The Davis Family in "Jubilee History of Thorold Township and Town".

The local history Jubilee History of Thorold Township and Town contains several references to the Davis family, particularly Hall, Thaddeus Jr. and Loyal Davis.

Allanburgh cemetery contains the grave of one of Wright Davis' children.  I wonder if he was killed in warfare--the War of 1812 was still being fought at the time of his death, and at 21 he would certainly be of age to fight.

Undated picture of the wife of Thaddeus Davis Jr, giving her maiden name:

List of settlers who took an oath of loyalty to the British crown, including Hall Davis, Laval Davis (is this Loyal Davis?), and the husband of Lois Davis, Cornelius Vanderburgh.

A mention of Hall Davis investing in education in 1829:

A list of township officials in Thorold contains the names of William H. Lee, husband of  Pheobe Davis in 1806,  Thaddeus Davis Jr. in 1806 and 1811 and  and Hall Davis in 1808 and 1817.

And finally, various military listings, particularly for the War of 1812.  Captain Robert Hamilton's Company (1812) lists Loyal Davis and Cornelius Vanderburg.



Hall and "Lavel" Davis are in Captain Chrysler's Company in 1813:

Hall Davis is in this Regiment, also 1813:

Finally, Loyal and Hall Davis are included in this second listing of Captain Chrysler's Company, September 23, 1813.

Richard Davis is not mentioned anywhere in this history.  We know he moved back to New York, but when? I'm wondering if the War of 1812 had something to do with his decision.  Wright Davis is only mentioned once, and indirectly (on his son's tombstone).

Thaddeus Davis and Family, Loyalist Records

After the American Revolutionary War, many  Americans who had supported Britain in the fighting found that they were no longer welcome in their own communities, while others simply wanted to continue living in a British colony.  These families generally had to abandon their land and homes, if they owned these, and at least some of their property that was not easily transportable (livestock and so on).  The British govenment's policy was to recompense those who had been loyal to the crown for any losses they might have suffered, either financially or with land.  Records were kept of these petitions and the claims that were granted, making it possible for us to discover if any of our ancestors were United Empire Loyalists.  Here are some records I have found relating to Thaddeus Davis, grandfather of William Davis,  who moved to the Niagara area with his wife and children after the war.   They are both dated 1825, although we know that Thaddeus brought his family to Canada around 1800.   The original documents are in the British Archives. 

The first record, "Fourth Supplementary Return by the Board of Commissioners Appointed by His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor under the Statute passed this 19th March 1813 of Claims of the Inhabitants of this Province for losses by them sustained during the late war with the United States of America, containing the award upon such of them as have been decided upon between the 7th January and the 30th June 1825 inclusive"  lists Thaddeus Davis (second from the bottom) as living in Niagara, claiming the amount of 53 pounds 15, and being awarded the amount of 38 pounds.   

The second document is basically a payment list.  Here Thaddeus Davis is listed as being awarded 31 pounds, but it looks like he may have only been paid 35% at this point.  The great thing about this file is that it has his signature!    

Here's a close up of his signature:

I'd still like to see his original petition, since that should contain details of his earlier life.  But those are in the Archives of Ontario, so I'll have to wait until I have time for a visit. 

Thaddeus Davis and Deborah Hall, United Empire Loyalists

Thaddeus Davis and Deborah Hall are the grandparents of the American immigrants to Canada William Davis and his siblings.  This is what the United Empire Loyalist website has to say about them (the biographical information which follows was written by Paul Bingle, a descendent of Thaddeus and Jane through their oldest child Jane (Davis) Ostrander):

"Thaddeus Davis Senior UEL (b 30 Jun 1738;  d 8 Dec 1834)  was on the muster rolls of Fairfield Co., CT, and as a loyal British subject, served in the campaigns of 1756, 1757 and 1758 in the French and Indian Wars. He married Deborah Hall (b 1736, d 30 Aug 1818) in Milford, New Haven, CT in 1759.  She was from a well-educated family that could trace her roots back four generations in Connecticut.   Thad was 43 when he formally joined the British cause in 1781 under Captain Hubbell. Thanks to Governor Trumbull, Connecticut had proven to be no place to be a Loyalist.  Hubbell's base of operations was Lloyd's Neck, New York, on Long Island's north shore, opposite Connecticut....

Almost 30 years later Thad Jr. proudly described his father's activities in the Revolution and mistakenly (but probably with no intention to deceive) made him to be one of the characters involved in the sacking and burning of Danbury, Connecticut (this actually took place in 1777).  Did he mean New London?  Thad's personal testimony was that his time on the prowl in Connecticut was relatively short, a few weeks, before he was captured and imprisoned.  Whatever the truth, Thad's reception at Niagara, relatively late (1798) in the grand scheme of things, was nothing less than deferential.  In other words, whatever he wanted he got.

Thad Jr. was the 9th of 11 children born to Thad and Deborah, born 9 May 1775.  He fought in the War of 1812 as a Private but didn't receive his commission to Captaincy until July 29, 1820;  3rd Company 2nd Lincoln Militia.  Thaddeus Davis Jr, St. Johns, Pelham, died 31 August 1830, aged 56 years.  This is the "Captain Davis" that is buried at Allenburg Cemetery, Niagara Historical Society NHS #19.  Listed also is the broken stone of his mother Deborah (died 1818 at 82)."

According to the UEL website, Thaddeus' petition was read as an Order in Council on February 22, 1808. Next step:  find the petition!