become vested with > tradition and cousins that tend towards intractability. > > In short, Part 1, almost 800 pages, should be ready by mid-year next. > Part 2, now 674 pages with much research yet to be done, should be ready > by > mid-year 2007. Part 3 of at least 180 pages, Whit's job, ready when he > says > so. Part 4 concerns Elias Davenport, fourth son of Davis Davenport, and > settlement in Northeastern North Carolina and Georgia, all compiled from > secondary > sources, can be released anytime, but has the lowest priority. > > That's where we are at the moment. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy > New Year. > > John Scott "Jersey Doc" Davenport > Robert L. "Billy Bob" Davenport > Nevada Jack Ralph > Judy G. Russell > Whitley "WCV" Davenport > > > ============================== > Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the > areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. > Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx >