A-Z of Entries

see Poland Street 19 to 44 in London Addresses dataset

John Davidge 28 Poland St ratebooks 1790-1800 / John Davidge born 16.5.1756 Breamore, Hants (Ancestry user-submitted tree) / John Westrow Davidge = St Geo Han Sq 23.4.1785 Sarah Sutliff botp banns wits Nathl Sutliff, Susanah Lappacq / John Westrow Davidge son of John & Sarah bapt 29.7.1791 bur 3.2.1792 St James / Elizabeth Davidge bapt 20.1.1793 dau of John & Sara bur 12.4.1795 St James / John Davidge son of John & Sarah bapt 26.4.1795 bur 14.5.1795 St James / Deborah bapt 11.6.1796 Ann bapt 16.8.1798 Joseph Daniel…

Davidson 3.3.1789 at Timothy Hollis' / 7.3.1789 Dn  / 5.5.1789 again / 24.7.1789 again / 25.9.1789 again / 19.2.1790 again / 30.3.1790 again / 15.6.1790 again

The Dn entries might be George Dyson, but probably Davidson, whom I have failed to identify so far

James Davidson printer Clare Court, Strand voted Tooke 1790. St Clement Danes rates 1789 to 1794 James Davidson, Clare Court, Strand value £30. Thale is the source for otherwise unreferenced items below. On 11.4.1793 he printed handbills for LCS; a Davidson was in committee of correspondence 21.11.1793; a Davison was delegate of Div 5 on 2.1.1794. In the examination of spy Nodder by the Privy Council 22.5.1794 (Nat Arch TS 11/963) James Davidson of (Rickett?) Court, Covent Garden was claimed to have been sometimes printer for Lambeth Loyal Association. The list of witnesses for the treason…

Davies 10.11.1793 at Perry's / Davies 23.1.1795 at John King's was probably William 'Black' Davis (QV*) spelt differently on first encounter as so often in Godwin's diary. The next Davies spelt this way called 3 times in April 1812 (see my entry for Davis/Davies after 1805). See also Davis, Robert in Society for Constitutional Information dataset.

miss Davis 30.11.1795 at miss Jones's with Breach's / 15.12.1795 at miss Jones' / 18.12.1795 again / 7.3.1798 at Bath Davis's & Richardson's at tea

The above entries may well have been the same Davis family, on 5.3.1798 Godwin had taken tea in Bath at Richardson's with the Jones's, see entries for Breach and for Jones, Louisa and Jones, Margaret. (The miss Jones of 1795 usually appeared with Godwin's sister Hannah and on 19.2.1797 L Jones appeared with Hannah Godwin). See Richardson entry for possibllity that this was the family of Thomas Davis DNB 1749-1807, whose will PCC…

Davis from Virginia calls 9.12.1802

I think this was probably John Davis 1774-1854 traveller and author. Sadly nothing on him in DNB or Amer Nat Biog. (The only account of his life I have found is by Colin Elliott in the 1985 reprint by Tops'l books of his classic "The Post Captain" a comic naval yarn) I have since found the account by Thelma Louise Kellogg published by the University of Maine in 1824. His work "Travels of four and a half years &c" publ London 1803 gave exact dates for his journey much of which was on foot in Virginia. He landed back in England on 14.9.1802 near…

Davis, apud Leland, pp.18.  10.8.1800 / 11.8.1800 meet Davis

On 9.8.1800 Godwin had resumed his reading of Leland's History of Ireland after his journey to Carlow and reached p182 (presumably of Vol 3). I'm not clear what he meant by Davis apud Leland, must have a look at the Leland. Apud generally means "in" when applied to a book. Was it just coincidence that he met Davis the next day?

2.4.1810 dine at Tipper's, Cumberland, Bligh, Dr & mr Davis,  H Robinson, Crowe & J Richter

Perhaps David Daniel Davis DNB 1777-1841 or perhaps John Bunnell Davis DNB 1777-1824. Less likely John Ford Davis DNB 1773-1864. Another (medical?) doctor in London (Holdens 1811) was Dr John Davis 23 Cato-st, Edgware-rd. See my entry for Bligh

From 3.2.1792 to 1.8.1797 there were 68 'call on Davis' entries, often next to a call on Robinson, and on 4.1.1793 'best book that ever was published'. These probably all referred to the printer Jonas Davis of Chancery Lane c.1756-1827, who had been an assistant to Archibald Hamilton (see John Nichols, Literary Anecdotes vol 3 p398-9) and who was mentioned as Davis, 91, Chancery Lane in a letter fron Godwin to Wollstonecraft. In the five and a half years of Godwin calling on Davis there were just 2 'Davis calls' entries, on 19.5.1792 and 18.11.1796; these may have also been Jonas Davis.…

Davis 14.6.1797 at Bage's / 10.6.1800 Davis of Tamworth calls

Likely to have been James Davis gent of Tamworth will PCC 1811

SOCIETY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION:  Robert Davis of Shoreditch proposed 21.3.1783 by Michael Pearson 2nded John Satchell

Bailey's Directory 1790 Robert Davis cheesemonger 190 Shoreditch (plenty of other Robert Davises but this was the only one of Shoreditch found) / born 1747 Slimbridge Glos son of Robert Davies, gent and his wife Anna Maria (nee Stone) who married at Long Crendon, Bucks 28.6.1738 / his brother William (Alum Ox) was rector of Eastington, Glos / Robert Davies bach of Shoreditch (cheesemonger in Marr License) = Enfield 20.4.1769 Mary Cradock otp sp wits John…

From meeting of Div 23 on 11.12.1793 in Brown Bear, Moorfields the spy George Lynam reported that Davis went to a Serjt at the Tower and made a convert of him & several Soldiers. On 20.12.1793 Home Secretary Evan Nepean wrote to Major General Leake that a shoemaker named Davis of 15 Cannon Street had been spreading sedition to soldiers at the Tower. (Thale p.34). He may have been the same as Peter Davey or Davie who testified at the LCS trial of Lynam 13.6.1793 that he had enquired about Lynam's character from a Mr Crab and then proposed him as a member. Peter Davey was Div 23 delegate…

Davis, Welch Unitarian calls 20.1.1803

David Davis DNB 1745-1827 poet and dissenting minister was a radical in politics and became an Arian in theology but some of his congregation broke away to form Unitarian churches. His son David Davis Dict Welsh Biog 1778-1846 was a Unitarian and the diaries of his son Timothy Davis 1779-1860 are in the Nat Libr of Wales (5487-99). As far as I can gather none of the ministries of this family were in London so they are less likely to have been any of the later Davis entries (see Davis after 1805)

23.1.1795 Davies / 30.1.1795 adv Thelwal & Davis (Erskine's) / 13.2.1795 /  4.3.1795 /  26.4.1795 /  20.8.1795 /  9.11.1795 /  26.11.1795 / 12.2.1796 / 2.5.1797 / 19.12.1798 / 16.1.1799 / 17.11.1799 / 2 Davis's 5.1.1800 / Davis's 26.1.1800 / 9.2.1800 / 25.5.1800 / 27.12.1801 /  21.3.1802 all at King's, also 5.3.1795 Davis's, Hazlits & King at Thelwal's (compare to 30.1.1795), and 6.8.1796 & 19.8.1796 meet W Davis. Also 15.2.1800 adv Davis jr at opera was perhaps his son William. In 1796 list inserted above…

MILL VOTERS 1802: William Davis of Hounslow

William Morgan Davis bapt Heston 1821 of William & Catherine schoolmaster of Hounslow / William Davis = Heston 20.7.1807 Catherine Trevis / Catherine Trevis bapt 31.1.1776 St Sepulchre, Holborn / William Davis bur 18.9.1828 Heston age 61 of Hounslow / William Davis bapt 7.2.1763 Heston bastard son of Peter Crape & Elizabeth Davis / Catherine Davis = 1834 Robert Hackett (Ancestry user-submitted tree) / Catherine Hackett buried 3.11.1844 Heston age 67 of Hounslow

William X Davis = Heston 16.12.1788 Ann X Dobbs wid botp banns…

meet Davis 13.9.1805 / 17.12.1805 Wilks, London Coffee House, adv Davis [this could have been Robert Wilks printer and his retired partner Jonas Davis, see my entries for Wilks and for Davis, Jonas] / 26.2.1806 Davis & R Sharp breakfast

30.12.1807 Davis from Sir F(rancis) B(urdett) calls / 7.1.1808 Davis calls / 8.1.1808 write to Davis / 11.1.1808 letter from Davis / 13.1.1808 Davis calls, sign

6.9.1808 call on Davis

22.4.1809 Davis, attorney calls (see work notes below for Davis, attorney possibles)

29.4.1809 write to M L Davis = Matthew L Davis of…

Davison 9.1.1791 at Fenwick's.

There are many later (post 1795) Davison entries, and in the Godwin Diary website these have mostly been coded to Thomas Davison printer, which seems probable. This one seems unlikely to be the printer, and Davisons were plentiful in London at this time, so there is little to go on unless some connection to Fenwick could be found. One possible and interesting person was James Davison of the Loyal Lambeth Association. later active in drilling members of the London Corresponding Society in using pikes, but this entry was before the LCS…

7.7.1810 write to A Davison

Holdens directory 1811: Anthony Davison tailor 23 Cecil-st Strand / A Davison merchant Ormond-yd York-st St James-sq / Alex Davison prize agent 13 Holborn-court Grays Inn

see Poland Street 19 to 44 in London Addresses dataset

Thomas Davidson 40 Poland St (Pantheon Punch House) ratebooks 1790-1800 / Thomas Davison victualler Vine St, St Martin i t Fields voted 1774 Mountmorres & Mahon will PCC 1779 / Thomas Davison otp = St James 18.2.1762 Mary Bullivant  of St Geo Han Sq by Archbishop's lic wit Patrick Gillfoy / Michael Humble = Holborn 1.8.1782 Mary Bullivant Davison botp wits Isabella Humble, Thos Brown / SunFire 1789 Thomas Davison victualler corner Bedford St, Tottenham Court Rd / Thomas Davison victualler Poland St voted 1790 Hood /…

HCR diary 19.6.1828 at Jameson's at Hackney "the daughters of Mrs Davy and the late Mrs Darvil interested me on account of their mothers"

                    20.1.1829 Feb or Mar 1800 Robinson got message from Mrs Davy "thro her brother Mr Saville that my visits in her house were not agreeable to Mr Davy" (Mr Davy now partner with McMurdo, Gould Sq)

                       3.…