I am trying to track down two men who theoretically should be listed in this book by Bruce C. MacGunnigle as living in Providence. The men are John Davis (possibly a minister) and his brother William, the latter of whom was said to be a "high sheriff of Providence" in 1755 when he died. Both emigrated to RI circa 1732, they were brothers, and the sons of William Davis of Buckingham, England (see Davis book, last 2 para below). In the MacGunnigle book above there are 3 John's listed - for Warren, Newport, and Glocester. In the MacGunnigle book above there are 4 William's listed - for Little Compton, Westerly, Westerly (son of Peter so this isn't my William), and E. Greenwich. The following is from a Davis family history book: "...William, the eldest son, was already trained in mercantile pursuits in his native England, engaged in the grocery business in his new home (America). Deeply interested in questions which stirred the public mind, he was elected or appointed successively to several public offices. While holding the office of high sheriff of Providence Plantation (county) death came to him suddenly at the breakfast table of a hotel, where he had spent the night in 1755, and made orphans of his motherless sons, Gaius and Barnabas. ..." "John was educated for the Church of England, was ordained, and continued in the ministry until after the death of his brother William, when he returned to England." Does anyone have any thoughts about how I might try to search the potential resources for William and John. I was disappointed not to find them listed for Providence. I have looked in a number of books listing ministers, but have yet to find one that lists John Davis in the correct time frame. I have not had any luck finding corroborating evidence for William's 1755 death nor anything that corroborates his holding any type of office. However the Davis family history book was written by a judge and I have been able to corroborate almost all of his succeeding generations data so I imagine he had some realistic basis for making these statement. I have not found a book listing men of trades for that early in time; any suggestions? Many thanks, Patti --- [This E-mail scanned for viruses by Declude Virus]

Hi Patti, It may not be the same Davis family , but I have a John Davis (no dates) who m. Mary Tall ( could be Tallman). Their dau. Eunice Davis, b. Dec. 4 1743 in Freetown ( now named Fall River) Mass. Eunice m. Borden Wodell Jan. 24, 1768 in Freetown. MA. Borden Wodell and Eunice were my maternal 5th g grandparents. Ron Bartlett Ronbart12@msn.com<mailto:Ronbart12@msn.com> ----- Original Message ----- From: Doug & Patti Ensor<mailto:ensor@spocom.com> To: RIGENWEB-L@rootsweb.com<mailto:RIGENWEB-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, March 31, 2006 10:12 PM Subject: [RIGENWEB] RI Freemen, 1747-1755 I am trying to track down two men who theoretically should be listed in this book by Bruce C. MacGunnigle as living in Providence. The men are John Davis (possibly a minister) and his brother William, the latter of whom was said to be a "high sheriff of Providence" in 1755 when he died. Both emigrated to RI circa 1732, they were brothers, and the sons of William Davis of Buckingham, England (see Davis book, last 2 para below). In the MacGunnigle book above there are 3 John's listed - for Warren, Newport, and Glocester. In the MacGunnigle book above there are 4 William's listed - for Little Compton, Westerly, Westerly (son of Peter so this isn't my William), and E. Greenwich. The following is from a Davis family history book: "...William, the eldest son, was already trained in mercantile pursuits in his native England, engaged in the grocery business in his new home (America). Deeply interested in questions which stirred the public mind, he was elected or appointed successively to several public offices. While holding the office of high sheriff of Providence Plantation (county) death came to him suddenly at the breakfast table of a hotel, where he had spent the night in 1755, and made orphans of his motherless sons, Gaius and Barnabas. ..." "John was educated for the Church of England, was ordained, and continued in the ministry until after the death of his brother William, when he returned to England." Does anyone have any thoughts about how I might try to search the potential resources for William and John. I was disappointed not to find them listed for Providence. I have looked in a number of books listing ministers, but have yet to find one that lists John Davis in the correct time frame. I have not had any luck finding corroborating evidence for William's 1755 death nor anything that corroborates his holding any type of office. However the Davis family history book was written by a judge and I have been able to corroborate almost all of his succeeding generations data so I imagine he had some realistic basis for making these statement. I have not found a book listing men of trades for that early in time; any suggestions? Many thanks, Patti --- [This E-mail scanned for viruses by Declude Virus] ==== RIGENWEB Mailing List ==== Washington County RIGenWeb http://www.rootsweb.com/~riwashin/<http://www.rootsweb.com/~riwashin/> Scans of Rhode Island Maps are at http://www.rootsweb.com/~rigenweb/maps/<http://www.rootsweb.com/~rigenweb/maps/>