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*	PART 1                                                                       *                                                                             

*	THE GENESIS OF THE DAVIS CLAN                                                *

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Although the name of Davis has only been around for a little more than three hundred years, the ancestral line has been traced far back into the depths or ages past. In fact, Mrs. Frances (Davis) Watkins prepared a chart from her family research findings that showed one Beli-Mawr who, at the time of 100 BC, was King of England. Her list of more than fifty generations is very impressive as it contains the names of men who played the very important roles in events that shaped the destiny or our Western Civilization. Some of these important men were: Constantine The Great, 306 AD; Charles Martel and his son Pepin The Short; Charlemagne, The Holy Roman Emperor; Pepin, King of Italy, 810 AD; Bernard, King of Lombardy; Henry I of France; Philip I of France; Louis VII of France; Philip II of France; Louis VIII of France; Cadwallan The Long Handed and Rhodi-Mawr, King of All Wales and Isle of Man.

Davis is a Welsh name and one of the most common in Wales today. It was derived from David, and considering the meaning of that name - well beloved - popular in biblical times and favored by Scottish kings, it is no wonder that this appellation became very desirable to the rulers of Wales as well. As a matter of fact, David is also a sort of distinctive title applied to a special person talented in music and/or poetry. Evidently it is related to the lyrical and musical talent of King David of the Bible. The Welsh folk have a great desire for these qualities within their culture and they tend to excel with music.

It was common in Welsh names before the 17th Century, to use the word "ap" to indicate "son of". For example, Morgan ap David would mean Morgan, son of David. In time the "ap" was dropped while the final letter of David became an "s" so that a son of David became a Davis. This was the way the name was evolved. We found among the ancestors on the chart a Morgan ap David living in 1622 but about 1664 find his grandson listed as Morgan Davis. So it is highly conceivable that it was about this time that the Davis name came into being.

Three hundred years and perhaps fifteen generations later, we find that the clan has been very prolific since the quantity of Davises seems to out number many other names found in the British Isles and America today.

The life of the Welsh people, through the ages, has been filled with conflict. Prior to the Roman occupation period, three British groups or tribes mainly inhabited Wales and these were the Silures, Dimetae and Ordovices. In the latter part of the Roman occupation, there was an invasion of the British Isles by Saxons and the Land of Wales became a refuge of the vanquished as Britons were gradually driven to the west. From that time until the final conquest of the country by Edward I, wars of a petty type between the rival chiefs and rulers took place.

The country had its heroes. Cadwallon was one and he is believed to be one of the ancestors of our family. He fought valiantly in many battles and was able to lead his people to victory a number of times. He had to meet the returning foe many times as these Saxons returned with superior numbers to wage war again. In the end, he was slain in 635 AD but to this day, he is remembered as a hero of his country.

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