A Brief summary of our family’s history in
John Davidson
John Davidson’s parents were George Davidson
and Beatrix Wallace and they were married in Peterhead,
However,
his life as a Scot in
He
arrived in
The
On arrival, John was employed by Fenwick Mason
and Cie (Established 1788) as a wine
trader; he then joined the
Like Consul J.Fenwick, John Davidson was almost certainly Catholic,
which his American employers saw as an advantage in a Catholic country like
When the Consul was absent,[3] John
took over his duties, assisted by John Woods, Consular secretary.
We also know that John Davidson was interpreter for
the Captains of riggings from
John left his post at the Consulate in December,
1795 [4] after an extremely demanding year and in
1796, together with John Woods, set up a company trading in wine, brandy and
groceries called " Davidson-Woods and Cie.
This company handled the trade of Joseph Fenwick
when the latter was absent [5]for which J.Fenwick
remunerated the company to the tune of FF
However this company was dissolved due to a
difference of opinion in 1801 and Davidson and Woods parted company.
In 1802, John Davidson decided to set up a new
company called Davidson-Forster Cie (with an Irish associate), ensuring the
transport of goods to
In the meantime, he married Martha Bowie in 1794 [8] and
they had 7 children. It would seem that due to the influence of Martha Bowie,
the family then became Protestant.
Between 1796 and 1810, all of John and Martha’s
family , as well as Martha’s brother and sister, moved from the rue de Charron
to 110 Chartrons Quays.
Troubled by the "Terror" of the French
Revolution ( 1793-1794 ), the family endured the "cold war" between
A directive from the Home Secretary dated April 6th,
1804 ordered that due to “the cold war" with the
The Chamber of Commerce of
- that they were well integrated in
- their major role in commercial activities
- and vouching for their honesty.
As a result, seventeen traders were allowed to
remain in
In 1811, John, perturbed by these events, decided to
leave Chartrons Quays, and with Martha and their children, moved into more
modest, discreet houses situated firstly in the rue de Coussé and then in the
rue de Poyenne.
Although not far from Chartrons Quays, they no
longer enjoyed their previous panoramic view over the River
In the rue de Poyenne, Martha died [9] when
their youngest child, William, was only ten years old, but the family rallied
round and he was brought up by his father and his elder sisters.
They then moved to the rue de Minvielle (census
1831), where John died. [10]
The fortunes of the Davidson family took a turn for
the better.
The boys were all apprentice traders or brokers and
enjoyed a good standard of living.
- Eléonore, the eldest daughter, lived alone. [11]
- The youngest sister Eliza [12] lived
with the twins, John-Joseph and Mary-Ann.[13]
- William [14] the
youngest son also lived alone and was the most prosperous.
- Georges Charles [15] lived
alone, and as he was an invalid, he spent his time between the hospital and his
house.
All were unmarried and lived at 20, 30, and 36 rue
de
Jacques Davidson:
- Only Jacques [16] the
third child, although unwed, lived with Elizabeth Roque [17] as a married couple in the rue de
Elizabeth’s sister, Jeanne, also lived with them. [18]
Jacques, an apprentice trader, and Elizabeth had a
child together, and when Elizabeth died at the age of only 33, he brought up
his son with his "sister-in-law Jeanne" who later became his wife. [19].
Jacques
and Jeanne formally adopted Hypolite in adulthood [20] when he
announced his intention to marry, wherafter he took the name of his biological
father, Davidson.
Many of our ancestors who lived in
Hypolite Davidson :
Hypolite was a candle maker, then foreman. (1880).
His first marriage was to Céline Durban [21] with whom he had three children
-
Jean-Jacques, born on 23 November 1859, died only two days
later
-
A still-born girl in 1861 [22]
-
Emile James [23]
Céline
herself died in September 1864 at the age of only 25. It would appear that
Hypolite brought up his child, Emile, with the help of his mother Jeanne, his
Aunt Eliza, his Uncle John-Joseph, and his sisters-in-law, Jeanne and Marie
Durban. After six years as a widower, Hypolite married for a second time, to
Marie Bentéjac. [24]
Around
1872-74, the couple settled in the
Until
now, the Davidsons had been bilingual English/French but with the family now
living in two different towns, their use of the English language diminished.
The two youngest children of the first generation did however continue to live
together in
- In
Hypolite
and Marie had two children who were born in Le Bouscat :
-
James Henry Adolphe [30] an accountant who married Jeanne
d’Hioré.(
-
Gabriel Florentin [31] retail employee, who married Marguerite
Louise Dhios on 19 October 1905 .(Le Bouscat)
Hypolite
no longer worked as a foreman, but was in the retail trade, also exercising the
functions of Deputy-Mayor of Le Bouscat. [32].
Emile-James Davidson : (child of the first
marriage)
Emile’s
upbringing must have been rather difficult, since following his father’s second
marriage, he was sent to live with a family outside Gironde for several years,
far away from his father.
After
his apprenticeship, he became a blacksmith in 1881 [33] and returned to the
-
Clotilde [35]
-
Marcel James [36]
-
André [37]
Prior
to 1900, Emile was a train driver with the
André Davidson :
In
December 1917, before leaving for the Front, he saw his grandfather Hypolite
die in his arms. He married Marguerite Dumaulié on 12 July 1921. André worked
as a garage mechanic with his father, then with a Mr. Thomas in Bordeaux, who
invented a prototype for a car, following which he was an workshop mechanic for
the S.N.C.F, before establishing his own company in 1956. This company
manufactured materials, some of his own invention, relating to woodworking, one
of which was a complex machine, capable of forming wood into crates
incorporating racks for storing bottles.
In
1929, he moved to Ruffec (Charente) after an accident at work, then to Agen
(Lot et
Later
in life, when he retired, he became an engineering consultant and was President
of the Association of Inventors of
Following his second marriage, Hypolite and his direct
descendants continued to live in the South-West of France, in Bordeaux, Le
Bouscot, Taillan-Médoc, Eysines, Asques, Pessac, Tarnos and Bayonne.
After the War, the succeeding generations spread out
to the Landes, the Var, Le Gard, the Bouches du Rhône,l’Yonne and the
Throughout the generations, our family members have
had many diverse occupations :
In the retail trade
Craftsmen
Two Deputy-Mayors
One President of the Association of Inventors of
South
Painter-decorators
Garage workshop owners and mechanics
Travelling salesmen
A priest
Automobile mechanics
Civil servants
Teachers
One Naval Officer
Biological technicians
A doctor
Technicians in Moderns Technologies
Lawyer….
Between 1891 and 1990, there
were only 181 people with the name Davidson in
Translation
: Michel Davidson, Brenda Coyle-Davidson
[1] Letter from
[2] 13th May 1791: letter signed by J.Fenwick
[3] From April to October 1793, April to November
1795, August 1796 to October 1797(BMBxD71215)
[4] He signed
his last act for Thomas Whipps
Capitain of vessel
[5] ADG 3.E.23459 procuration of
Fenwick-Mason to John Davidson and John Woods 1st /08/1793.
[6] ADG 3.E.20625, legal
act 16th June1796 (ADG=Achives Départementales de
[7] On 22nd December 1807 John made the crossing
Bordeaux-Charleston as negotiator
[8] Married 17th March 1794 –(AMBx=Archives Municipales de Bordeaux REgistre.2.E.4 act n° 209).
[9] Martha died
31st December 1821 –
AMBx Reg 3.E.110 act n°182 S (50 years)
[10] John died 9th August 1845-AMBx 4.E.1179 act n°691 (85
years)
[11] Born 17th February 1795- AMBx Reg 1.E.7 act n°365- Died
14th May 1861(66 years)
[12] Born 6th March 1796 – AMBx Reg 1.E.10 act n°464- Died
4th May 1883 (87 years)
[13] Born 1st August 1805 – AMBx Reg 1.E.37 acts n° 775 et
776- Mary-Ann died 19th May
1864 (58 years)
[14] Born 10th September 1811 – AMBx Reg 1.E. act n° 754 –Died 18th May 1861 (50 years)
[15] Born 23rd January 1803 – AMBx Reg 1.E.25act n°304 –
Died 23rd April 1851 (48
years)
[16] Born 10th July 1798 – AMBx Reg 1.E.16 act n° 922-
Died 6th February 1861 (62 years)
[17] Adopted
22nd December 1857-
AMBx 4.E.1313 act n°77 ter
[18] Born 12th August 1812 – AMBx Reg 1.E.16 act n° 922-
Died 24th December 1894 (82 years)
[19] Married
17th May 1851 – AMBx
Reg 2.E.142 act n°259
[20] Adopted
22nd December 1857- AMBx
4.E.1313 act n°77 ter
[21] Married
2nd March 1859 –
Notaire Pery 3.E.29121-
[22] 1861 was a bad year for the family with 4 deaths: Jacques 6th February, a daughter of Hypolite and Céline born and died 12th February, Eléonore 4th May, and William le 18th May. Family vault (Cemetery La grande
Chartreuse) was bought by Jacques on 25th October 1854 .
[23] Born 10th
January
[24] Married
13th August 1870 – Archives Départementales de
[25] Census of 1886 cours Louis Blanc : Jeanne
died in 1894.
[26] Census of
1906 72 route du Médoc : Marie died in 1925.
[27] Eliza died 4th May 1883(87 yearss) ADG 2MID 5/92 act n°572
[28] John-Joseph died 3rd September 1893
(88 years)- 2MID-5/103 act n°1208.
John-Joseph inherited from all his brothers
and sisters and had been of independent means for 30 years.
[29] John-Joseph and his brother William were not of French nationality in
1847 (letter Royal court of Bordeaux 17th June 1847)
[30] Born
9th March 1875 – Archives
Municipales du Bouscat. Died 29th January 1949 –
[31] Born 18th
July 1881 – Archives Municipales du Bouscat-Died 10th May
1945 –
[32] He had Mayor ‘s functions ( December 15th,1883
to May18th, 1884), replacing the outgoing Mr Feuillet. He regained his duties
as Deputy-Mayor with the new municipality.
[33] His half-brother was only 6 and Gabriel was a newborn…
[34] Married
4th July 1888 –
Archives Municipales du Bouscat.
[35] Born 17th April 1889 .Died 24th December 1891- Archives Municipales du
Bouscat.
[36] Born 11th February 1892 – Sergeant died in 1st
World War 3rd October 1914
(22 years)
[37] Born 14th May1894
Bordeaux -Died 28th
January 1984 (89 years)