Family accountDate under verification
Birth date carried in family research
The family archive currently carries an approximate birth year of 1746. A contemporary birth or baptism record has not yet been attached.
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American Revolution and War of 1812 eras · Military service claimed but not yet proven
Daniel Davis Sr.
Davis family patriarch
No confirmed unit has been identified
About 1746–1846 · Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana
★Family photographReserved for the archive
His story
A life remembered beyond the service record.
Daniel Davis Sr. stands at the head of the Davis family line currently traced in this archive. Family newsletters identify Sarah Albright as his wife and preserve a large descendant network through children including Susanna, Emanuel, Israel, and Levi. Later family research associated Daniel with the Tolpehocken Creek region of Pennsylvania and with a late War of 1812 draft to Carlisle Barracks. A separate 1845 Revolutionary War pension claim alleged earlier service, but the claim was not accepted as proof. These accounts are important evidence of family memory while the archive continues seeking contemporary records.
Explore the archive
Related collections
Long-form sources are kept in separate reading rooms so Daniel Davis Sr.’s profile can remain a clear guide to his life, service, and surviving records.
Master file repositoryDaniel Davis Sr. DownloadsBrowse every cataloged file →Descendant research · 1911Israel C. Davis on Daniel DavisRead the attributed research note →Davis family archiveThe Davis Family HistoryFollow Daniel’s descendant branches →Open questions · not established factNeeds Further ResearchReview conflicting and speculative claims →
At a glance
The known record.
Every statement is phrased according to the strength of the evidence currently held or identified.
- 01Family records currently give Daniel’s lifespan as about 1746–1846; the exact dates and places still require documentary confirmation.
- 02Identified in the family newsletters as the husband of Sarah Albright Davis and father of the Davis generation that included Susanna, Emanuel, Israel, and Levi.
- 03The 1927 newsletter names descendants of Daniel Jr., Christian, John, Adam, Peter, Samuel, Henry, Susanna, Emanuel, Israel, and Levi as participants in Daniel Davis Association reunions.
- 04A later private genealogy describes Daniel as a weaver and as a stone and brick mason. These occupations are useful family context, but no contemporary trade record has yet been attached.
- 05A 1924 Bureau of Pensions summary, reproduced in secondary compilations, names seventeen children: Elizabeth, John, Daniel, Christian, Adam, Jacob, Peter, Samuel, Emanuel, Henry, Jonathan, Susanna, Levi, Israel, Benjamin, Michael, and Sarah. The compilation warns that this is not their birth order.
- 06Grandson Israel C. Davis wrote in 1911 that Daniel Jr. remembered being raised near Tolpehocken Creek in Pennsylvania.
- 07Israel C. Davis proposed William Davis, recorded as an Amity Township settler in 1752, as Daniel’s father; he explicitly presented this as his own conclusion, not a proven relationship.
- 08Israel C. Davis also reported that Daniel was drafted at the close of the War of 1812, taken to Carlisle Barracks, and discharged because the war had ended.
- 09An 1845 pension claim alleged American Revolutionary War service from approximately 1778 to 1783, but the evidence was not accepted; no confirmed unit is presently assigned to Daniel.
- 010The 1924 family history says Daniel later took Israel and Benjamin to Carroll County, Indiana, purchased 160 acres on Wild Cat Creek, and eventually turned that farm over to Israel and Rebecca.
Operational timeline
What we can place so far.
Family researchIsrael C. Davis, 1911
A possible Tolpehocken Creek connection
In 1911, grandson Israel C. Davis recalled that Daniel Davis Jr. spoke of Tolpehocken Creek and said he was raised in that neighborhood. Israel C. considered this support for a possible connection to William Davis of Amity Township, but the parent-child link remains a hypothesis.
Military claimPension claim not accepted
Revolutionary War service alleged
Daniel’s 1845 pension claim alleged service during the American Revolution. The application did not establish the claim to the satisfaction of the pension authorities, so this archive treats the service as unproven rather than assigning a regiment or rank.
Military family accountIsrael C. Davis, 1911
Draft and Carlisle Barracks story
Israel C. Davis wrote that Daniel was drafted, taken to Carlisle Barracks, and discharged there because the war had ended. The statement is a family account recorded in 1911; a draft, muster, or discharge record has not yet been identified.
Family historyDaniel Davis News, 1924 and 1926
Sarah Albright Davis dies
The family newsletters report that Sarah died when twins Israel and Levi were about three. Daniel kept the younger children together for several years before placing some with other households.
Life beyond serviceSecondary family compilation
Civilian trades preserved in a private genealogy
A later secondary compilation describes Daniel as a weaver and as a stone and brick mason. The claim does not conflict with the established family narrative, but it remains a research lead until a tax list, directory, account book, land record, or other contemporary source confirms his work.
Migration and landDaniel Davis News, 1924
Moved younger sons to Carroll County
The 1924 history says Daniel returned from visiting older children in eastern Pennsylvania, took Israel and Benjamin to Carroll County, Indiana, and purchased 160 acres of government land on Wild Cat Creek for $1.25 per acre.
Government recordClaim rejected; secondary transcription reviewed
Applied for a Revolutionary War pension
A secondary transcription of the declaration says Daniel had no surviving record of his age: the church register was reportedly destroyed and a family Bible record lost in a house fire. It also says he could identify no surviving eyewitness to his service; local witnesses instead attested to his reputation as a Revolutionary soldier and to his advanced age. The claim was not accepted as proven, and the original complete pension file remains a priority.
Family accountDate under verification
Death date carried in family research
The archive currently carries an approximate death year of 1846. Place of death and burial remain under research.
Descendant researchAttributed family research
Israel C. Davis records family research
Writing from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Daniel’s grandson summarized the Tolpehocken tradition, his theory concerning William Davis, and the War of 1812 draft story.
Family legacyDaniel Davis News, 1927
Descendants organize in Daniel’s name
The Daniel Davis Association united descendants of the family’s many branches. The 1927 newsletter says descendants of eleven named children had attended reunions during the association’s first twenty years.
Beyond the uniform
The person the family knew.
A military file can record a rank, unit, wound, or death—but not a laugh, a favorite story, an occupation, or the way a person was known at home. This section is reserved for photographs, letters, memories, and the details of Daniel Davis Sr.’s life outside his service.
Family & homeWork & interestsLetters & photographs
Documents & evidence
Building the paper trail.
What is known, what comes from family memory, and what the archive is still seeking.
Further records
Research status
DOC 01
Family accountResearch by Israel C. Davis, 16 November 1911
A grandson’s attributed statement preserving the Tolpehocken tradition, a proposed father, and the Carlisle Barracks story.
DOC 02
Known record1845 Revolutionary War pension claim
A government claim file exists, but the alleged service was not accepted as proven. The complete file should be acquired and transcribed.
DOC 03
Family accountThe Daniel Davis News, August 1924
Preserves Daniel’s relationship to Israel, the family’s separation after Sarah’s death, and the move to Carroll County, Indiana.
DOC 04
Family accountThe Daniel Davis News, August 1927
Documents the association founded in Daniel’s name and lists eleven descendant branches represented at reunions.
DOC 05
Family accountDaniel Davis Genealogy and History private printing
Secondary compilation used only for non-conflicting context: reported occupations, the larger child-name register, and leads concerning Sarah Albright Davis.
DOC 06
Research leadSarah Albright Davis burial
A secondary compilation places her in a Lutheran cemetery in the Brinker Settlement near Salem, Ohio. Cemetery and church records are needed before treating the location as confirmed.
DOC 07
Research leadPennsylvania land, tax, church, and probate records
Needed to test the Tolpehocken and Amity Township hypothesis and distinguish Daniel from other men with the same name.
DOC 08
Research leadWar of 1812 draft and Carlisle records
Needed to corroborate the 1911 family account of Daniel’s draft and discharge.
DOC 09
Research leadIndiana federal land entry
Could independently identify the Wild Cat Creek purchase and clarify Daniel’s later residence.