Benjamin Davidson[1]  1742 - 1825

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• Alt. Birth	Aft 1737	____, ____, VA
  Birth	Bef 8 May 1742	____, Augusta Co., VA   [1]
  Christened	8 May 1742	Tinkling Spring Church - Beverly Manor, Augusta Co., VA
  Gender	Male
  Alt. Baptism	1743	Tinkling Spring, Augusta Co., VA   [1]
  Alt. Death	Unknown
  1790 Census	1790
  	____, Burke Co., NC, p. 106, 2-1-9-0
  1800 Census	1800
  	____, Buncombe Co., NC, p. 167, 01001-10501-02
  1810 Census	1810
  	____, Buncombe Co., NC, p. 97a, 00101-00211-01
  1820 Census	1820
  	____, Buncombe Co., NC, p. 112, 000011-00011-200
  Died	Abt 1825	Davidson River, Transylvania Co., NC
  Buried	Unknown	Davidson River Cemetery - Pisgah Forest, Transylvania Co., NC
  	Died at age 85-89.
  		Benjamin Davidson Status: Located. Grave of Benjamin Davidson (1742-1825), Pioneer Settler of Transylvania County
  Person ID	I632	Davidson Families of Iredell County, North Carolina and Descendants
  Last Modified	20 Mar 2007 17:50:00
  Father	Samuel Davidson, b. Abt 1705, ____, Ulster, Ireland, UK
  Mother	Margaret [--?--]
  Family ID	F280	Group Sheet
  Family	Ann Patton, b. 1748
  Married	Abt 1760
  Children	1. Martha Davidson   2. Rhoda Davidson, b. Between 1760 and 1765   3. Polly Davidson, b. Between 1765 and 1774   4. Elizabeth Davidson, b. 27 Dec 1773, ____, ____, NC   5. James Davidson, b. Between 1774 and 1790   6. Rebecca Davidson, b. 1777   7. Sarah Davidson, b. Abt 1779, ____, ____, NC   8. Ann Davidson, b. 3 Oct 1780, ____, ____, NC   9. Benjamin Davidson, Jr., b. Between 1780 and 1790, ____, ____, NC   10. Erixina "Rixey" Davidson, b. Between 1780 and 1790   11. Sophia A. Davidson, b. Abt 1784, ____, Burke Co., NC
  Last Modified	04 May 2006 16:44:00
  Family ID	F4577	Group Sheet

• Notes

  Benjamin Davidson Pioneer Settler Benjamin Davidson came from a distinguished Scottish family that came to America from Ireland in the early part of 1700s. His father Samuel Davidson, along with a relative (thought to be a brother) John Davidson, settled in what is known as Beverly Manor in Augusta County, Virginia. The Rev. John Craig baptized him there at Tinkling Springs Presbyterian Church on 8 May 1742. Rev. Craig also baptized his brothers James, Jesse, and William, and sister Mary Davidson. Sometime after 1749, John Davidson and his brother George, the father of Revolutionary War General William Lee Davidson, got land in what is now Iredell County, North Carolina, while Samuel and his family migrated to Fishing Creek in what was originally in North Carolina but, after resolving a border dispute, became part of what is now York County, South Carolina. Before the Revolution, Ben and his brothers James and William joined up with some of their Davidson cousins and began settling in the western part of North Carolina. Benjamin married a woman believed to be Ann Patton sometime around 1760. Their first child Rhoda was born about 1760. By the time the Revolution had started Ben had about five children. During the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Davidson, along with several of his brothers and cousins joined in the struggle for Independence. The history of this Davidson family is reflected in the cousins named William Davidson. One, General William Lee Davidson, served with distinction until killed at the Battle of Chadd's Ford in 1781; Davidson College is named for him, as are Davidson Counties in North Carolina and Tennessee. Another cousin was Major William Davidson who became one of the leading men of Buncombe County. His brother, Colonel William Davidson, was one of the organizers for Buncombe County in 1792 and went on to become one of the original settlers of Morgan County, Tennessee. Ben served with distinction at King's Mountain under the command of Major Joseph McDowell. Ben may have used his Military Land Warrants earned by service in the War to obtain land in what is now Transylvania County. He entered several claims during the 1780s. However, at the time of the 1790 census, he was listed in Morgan District in Burke County with a family of 10 children. When you research the Davidson Clan, it is difficult to know who is who because they all seem to give their children the same names. Ben and a William Davidson –   likely, Major William Davidson - became settlers near a stream - now called Davidson's River in Ben's honor - near its juncture with the French Broad River. Ben is said to have built the first house in the region, and it became a meeting place for travelers and for traveling ministers to hold services for the residents of the area. It is believed that about 1800 Ben set aside some land and built where the Davidson River Presbyterian Church was built. Originally, it was called a "meeting house" because Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists were welcomed to worship there. His son-in-law Rev. Samuel Davis was the pastor at the time. In the narthex of the present day Brevard-Davidson River Presbyterian Church is a huge stone from the fireplace of Ben Davidson's home. Benjamin Davidson deeded his home place to go to his daughter Rixey after his death on the condition that she take care of her mother. We would know much less about Ben's family of two sons and nine daughter were it not for a court case in the 1850s over that land that happened after Rixey's death in the 1840s and her only child's death in the 1850s. Benjamin Davidson Sr. died in 1825, a hero of the Revolution, a pioneer of Transylvania County. He is buried in the Davidson River Cemetery in Pisgah Forest on land he also donated to the community. Originally, a simple stone marked his grave with his name scratched into it. A grateful community later replaced that with the marker we see today. His descendants are still in the county, but many have spread out across the world. His children were: (in estimated order) 1. Rhoda Davidson was born about 1760-1765 and married Rev. Samuel Davis in early 1790s. They had three known children: James, Selina, and Ethan Allan Davis. Rhoda and Samuel are said to be buried in Temple, Carroll County, Georgia. 2. Polly Davidson was born about 1760-1765 and married Isaac Davis before 1790. They had 4 known children and removed to Georgia after 1810. There is no known connection between the Davis men who married Davidson sisters. 3. Elizabeth Davidson was born in 1773 and died in 1852. She married John Murray in 1803 and had six children. The Murray family has had a longstanding presence in the Transylvania County. 4. James Davidson was born about 1774-1780. He is still somewhat of a mystery. He was thought to have gone to Missouri and died before the court case; however, recent research suggests that he is likely the James Davidson who married Nancy Isbell and settled in Wilkes County, North Carolina. 5. Rebecca Davidson was born about 1777 and died in 1845. She married Benjamin D. Gullick. He was born about 1786, a son of John Gullick of Lincoln County, North Carolina. They had one son John Calvin Gullick who was born 1812. The family removed to Illinois. 6. Sarah Davidson was born about 1779 and died after 1850. She had three daughters between 1804 and 1818. In 1850 she was living in Alabama. In 1880 her daughter Jane and Jane's husband Jesse Justice were living in Missouri. 7. Ann Davidson was born about 1780 and died in 1864. She married David Hadden about 1801 and had four known children. The family continues to live in and around Henderson County to this day. 8. Benjamin Davidson, Jr., was born about 1780 to 1790. He married about 1818 Huldah Harriet Lane, daughter of Charles Lane, another early Transylvania area pioneer. Just after 1830, Ben joined his wife's family in Missouri where he died subsequently in 1835. His youngest son was Lunsford Lane Davidson who was born in North Carolina in 1829. Lunsford's great-great grandson joined the Davidson DNA study, and his results were able to confirm both that he is one of the few male Davidson descendants of Benjamin Davidson and Benjamin Davidson's family connection with Gen. William Lee Davidson. 9. Erixina "Rixey" Davidson was born about 1780 to 1790. She married James Johnson Jr. about 1832 and had one son Benjamin Davidson Johnson who was born about 1834 and died about 1854. Her listing in the 1830 Federal shows her living with someone believed to be her mother, Ann Davidson, age 80-90. She died before 1850, and then, with the death of her only son about 1854, a court case arose about how to distribute the Davidson land she had inherited from her father. As her siblings were her only heirs, the court needed to find them, or their heirs, in order to settle the estate. The court papers have been useful in identifying Ben's family. 10. Sophia A. Davidson was born about 1784 and married George Douglas Davis in 1813. They had at least two children and moved to what is now Clay County, North Carolina. She died after 1860. 11. Martha Davidson was identified as a daughter of Ben Davidson. We know that she married a Joseph Gray and had removed to Tennessee, but know little else about her. ______________________ The following is an abstract from "Abstracts - Henderson County, NC Estate Records" 1838-1900, by Kathy Summers: "An undated document states 'That about 35 years ago Rixy Davidson acquired by gift and descent from her father Benjamin Davidson, a tract of land. She married James Johnson and had by him one son Davidson Johnson. Then Rixy died intestate leaving her husband with a life estate in the land. About 5 years ago Davidson died, before his father, under age and intestate. When James Johnson died, Rixy had no direct descendants so the land was divided between her siblings, or in the cases where the siblings were already desceased, her nieces and nephews". ---- So everyone that was due to inherit from Rixy had to go to court and claim their part. Which means that all of her siblings were named and in some cases her nieces and nephews." [Other documents having to do with the same were dated 1859.] Here is an abstract of a court record that lists Ben Davidson's children and their location: Benjamin Davidson Jr. - moved to MO Rhoda Davidson, m. Samuel Davis Polly Davidson, m. Issac Davis Elizabeth Davidson Rebecca Davidson, m. Benjamin D. Gullick Sarah Davidson James Davidson - moved to MO Martha Davidson, m. Joseph Gray Ann Davidson m. ___Hadden Sophia Davidson, m. George Davis

• Sources

  [S8] Davison/Davidson Family, Robert Stephens Hand, (2nd Ed., 1991), p. 161 (Reliability: 3)