The Bedford Davenports
This group of Davenports is temporarily named the "Bedford Davenports" from where their Davenport ancestors first appeared in Virginia. Their Y-DNA match each other, indicating a common ancestor, however, they do not match any other tested Davenport group so far. We do not have proof of how these 4 lines connect, but they all have a Davenport ancestor that resided in the Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia area. The current belief is that they are all descendants of Joseph and/or John Davenport, non-biological sons of Glover Davenport of Franklin County, Virginia.The case for Joseph Davenport being the patriarch of our Davenport line
- Joseph was the 2nd son of Glover and Ann Davenport born ~1750 in Louisa or Amherst Co, Virginia.
- He can not be the biological son of Glover because Y-DNA of Glover's first born son, Mathew, matches the Pamunkey Davenports and does not match us.
- John Davenport said he was born in Bedford Co, VA in 1767. The Y-DNA of descendants of John matches descendants of Joseph. Note that John is just old enough to have been Joseph's son, plus family lore said the 4 Davenport brothers born 1789-1794 had a brother named John. It's also unlikely that 2 "sons of Glover" so widely separated by age would have the same non-familial father.
- Joseph Davenport lived in Henry and Patrick Co's VA 1788-1791 with John and William. This is coincidentally the same date and place where Bret McBride's ancestor was born (He is a Y-DNA match to us)
- From JSD's Pamunkey Chronicles, Joseph moved to Washington Co, VA 1792 and may have been there thru 1803. John Davenport was there in 1810. Then, the Chronicles state that Joseph "went to TN".
- A rare 1810 Census fragment in TN, from Grainger County, has a Joseph Davenport family. This census record is the only Davenport family in the entire 1810 census with sons matching the ages of the 4 Davenport brothers.
- The earliest record of Davenport's in Jackson Co, TN is a Joseph Davenport in the 15 Aug 1812 tax list. This could be Joseph Davenport, Sr or his son, Joseph, Jr.
- Jeff McQuerrey's paternal line ancestor is said to be "Travelling Man Davenport born 1811 VA". There is a gap in the ages of John Davenport's known children which could fit him. His ancestor was born in Kanawha Co, WV. Perhaps Travelling Man Davenport went on to Kentucky and started the Thomas C Davenport line.
- And finally, many neighbors, -in-laws, and 2 wives of the Davenport brothers in Jackson Co, TN (3rd district) came from an area along Maggotty Creek in Bedford Co (became Franklin Co, VA in 1785) - the very same place Glover Davenport lived.
We have no clue at this time what was the "Non-Paternal Event" that made Joseph a Davenport. If it had been a simple adoption, their should have been guardianship records. Autosomal DNA matching with descendants of the Pamunkey Davenports implies his mother was at least related to these Davenport's or Glover's. Regardless, Joseph was treated as a full son of Glover for inheritance and other legal purposes.
The Davenport men that match each other with FTDNA's Y-DNA test
Davenports of Jackson County, Tennessee
The family of 4 Davenport brothers that first came to Jackson County, TN in 1812
Davenports of DeKalb County, Alabama
One of the 4 brothers, Joseph, left for DeKalb Co, AL about 1839.
Davenports of Washington County, Virginia
John Davenport's (1767-1850+) line went to Washington Co, VA
