Do We Have an American Indian Ancestor?

You may have an American Indian ancestor if you are a descendant of my grandmother Dessie Ellen (Kimsey) Anderson. This is a very hot topic among the descendants of Nathaniel Davis (ca 1665-1740), of which there are apparently millions… Some say yes, others say nope.

The story is that Nathaniel Davis (ca. 1655-1740, my 7th great grandfather) married Elizabeth Hughes, who was half American Indian. The story goes that her mother was named Nicketti and her father was an Indian Trader some say was named Hughes.¹

I have decided that I think the story is likely true and I’m going to tell you why I think so. Versions of this story have been told by many descendant families of Nathaniel Davis, and published in their family histories. The family of a famous descendant, John Floyd, governor of Virginia, never denied their ancestry. I’m going to quote from two family histories. Some other information from the Floyd family will be noted later in this post.

I’m going to start with a long quote from The Cabells and Their Kin, first published in 1895. This gives a flavor of the story.

“Opechancanough, the celebrated chief of the Powhatans, who was brutally murdered, while a prisoner, in 1644, left a lovely young daughter, the child of his old age, the Princess Nicketti — ‘she sweeps the dew from the flowers.’ Some years after this graceful Indian maiden had reached the years of mature womanhood, a member name is not given of one of the old Cavalier families of Virginia ‘fell in love with her and she with him,’ and the result was a clandestine marriage, and a half-breed Indian girl who married about the year 1680 a Welshman (others say a native of Devonshire, England,) named Nathaniel Davis, an Indian trader, and, according to some accounts, a Quaker; and from this alliance many notable people in the East and in the West have descended. Their daughter, Mary Davis (born about 1685), married Samuel Burks of Hanover (the ancestors of the Burks family of Virginia), and their daughter, Elizabeth Burks, married Capt. William Cabell, the ancestor of the Cabells; Martha Davis, another daughter, married Abraham Venable, the ancestor of the Venables. Robert Davis, Sr., a son (the ancestor of ‘the black Davises’ of Kentucky, and from whom Jefferson Davis descended), had a daughter, Abadiah (or Abigail) Davis, who married William Floyd, the ancestor of the Floyds of Virginia and of the West. A daughter, or granddaughter, of the Quaker, married Gen’l Evan Shelby of Maryland, the ancestor of the Shelbys of the West.” ²

From the Tuly family history: “About 1745* William Floyd, accompanied by a family named Davis, also of Welch parentage, went to the eastern shore, thence to Amherst Co., Va., where the elder Davis had accumulated large landed property, trading with the Catawba Indians. The elder Davis had married a half breed Indian girl by whom she had daughters and a son named Robert. Two of the daughters married; one a Mr. Venable, the other Gen. Evan Shelby of Maryland, who moved to Natchez, Miss Abediah Davis, daughter of Robert, married William Floyd about 1747. By this union twelve children were born. “³

Why do some people claim it’s not true? Mostly people doubt the story because they cannot find evidence for who Hughes is or who Nicketti was. That is not a surprise – I have lots of ancestors I can find nothing about. In fact, I can’t find the father of Alexander Anderson, born in 1805, and here we are talking the early 1600s. Not having proof does not mean something is not true.

Are family stories true? Clearly they are not always completely true, but I think they generally have a germ of truth. Things I do notice with reports and stories is that there tends to be confusion of generations, either on the part of the speaker or the listener. This is especially a problem when so many people in the family have the same or similar names. In this case, our progenitor is Nathaniel Davis. He had a son who was generally called Robert, but many people believe that both his father and he were named either Robert Nathaniel or Nathaniel Robert. Then the third generation includes yet another Robert (also my ancestor) who was probably also named Robert Nathaniel or Nathaniel Robert. Also embellishments may be added as the story is passed from generation to generation and family to family.

Indians did not have princesses. This “argument” means nothing. Pocahontas, the best documented Indian wife of an English American (John Rolfe) was consistently called an “Indian princess” by the English.

Why do I think the story is basically true?

1) Nathaniel Davis was said to have been an Indian Trader (he traded with the Indians) as was the elusive “Hughes”. So there was no lack of contact with American Indians on the part of either of them. To add to that, there was a great lack of women in the colonies at that time and those there were would not have been on the frontier. So this is not an unlikely occurrence and would probably have been an advantage to their business. He was also said to be a Quaker. Quakers believe all people are equal, no matter their color or sex. In general Quakers got along well with the Indians.

Also, there is a well documented example of a woman from the same tribe marrying an English person (John Rolfe married Pocahontas aka Matoaka). Nicketti was said to be a relative of Pocahontas.

2) Stories in all the families never denied an Indian ancestor even when it was very strongly discouraged to have anything but “white” ancestry. The Floyd family was famous in Virginia and John Floyd was governor of Virginia. I quoted a couple of the family histories above and there are more. I have not found a written Davis family history but I have read that the Davis family also claimed an Indian ancestor. This refusal to deny an Indian ancestor existed in spite of white supremacist laws in Virginia.

Letitia Preston Floyd was the daughter of Colonel William Preston and wife of John Floyd, governor of Virginia, 1830-1834 (picture above). This from her memoir dated 22 February 1843.

“William Floyd left the Eastern Shore [and] went up the Country as far as Amherst County, which was then a very wild region. He met with a family by the name of Davis, whose ancestors had come from Wales. They had traded with the Catawba Indians, and got much property in that way. The father of Robert Davis had married a half breed Indian girl. This Robert Davis was the father of Miss Abidiah Davis, whom Mr. William Floyd married. Davis owned many of the rich lands of Amherst. His other daughters married a Mr. Venable and Gen. Evan Shelby of Maryland. His oldest son Robert Davis emigrated even at that early day to Natchez where many of his descendants live.”

3) Some of the descendants looked very unlike the English people they descended from. One example is Robert Davis, my 6th great grandfather, who was called “The Black Davis”. Another example is John Floyd.

“Either the mother or grandmother of Abadiah was Indian, and the physical characteristics of that race passed down in a marked degree to future generations. One Abadiah’s brothers was known as “The Black Davis” because of his dark skin; and Robert Floyd, a son of Abadiah, took a woman to court in Kentucky in 1783 because she was supposed to have said the Floyds were of a “Mustic Breed.” John is described by a contemporary as “a marked brunette in hair and complexion and eyes.” Straight black hair, black eyes, and high cheek bones were found in members of the family for decades to come. The identity of this mysterious ancestress, however, has never been authenticated. Some say her name was Nicketti, but there is even doubt about that.”⁴

More about John Floyd: “Alternately a surveyor, a legislator, and a soldier, his distinguished qualities rendered him at once an ornament and a benefactor of the infant settlements. No individual among the early pioneers was more intelligent or better informed; more displayed on all occasions that called for it, had a bolder or more undaunted courage. His person was singularly attractive. With complexion unusually dark, his eyes and hair were deep black and his tall spare figure was dignified by the accomplishments of a well bred Virginia gentleman.”⁵

From Louisville’s First Families:
“The parents of the pioneers. Col. William Floyd and his wife, Abediah (or Abigail) Davis, were of Welsh descent, and the family tradition that there is a strain of Indian blood in the Davis family is sustained by old photographs of various descendants, while high cheek bones and blue black hair are noticeable in some generation of each branch of the Floyd connection.”⁶

This is only a small collection of the many stories passed down by descendants of Nathanial Davis and Elizabeth Hughes. This relates no doubt to the large number of prominent descendants of this couple. And many more stories of my own descendants of this couple. Upcoming would be his grandson Robert Davis (ca 1707-1780, my 5th great grandfather) who moved to Kentucky with some of the Floyd family. Robert Davis and John Floyd (1750-1783) were both killed by Indians. Fortunately, John Floyd’s wife was already pregnant with John Floyd (1783-1837) who became governor of Virginia. Also fortunately Robert Davis had 11 children, including my ancestor Landon Davis, before he was scalped by Indians on 18 May 1780.

If you are descended from Dessie Ellen Kimsey and Samuel Anderson, your pioneer ancestors led very exciting and even dangerous lives pioneering frontier Virginia, then Kentucky, often then central Missouri, then Platte County. Some of their relatives continued their journeys to Oregon and/or California. There are many more stories to come!

1. Nicketti can be spelled various ways
2. The Cabells and Their Kin, first published in 1895
3. The Tuly Family Memoirs by William Floyd Tuley, 1906.
4. Colonel John Floyd: Reluctant adventurer by Anna M. cartlidge, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society , October, 1968, Vol. 66, No. 4 (October, 1968), pp. 317-366
5. The life and diary of John Floyd governor of Virginia, an apostle of secession and the father of the Oregon Country by Charles H. Ambler, PhD. (1919)
6. Louisville’s First Families by Kathleen Jennings, 1920, page167