Hello Dick: Apologies at the outset for the length of this message but I am hoping the detail will help. When I e-mailed you earlier I had not yet seen your post of last year. It helps me put some of my puzzle together. First let me say what I have and then ask a question: MacKenzie, "Colonial Families of USA" vol.2, p.519 has Nancy MILTON marrying Presley DAVIS May 19, 1819 and the two settling in Shelby Co. KY where they had a son Taliaferro Milton DAVIS (who later moved to Missouri). My notes from Cliff, "KY Marriages 1797-1865" (reprinted from Register of KY Historical Society) p.21 has the groom's name as "Priestly" and her name as "Ann" with the date as May 01. The date may be of the bond while his name may be a misprint. Joyce (no last name given -- <[email protected]> ) wrote "Nancy" was a common nickname for "Ann", so these two are probably one and the same. Do you know where they were married -- what county? I have MILTON's in northern KY about that time. Don't know if Ann/Nancy is connected to mine or not. Joyce I agree that "Ann" probably a nickname for Nancy since her mother also a Nancy. Secondly, Presley DAVIS is listed as a witness to the will of his father Capt Jesse DAVIS (c.1751-c.1818 born in VA son of Isaac DAVIS) in 1818 and that of William DAVIS (his brother's?) in 1836; both in Nelson Co.KY. If all of this sounds correct then I would like from you the names of the other children of Jesse Davis. I am also curious whether there is any connection to my great grandmother, Melissa M. DAVIS (b. 1834 in Anderson Co. KY) who married Zack Green MILTON c.1854) Byron Marshall To: "DAVIS family genealogy list" <[email protected]> Subject: Presley Davis Date: Mon, 21 Apr 97 16:58:35 EST Errors-to: <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] X-listname: <[email protected]> X-Mailer: Mercury MTS (Bindery) v1.31 Dear Dick, My ancestor was Presley Davis, born about 1812-1815 (from census guesses). He lived in Spartanburg County, SC for many years. Do you have any other information about your Presley Davis? Kathy Marsh [email protected] -------------- Hi Kathy - This is an especially interesting piece of mail since it touches on one of my favorite family mysteries. If you'll look back at my chart, you'll see that there are actually TWO Presley Davis entries: one at 1.1.4 as you've noted, and also his father at 1.1. I don't have firm dates for any of them, but my reconstructed dates based on various documents are as follows: Presley Davis b.c.1775-1794 d.1823 w: Sarah Barry b.c.1790 m: children Richard b.c.1814 Kelestus b.c.1820 Caleb b.c.1804-1810 Presley b.c.1820-1825 This family was from the Prince William County Virginia area. I have only scant information about them. Kelestus (aka Thomas) stayed in the area. Richard was in Mississippi long enough to have a child there, but returned to Prince William. There is indication Caleb may have joined him there. I have no information on Presley (the son). There's some more to tell. In researching the PrWm Cty records for my branch of the family, I came across the records of another Davis family [Dawson-Davis and Related Families, Leslie Dawson, 1984] to which no linkage has been established . BUT, in these records, I found two more Presleys. Data as follows: Isaac Davis (?-1771) m Elizabeth Kincheloe had 11 children, one of whom was Presley (1756-?), who is reported to have been killed in the Battle of Long Island during the Revolution. Another of Isaac's children was Jesse Davis (1755 - 1818). Jesse married Nancy Melton, and they had 8 children, one of whom they named Presley. The story is that Jesse and several others of his brothers and sisters moved from Prince Wm County to Nelson County Kentucky after the Revolution where they built a Fort called Fort Knicheloe, but later called "Burnt Station" after an Indian attack. Jesse's son Presley married Ann Milton, the daughter of John Milton of Frederick Cty VA. So, here are four Presley's from two different families to add to the one you already know about. The name is unusual enough that it would seem there must be a link, but I've had no luck. I'm posting this reply to a couple of mailing lists in hopes this will ring a bell with someone. Regards [email protected]