Davis Genealogy - Western NC

Marty and Karla Grant

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Welcome to my Davis genealogy pages. I am interested in the Davis surname in a few select western North Carolina counties, primarily Burke, Yancey, Mitchell, Avery, Cherokee and Graham.

Davis was the 7^th most common surname in the United States in 2000. By 2010 it had dropped to 11^th.

Due to how common this name is, my interest is limited to the counties mentioned and some bordering counties.

I do have another Davis line in southeastern North Carolina that is not related to these as far as I can tell. Click here for information on those Davis families.

My most recent Davis ancestor was my 3^rd Great Grandmother Margaret Ann Davis (1835-1927) wife of William Carpenter. William and Margaret were 1^st cousins once removed. They both died in Graham Co., NC. She was born in Ashe Co., NC. Her proven parents are:

Jacob Davis (c1803-1873) and Susanna Miller. Jacob was born in Burke Co., NC in the section that became Yancey County in 1833, and became Mitchell County in 1861 and finally, Avery County in 1911. He grew up in that area while it was still Burke. In 1825 he went to Ashe Co., NC and married his 1^st cousin Susanna Miller there. They lived in Ashe a few years near her parents. By 1839 they moved to Blount Co., TN and resided in the area known as Cades Cove, now part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They remained there until ca 1848 when they moved over the mountains back into North Carolina into what is now Graham Co., NC, but was then part of Cherokee Co., NC. Jacob Davis died in 1873, and Susanna died in 1895. They are buried at the Phillips-Sherrill Cemetery near Robbinsville, the county seat of Graham County. They had 12 children. Jacob Davis is a proven son of:

William Davis (c1731-1841) and Frances Carpenter. William Davis was born in Virginia, county unknown. He served in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. He lived in Mecklenburg Co., NC at some point, though it isn’t clear when, perhaps right after the war. He married 1^st to Mary Miller ca 1770s in what is now Yadkin Co., NC but was then part of Rowan, soon to become Surry County. She was a daughter of Christian and Veronica Miller. They had three daughters together, then something happened and they split up. Apparently she had other children and he didn’t think they were his, probably due to his long absences from home. After she died, before 1794 presumably, William married Frances Carpenter, who was Mary’s niece. This would have taken place in Wilkes Co., NC most likely since that’s where her father lived at that time, in the section that would soon become Ashe County in 1799. Family legend says that Frances had also been married before, to a Mr. Weatherman, though that has not been confirmed with any actual evidence. It is reasonable to believe though for they were neighbors with a Weatherman family in both Surry Co., NC and later in Burke Co., NC.

After marrying, William and Frances immediately moved to the Toe River Valley in then Burke Co., NC. There they had eight children, only one dying young (as far as we know). William Davis died in 1841 over the age of 100, perhaps as much as 111. Frances, his wife, died in 1842, aged 71.

We do know who William Davis’s parents were, nor have any strong clues been found thus far.

Revised: January 18, 2026

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