Polly Kelsey wife of Thorit Davis

Polly Kelsey was the oldest child in the family of Julius Kelsey and his wife Sylvia Hill. As such she would have been celebrated as the first grandchild for Lois Griffin. Polly was named after her grandmother’s sister Polly. Polly was also the first great grandchild of Samuel Griffin who was then living in Vermont. Its fun to imagine his reaction to the news as he opened the letter from his daughter Lois. In October this year we published the story of Julius and Sylvia’s family including a copy of his will. There has been very little published on the life of Polly. As we have noted in the articles concerning the Kelsey and Davis families any discussion regarding their history or lack there of starts and stops with the records of the Union Episcopal Society in Killingworth. The vital records hidden in the ledger of the Episcopal Society did not find their way into the larger Killingworth history. In addition the Episcopal Society was not as diligent as the Congregational Society in collecting and recording records. There are very few marriage or death records and key for Polly and her future husband there is a 10-year gap in the records that correspond with the beginnings of the Episcopal Movement, which unfortunately overlaps with the time frame for their family history. What kind of documentary history do we have for Polly Kelsey? The easiest place to start is with the records of Alvan Talcott. In his notes on Julius Kelsey’s family he list the oldest child as Polly with no date of birth. Talcott notes that she married Thorit Davis. In the Episcopal ledger we do find record of her baptism. The document is on a piece of paper that has been glued to a page toward the back of the ledger. My interpretation is that it contains material written down in the early days of the Society and pasted into the formal ledger at a later date. The header for the document is divided in two with the parents listed on one side and the person baptized on the other. If you look closely you can see written “Julius Kelsey adult and child”. On the other side is listed Julius and underneath Polly. It seems Julius and his daughter were baptized into the Society on the same day April 8, 1804. In the town ledgers we also find listed Julius and Sylvia Kelsey and their two oldest children Polly and her brother John Hill. The rest of the children were probably born in North Madison. Polly’s date of birth is listed as November 29, 1803. In his will Julius refers to his oldest daughter as Polly Davis, “We set to Polly Davis daughter of said deceased”. ____________________According to the Talcott record Polly married Thorit Davis. Their marriage is recorded in the Barbour Collection for Durham on September 23, 1824. We have been unable to find many references to the early-married days of this couple lost by my calculation in the missing Episcopal records. Most of the histories for Julius’s family list Thorit’s wife as Mary. I have not discovered a single document that supports this claim or any record that uses the name Mary Polly Kelsey. In the 1850 Census we find the family living in Killingworth, Thorit 55, Polly 47, and a daughter Catherine age 6. In the 1860 Census we also see Thorit, Polly and Catherine. In the Killingworth town records there is a record for Catherine’s birth, “Catherine daughter of Thorit and Polly Davis born Jan 4th 1844”. Historical evidence suggests that she was their only child born when her mother was approaching 40. Thorit, Polly and their daughter Catherine are all buried in the Rockland Cemetery in Madison in a large Davis Plot. Rockland is but a short distance from the Stone House Cemetery in Killingworth. The headstones read, “Davis, Thorit, died Mar 19, 1863 age 68”, “Davis, Polly, Wife of Thorit, Died Jan 22, 1879 age 75”. “Davis, Catherine, wife of George Morgan (Davis) born 1844, died 1883”. As a tease of what might have been we find in the Episcopal ledger this record of Polly’s death, “Died in Killingworth January the 22 AD 1879 Polly Kelsey Widow of Thorit Davis Aged 75 years”, Her death is also recorded in detail across two pages in the Killingworth town records. Polly Davis / Jan 1879 / age 76 y / widow / born Madison / living and died in Killingworth / Wife of Thorit Davis / Parents Julius Kelsey-Sylvia Hill. Thorit’s death record is a little sparser. Thorit Davis / March 1863 / 70/ married / born Killingworth. The second page notes that he was a farmer. His is one of the few records that does not list the parents of the departed. Catherine’s death is also recorded it lists her parents as Thorit Davis and Polly Kelsey. _______________________The remaining question is the identity of Thorit Davis. Adding up a bunch of small bits and pieces I would propose the following family tree. Buried in the Rockland Cemetery is Jeremiah Davis his death December 5, 1820 age 45, which supposes a date of birth in 1775. Buried next to him is his wife, “Davis, our Mother, died Feb 19, 1857 age 80 (1777). Next to them two girls, his daughters, Davis, Deborah, died December 29, 1820 age 19 yrs ( 1801 ) and Roxanna, died Jan 13, 1822 age 16 yrs. (1806). Nearby is Thorit who died in 1863 at the age of 68 a date of birth 1795. Their proximity in the cemetery and the fact that all of the Davis’s buried in Rockland are related coupled with the flow of dates all seem to suggest that Jeremiah was Thorit’s father. In the histories published for the Davis family we find the following family tree for Jeremiah, Jeremiah / Levi / Soloman / Soloman. In the 1850 census listed as part of Thorit’s household is Hannah Davis age 86 who was the wife of Solomon Davis, Levi’s brother. Levi Davis had two sons Jeremiah born April 17, 1775 and his brother Levi Jr. September 9, 1777. Among their close kin was Henry Davis husband of Azuba Griffin. Jeremiah’s brother Levi Jr. lived in Killingworth and was a member of the Episcopal Society. Census records place Jeremiah in the North Madison / North Bristol Area. Wallingford in 1810, Madison in 1820. It is my belief that Jeremiah was a part of the North Bristol Episcopal movement. The records for the North Bristol Society written prior to their merging with the North Killingworth Society in 1800 have been lost. Lost with them is any early history or genealogy for Thorit Davis or his siblings. ________________ Polly Kelsey Davis / Julius Kelsey / Lois Griffin-Stephen Kelsey / Samuel Griffin-Marah / Samuel Griffin. Click on images to enlarge.