This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Davidson, Davison, Thomson, Thompson, Baker, Houston, Huston, Dunlap, Shanklin, Shillideay Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/4BC.2ACI/1756.2 Message Board Post: Do you know if the Mary Thompson who married "your" John Davidson was a relative/descendant of Rev. John Thomson (early spelling of the family name)? The Reverend had a son also named John Thompson, who apparently married a Margaret Davidson. John and Margaret (Davidson) Thompson had Andrew, William (married Jane Shillideay), Ester, John (a third one), Jane, Elizabeth and Mathew (apparently also married a Margaret, but I don't know her maiden name; there were also at least two later Mathew Thompsons out of this line). One of Reverend John Thomson's granddaughters, Martha Baker (of Prince Edward County, VA; daughter of Douglass Baker and Jane (Thomson) Baker), married a William Davidson, though it APPEARS that he might have been from a totally different Davidson family than the John Davidson who married Mary Thompson (this is the main thing that I am trying to determine), as well as a totally different Davidson family than the Margaret Davidson who married John Thompson. In 1781, the above William and Martha (Baker) Davidson sold their home in Rockbridge County, VA to a John Thompson (not the Reverend, but I guess it could have been the second or third John Thompson referenced above). John Thompson eventually sold it to Thomas Thompson, and Thomas Thompson eventually sold it to Dorothy Thompson (who married Samuel Kinnerly). Dorothy/Samuel eventually sold it to Reverend Andrew Baker Davidson (born 1779; died 1861; married Susan Dorman), who was a son of the above William and Martha (Baker) Davidson. The home seems to have "left the family" after the Reverend A. B. Davidson sold it. The John Davidson "Junior" who was born in 1757 was born in Augusta, per his RW file. He was four years old when his father died. Based on that, his parents were probably John and Elizabeth Davidson. This older John Davidson "Senior" died in 1762, and his will named his wife Elizabeth, his child John "Junior", and three other children who were not named. Later Augusta records show that the children were John, Samuel, Ann (who married a McKeemy) and maybe one other daughter whose name I don't have (and/or possibly a son William). The family seems to have been associated with the Lyles, Campbells and Frasiers in the area. In 1775, John Davidson Sr. seems to be associated with a Sarah (what happened to Elizabeth, or is this a different John Davidson Sr.)? The above Samuel Davidson apparently married Elizabeth Gilmore, and they had a son of their own also named John Davidson who apparently married Elizabeth Goodbar (who was the widow of Robert Irwin/Erwin). There appears! to have been SEVERAL other Davidson/Gilmore marriages after Samuel and Elizabeth. There is a 1763 record where Robert Shanklin, Archibald Huston (later "Houston"), and the Hooks are petitioners with a John Davidson Sr. and John Davidson Jr. This regarded a road which had something to do with Mathew Thompson (see him, above). Other information seems to imply that John Davidson Sr. may have been the son of Robert and Ann (probably Dunlap) Davidson. Robert Davidson appears to have been a constable in Orange County, VA in 1744. Per some records (not proven by me), Robert Davidson had a daughter Mary (some records say Margaret/Mary) who married Robert Houston (Huston). They had Major Sam Houston (married Elizabeth Paxton), who was the father of General Sam Houston. I note that William and Martha (Baker) Davidson were neighbors of a Richard Shanklin in Botetourt County, VA. William, his apparent son William Jr. and another son named Baker Davidson, all witnessed Mr. Shanklin's will in 1800. A John Davidson also witnessed it, but he signed above the other three Davidsons (not sure if that means anything, but it may be an indication that this John was not the son of the older William Davidson like I once thought). I wonder if this John could have been "your" John Davidson Junior, or maybe a later descendant of "your" family? There was also a Reverend Samuel Davidson "in this mix," and I'm not sure to which Davidson family he belonged. He was mentioned in a 1758 estate settlement of John Craig. I'm trying to see if there is any "Davidson blood relationship" between "my" William Davidson and the family of "your" John Davidson. MAYBE the only relationship was that Martha (Baker) Davidson was a descendant of the Thom(p)sons, and John Davidson's wife Mary (Thompson) Davidson might have been as well. Evidence indicates that "my" William came out of Buckingham County, VA, but I certainly have not proven that. An Edward, David and William Davidson from that county joined the militia around 1776 in Prince Edward County, VA (where Martha Baker lived). If some other William married Martha Baker (i.e., a William from a totally different family), he must have "come out of nowhere" to do so (a separate William Davison who lived in PECo for most of his life, from yet a different Davison family, has been definitely ruled out as a possibility to have married Martha Baker; he died too soon to have been the man she married). I see no "tie," however, between that Buckingham family and your "Augusta John Davidson." There WAS a John Davidson in the Buckingham Davidson family, and maybe that is who signed the will of Mr. Shanklin in 1800 (though I never could find any indication that this John went to Botetourt County with that branch of my family). Mr. Richard Shanklin's wife Agnes! s is said by a descendant to have been a Davidson herself, however, so I wonder if the John who signed his 1800 will was HER relative (and, perhaps, related to "your" John Davidson)? Comments?