William Davis Source for information on William is also 'Ancestors and descendants of Solomon Davis.' William came, most likely, from Carmarthen in South Wales.
'The last Will and Testament of William Daves of Roxbury in the County of Suffolk in New England the 6th of December in the year of our Lord One thousand six hundred Eighty three, now having my perfect memory & understanding by the blessing of my mercifull Father, into whose hands I commit my Soule:
Unto my daughter Elizabeth (daughter of Alice) I consigne over a bill of twelve pounds and a trunck that was her mothers together with all the things in it. And unto my son Mathew and Jonathon (sons of Alice) when they come to age they shall have the two Orchards lying neer my son Joseph's and if they are not worth Forty pounds then the Overseers of the Estate shall sell some Land for to make it up, their portion
twenty pounds apiece.
And then for my beloved wife I do make her sole Executrix of all y rest of my Estate of Lands and movables and give her full power for to dispose of it for her wants as shee see cause, with that full power and Authority over it as I my selfe might have if I had continued For my three eldest son's John and Samuel and Joseph (sons of Elizabeth), they have received their portions already, notwith standing I give unto my son John, the eldest of my Children five shilling, and to Samuel and Joseph five and sixpence to buy them some good bookes to remember me with: And Further my desire is that there should bee two Over Seers chose who my wife see good:
This is my last will and Testament.
In Witness whereof I have set to my hand the day and yeare above written
William Davis a
mark
In presence of us, Jabez Tolman, John Searle
At an adjournment of y County Court in Boston 17th December 1685 pursuant to y direction of y Will, Jane Davis Exec made choice of Edward Morris and Jabez Tolman to be overseers for y end proposed in y will, wch, persons y Court approved of Attest Is Addington Cl'
Here's the source to explain the three wives and the many children, as best as possible:
'The Davis Family of Oxford, MA & Woodstock, CT'
Extracted from Historic Homes & Institutions and Personal Memoirs of Worcester, County, Massachusetts. Prepared under the Editorial Supervision of Ellery Bicknell Crane, and Published by the Lewis Publishing Company, 1907. Vol # 3, pages 69-70
William Davis, (I) ancestor of Dyer Davis, of Dudley, was in Roxbury, MA, in 1642. A tradition held extensively in the family is that he came from Wales about 1635. He was born in 1617 and married (first) Elizabeth___. She was buried May 4, 1658. He married (second), Oct. 21, 1658, Alice Thorpe. She was buried Feb. 24, 1667. He married (third) Jane ___. He was admitted to full communion Apr. 20, 1673. He died Dec. 9, 1683. Widow Jane died May 12, 1714, at Watertown, at the residence of Josiah Goddard, who married her daughter Rachel. He had three children by his first wife, four by the second and three by the third. Six other children are believed to have bee the children of Jane. The children were born at Roxbury and baptized in the church there. They were: John, b. Oct 1, 1643; Samuel, b. Feb. 21, 1645; Joseph, b. Oct. 12, 1647; William and Elizabeth (twins), bapt. Jun. 14, 1663, buried Dec. 18, 1678; Mathew, bapt. Jan. 24, 1664, settled at Woodstock, CT; Jonathan, b. Feb. 2, 1665, settled at Woodstock; Mary, b. Mar. 28, 1669; Jane, b. Dec. 24, 1670; Rachel, b. Aug. 26, 1672, married Jan. 28, 1696, Josiah Goddard, of Watertown, and had nine children; Benjamin, bapt. Jan. 7, 1674; Ichabod, bapt. Apr. 1, 1676; Ebenezer, bapt. Apr. 9, 1678; William, bapt. Jan. 3, 1680; Sarah, bapt. Jul. 20, 1681; Isaac, bapt. Apr. 18, 1683.
Or, an easier to read version:
William Davis was in Roxbury, MA, in 1642. A tradition held extensively in the family is that he came from Wales about 1635. He was born in 1617. He was admitted to full communion Apr. 20, 1673. He died Dec. 9, 1683.
All the children were born at Roxbury and baptized in the church there.
By first wife, Elizabeth___, who was buried May 4, 1658.
They had: John, b. Oct 1, 1643; Samuel, b. Feb. 21, 1645; Joseph, b. Oct. 12, 1647;
By second wife (married Oct. 21, 1658), Alice Thorpe who was buried Feb. 24, 1667. They had: William and Elizabeth (twins), bapt. Jun. 14, 1663, buried Dec. 18, 1678; Mathew, bapt. Jan. 24, 1664, and settled at Woodstock, CT; Jonathan, b. Feb. 2, 1665, who also settled at Woodstock;
By third wife, Jane (Adams) who died May 12, 1714, at Watertown, at the residence of Josiah Goddard, who married her daughter Rachel. They had: Mary, b. Mar. 28, 1669; Jane, b. Dec. 24, 1670; Rachel, b. Aug. 26, 1672, married Jan. 28, 1696, Josiah Goddard, of Watertown, and had nine children;
William had three children by his first wife, four by the second and three by the third. Six other children are believed to have been the children of Jane. Were those six somehow not considered as his? They were all born before he died, and there's no mention of Jane marrying another, as she's listed as the 'Widow Jane Davis.' Curious, but, would seem they were just not as highly thought of, when William wrote his will in 1683. Those remaining six are as follows: Benjamin, bapt. Jan. 7, 1674; Ichabod, bapt. Apr. 1, 1676; Ebenezer, bapt. Apr. 9, 1678; William, bapt. Jan. 3, 1680; Sarah, bapt. Jul. 20, 1681; Isaac, bapt. Apr. 18, 1683. He was born circa 1617 at
Wales, United Kingdom. He married
Alice Thorpe on 21 October 1658. William Davis married
Jane Adams in 1668 at
Roxbury, Massachusetts, USA. William Davis died on 9 December 1683 at
Roxbury, Massachusetts, USA.