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Looking for clarification on the birth date and birth place of a Francis Davis, son of Philip Francis Davis and a Welsh woman (name unknown). Sources here in the States vary widely. Philip Francis Davis is said to have been born in Cardigan, Wales in the late 1500s. (His father, John, is said to have come from Scotland.) It’s reported Philip Francis Davis moved to Southampton, England, where he became a merchant and where two of his sons were born: Gideon in 1615 and Philip in 1617. I’m interested in the third son, Francis - one source reports that the family returned to Wales, but their third son, Francis, may have been born just across the border in Thornbury, Gloucestershire, anywhere from 1619 to 1626. Francis from this Davis line settled in Amesbury, Mass., USA, and his descendants were numerous in Warner, New Hampshire, where they farmed and ran paper mills. The date of Francis's arrival in New England varies from 1638 to 1647 (a lot depends on his contested birth date). Any information one can provide on the three brothers born in this time frame will be much appreciated!

Is anyone descended from one of the children of William and Sarah REEVES, who were married in Rugeley, Staffordshire, in October 1812? I'd like to know what happened to

Margaret (christened Rugeley 1 Jan 1816),
Samuel (christened Mavesyn Ridware 14 Dec 1817),
Thomas (christened Mavesyn Ridware 4 Juy 1819), and
William (christened Rugeley 11 Jan 1821)

If anyone knows where they moved, who they married,  and what occupations they took up, I could really use your help. Information on any of them will be much appreciated!

Thanks to the help of some great gals from Ohio, USA, I’ve tracked the history of my ancestor Samuel Reeves from his arrival in Lowell, Mass, in 1856 to his death in the USA in 1890. Now I’m trying to discover where he was born and who his English parents were. His 1860 marriage record in Lowell reveals that he was born in England in 1818 and that his father’s name was William and his mother’s Sarah. LDS files have christenings for several children of a William Reeves and Sarah Welch in Rugeley and Mavesyn Ridware, but I can't find a definitive connection.

I believe my ancestor is the Samuel Reeves living in Manchester, England, in the 1851 census who gives his birthplace as Staffordshire, Rid___(the messy entry peters out). Manchester Samuel's family group includes a son Francis (whose age matches that of the son living with Sam in Lowell, just before his 1860 marriage) and a sister Sarah; her age looks like 14 or 16, which would put her birth around 1835-6.

Sarah in the 1851 census may well be the Sarah Reeves, age 21, who in April 1857 married James Bagot (or Beckett) in Manchester Cathedral. The death of Sarah Reeves Bagot showed a niece, Margaret Reeves, in attendance at the death. A possible niece-in-law, Margaret Alice Dennison (b. c. 1853, Salford) married Francis Edward Reeves (b. c. 1851) on 13 Sep 1874 in the Cathedral in Manchester. Could Francis Edward be a nephew of Manchester Samuel? From LDS files, Francis Edward Reeves was born in Middlesex, London, perhaps Kensington, London.

I've also located a Charles Reeves, who in 1855 married first Elizabeth Oldham and second in 1860 Sarah Ann Nugent, both in Manchester. Sarah and Charles both list their father as William Reeves, occupation tailor, and Samuel and Sarah Reeves were witnesses at Charles’s first wedding.

If anyone has information on the parents/siblings of Sarah, Charles, or Francis Edward Reeves, I would love to hear from you. If they are related, the family group might shed some light on the birthplace of Samuel Reeves. I’m not sure where to go from here. Thanks!!

Thanks to the help of some great gals from Ohio, USA, I’ve tracked the history of my ancestor Samuel Reeves from his arrival in Lowell, Mass, in 1856 to his death in 1890. Now I’m trying to discover where he was born and who his English parents were. I know from his marriage record in Lowell, 1860, that he was born in England in 1818 and that his father’s name was William and his mother’s Sarah. At the time of his marriage, he had a son Frank living with him.

I believe my ancestor is the Samuel Reeves living in Manchester, England, in the 1851 census who gives his birthplace as Staffordshire, Rid___(the messy entry peters out). He has a son Frank whose age matches that of the son living with him in Lowell in 1860. His family group includes a sister Sarah living with him; her age looks like 14 or 16, which would put her birth around 1835-6. A Sarah Reeves, age 21 (fits the age of Samuel’s sister), reappears in April 1857 when she married James Bagot (or Beckett) in Manchester Cathedral. There is also a Charles Reeves, married in 1855 in Manchester to an Elizabeth Oldham. Both Sarah and Charles list their father as William Reeves, occupation tailor, and Samuel and Sarah Reeves were witnesses at Charles’s wedding.

Samuel in 1851 may be the same Samuel Reeves, a tailor, who married Mary Renshaw in Eccles, Lancashire, in 1839 and had a son Francis in Manchester in 1842. The Eccles Samuel listed his father as William Reeves, tailor. Mary died in 1844 and Samuel remarried to Elizabeth Heywood, so she could be his wife Elizabeth in the 1851 census.

I also located a William “Reaves,” tailor, in the 1841 census, and a William Reeves, tailor, who died 04 Dec 1854 at Workhouse New Bridge Street, Manchester. He was 67, which would place his birth circa 1787.

Based on Sam’s birthplace given in 1851 and on the names William and Sarah, I’m pursuing a connection to the following people from Staffordshire found in the Latter Day Saints archives:

A William Reeves and Sarah Welch were married in Rugeley, Stafford, on October 15, 1812. If they were 21 when they married, their birth date would be circa 1791. The LDS archive also lists these christenings:

16 May 1813,  Susanna Reeves, parents William & Sarah Reeves, Rugeley, Stafford
01 Jan 1816, Margaret Reeves, parents William & Sarah Reeves, Rugeley, Stafford
11 Jan 1821,  William Reeves, parents William & Sarah Reeves, Rugeley, Stafford

Next I found in the LDS archives these christenings of children of William and Sarah Reeves, but in towns near Rugeley:

14 Dec 1817, SAMUEL REEVES,  parents William & Sarah Reeves, Mavesyn Ridware, Stafford
13 Sept 1818, SAMUEL REEVES, parents William & Sarah Reeves, Tipton, Stafford
04 Jul 1819, Thomas Reeves, parents William & Sarah Reeves, Mavesyn Ridware, Stafford

I’m uncertain, however, because there’s quite a gap between the last of those christening dates (William in 1821) and the birth of Sarah Reeves in 1836. I’m just not sure I have the right family. are there two families or one?

If anyone has any information on the parents and birthplace of Samuel Reeves, a tailor or small wares dealer, who parents were William (probably a tailor) and Sarah, who comes from Staffordshire but probably moved to Lancashire, and who was born/christened in 1818, I would love to hear from you. I’m not sure where to go from here. Thanks!!