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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 11: Large Family: Davey 15

This is my second year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow. I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails Into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

I might have larger families than the Thomas Davey and Mary Nicholas family but I have documentation for each of their fifteen children. Some from actual baptism records, and other from a transcription of a bible owned by their son, Thomas Nicholas Davey. 


Thomas and Mary were married at St. Agnes in County Cornwall on 23 May 1832.[1] Four children were born in County Cornwall:
  • Elizabeth Davey, 5 January 1933 and baptized on 19 May 1833 in St. Agnes.[2]
  • Susan Nicholas Davey, 11 August 1834, baptized on 2 November 1834 in St. Agnes.[3]
  • Thomas Nicholas Davey, 7 November 1835, baptized on 24 Jul 1836 in Constantine.[4]
  • Edward Nicholas Davey, May 1837, baptized on 6 May 1837 in Constantine.[5] Died in infancy.
The next child was born in County Cork, Ireland:
  • Edward Davey, 18 April 1838. Died in infancy.
Then the next bunch of children except the last were born in England:
  • Mary Jane Davey, 23 May 1839 in Clifton, County Bristol, baptized 12 March 1854 at Reading, Berks Co, Pennsylvania.
  • Lydia Nicholas Davey, 1 April 1841, Bristol, County Bristol, baptized 12 March 1854.
  • Edward N. Davey III, 1842 in Bedminster. Died in infancy.
  • James Davey, 1843, Bristol. Died in infancy.
  • Charles Davey, 1 October 1844, Deptford, London. Died in infancy.
  • Julia Davey, October 1845, Deptford, London. Died in infancy.
  • Emma Davey, October 1845, Deptford, London. Died in infancy.
  • Samuel Henry Davey, June 1848, Debtford, London. Died in infancy.
  • Catherine Rose Davey, 27 January 1851, Debtford, London, baptized 16 February 1851.[6]
The family then went to America, settling first in Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania. One last child was born:
  • Frederick Henry Davey, 10 October 1853, baptized 4 July 1854 at St. Peter’s Church.[7]
So out of the fifteen children that Thomas and Mary had, only seven of their children lived to adulthood. Three sons name Edward died in infancy. Likely the twins Julia and Emma did, too. No baptisms were found for James, Charles or Samuel. Likely they died young, too.

They also tried three times to name a son, Edward, and gave up after the third time. Edward Nicholas was the name of Mary’s father.

So many of these births were in October. I wonder if Mary experienced deep sadness every October for the rest of her life.

How sad for those eight young Davey children.


[1] "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-1900," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 16 May 2012), Cornwall, St. Agnes, p 274, Thomas Davey and Mary Nicholas, 23 May 1832; citing Cornwall Church of England, Parish Registers, Cornwall Record Office, Truro, Cornwall, England, Marriages, 1813-1900.
[2] "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-1900," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 16 May 2012), Cornwall, St. Agnes, 1833, p. 4, no. 30, Elizabeth Davy.
[3] "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-1900," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 16 May 2012), Cornwall, St. Agnes, p 46, Susan Nicholas Davey, Mount Hawke.
[4] "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org), Cornwall > Constantine > Baptisms, 1813-1844 > image 85 of 107, p. 156, no. 1245, Thomas Nicholas Davey, 1836; Cornwall Records Office, Truro.
[5] "England, Cornwall Parish Registers, 1538-2010," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org), Cornwall > Constantine > Baptisms, 1813-1844 > image 87 of 107, p. 161, no. 1283, Edward Nicholas Davey, 1837; Cornwall Records Office, Truro.
[6] Church of England Parish Registers, 1754-1906, Deptford St. Paul, Register of Baptism, Lewisham, p 132 (image 5 of 33), Catherine Rose Davey, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com).
[7] Central United Methodist (Reading, Pennsylvania), Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Historical Society of Pennsylvania., St. Peter's Church, Baptisms p 2, Frederick Henry Davey; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 June 2012).

Copyright © 2019 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.
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