Welcome To Our Family Tree
Our Family Tree site is comprised of two-family trees and their branches. Each tree is derived from a "His" and "Her" Side (which are located on the top line to the right).
The first tree is “His Side” which is the Fletcher–McKay Family Tree and its major branches. Fletcher Branch Surnames: BARKER - FLETCHER / SHANKWEILER - MCKAY - SMITH - - - Ackerman - Baldwin - Bolin - Bridges - Brydges - Carroll - Coffey - Crane - Edison - Haines - Jones - McDonald - Martin - Moser - Ogden - Purdy - Rasmussen - Robinett - Roosevelt - Saxton - Shonkwiler - Snyder - Summer - Smith - Treat - Ward – Yates.
The second tree is “Her Side” which is the Davidson–French Family Tree and its major branches. Davidson Branch Surnames: DAVIDSON - FRENCH - JOHNSON - ODERFIELD - - - Baker - Brevard - Brooks - Campbell - Clark - Cole - Dickey - Dill - Ewing - Gillespie - Kirkendall - Lott - McClure - McKnitt - McWorter - Packer - Porter - Raynor - Shonkwiler - Thompson - Ware - Warren – White.
Click on the more button – bottom right to visit our Surname List.
The Fletcher Branch
In 1831, Stephen (at age 25) and his parents (John and Hannah) left from Hull, a port city in Yorkshire, and sailed to America on the Brig Freake, arriving in New York City on the 9th of June 1831.
Click here for more information on the Fletcher Homeland, Migration, and settlements.
The McKay Branch
Samuel’s son James (with his family) left Jennings, Indiana in the year 1851 for the Willamette Valley area in the Oregon Territory. After hearing back from James, Samuel (at age 69) with most of his family left Jennings in 1852, following the overland route known as the Oregon Trail.
Page currently under construction.
The Davidson Branch
Brigadier-General William Lee Davidson was the youngest general to serve in the American War for Independence (1776-1783). He commanded a regiment of North Carolina militia and was killed at the age of thirty-four in the battle of Cowan’s Ford on the Catawba River in North Carolina.
Page currently under construction.
The French Branch
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Captain John (Jack) French was a highly decorated soldier. He was the recipient of both the Purple Heart and the Silver Star. Jack was regarded by his fellow soldiers as "the grandest man that ever lived."
Click here for the biography of Captain John (Jack) French.
The bones here are bones of my bones - Genesis 2:23 - And the man said, 'This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh …'. This site along with our Fletcher-Davidson Genealogy Project at www.fletcher-online.com tells the story of our family’s bones, and what our ancestors were able to accomplish. Ella M. Cummings Wright wrote that our ancestors 'contributed to what we are today. It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or giving up, their resoluteness to go on and build a life for their family. It goes to deep pride that our fathers and mothers,' and their fathers and mothers, as they fought, and along the way some died, to make and keep our families safe and prosperous as they moved forward. 'It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us. … They are the sum of who we are.'
Here we are telling the story of our family bones. As Daniel Webster, stated: 'Those who do not look upon themselves as a link connecting the past with the future do not perform their duty to the world.' This is our endeavor, to share our stories, to make such a connection with the past. These are our stories.
Story One: Our Fletcher branch left Yorkshire England in the early 19th century and sailed to America, arriving at New York City, and then making their way to Upper Canada. Stephen Fletcher married Clarine Saxton, the daughter of Lt. Colonel William Saxton and Peggy Margaret Edison, in 1836. From these branches we have many stories to tell: Robert Treat – great grandfather - Royal Governor of Connecticut; Sir Thomas Warner – great grandfather - Captain of the King’s Guard, Explorer, Governor; Lt. Elias Barker – great grandfather – early Kentucky pioneer, soldier, and friend of Daniel Boone; Samuel McKay - great grandfather - and his family who were early pioneers to the Oregon Territory in 1851-1852; Nancy Barker – great aunt - and her eight sons and a daughter (Robinet) – even earlier pioneers to the Oregon Territory in 1847; Patrick Henry – 1st cousin – patriot, orator, governor; George Washington – 2nd cousin – general, first president of the United States; Robert Treat Paine – 2nd cousin - signer of the Declaration of Independence; Thomas Edison – 2nd cousin – inventor; Meriweather Lewis – 2nd cousin – explorer, governor; Peter Skeen Ogden – 3rd cousin – explorer, chief factor; the Barker boys (Barker Gang) – 3rd cousins - 1930’s gangsters, and the list goes on with presidential cousin, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and his wife Anna Eleanor Roosevelt; the writer poet, Stephen Crane; the actors Carl William Demarist, and Treat Williams, plus many more stories to be told.
Story Two: Our Davidson Branch arrived in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Colony in 1740 from the northern area of Ireland. By 1748, George Davidson moved his family further south and settled in Rowan (now Iredell) County, North Carolina Colony. His son William Lee Davidson married Mary Elizabeth Brevard the daughter of John Brevard and Jane McWorther in 1768. From these branches we have stories to tell: William Lee Davidson – great grandfather – General American Revolution; William Lee Davidson Ewing – 1st cousin – Governor and United States Senator from the state of Illinois; Henry Brevard Davidson – 4th cousin – Brigadier General Confederate States Army; John 'Jack' Oderfield French – Uncle – Captain American Forces D Day, plus many more stories to discover and be told. Not all our family bones were notable or famous individuals. We also have many stories to discover and share regarding what would be considered just ordinary people, of their day, who are truly the backbone to our family genealogy.
Thorton Le Dale, Yorkshire, England
Thornton Le Dale is a small village in Yorkshire, England. It is a little over two miles from Pickering, and approximately 13.4 miles from Scarborough. On January 21, 1807, Stephen Fletcher (1807-1875), our great-grandfather-(3), was baptized at All Saints Church in Thornton Le Dale. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Pickering and Thornton Le Dale area was the epicenter of Fletcher family'activity.
Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina
Through DNA testing we have traced our Davidson branch back to colonial North Carolina. Our branch is directly descended from Brigadier-General William Lee Davidson (1746-1781), our great-grandfather-(4). A town, a college, several schools, and counties (in North Carolina and Tennessee) have been named in his honor.
Robert Treat - Royal Govenor / Commander
Was an American colonial leader, militia officer and governor of the Colony of Connecticut (1683-1698). He headed the colony’s militia and was the Commander in Chief of the Connecticut forces in King Phillip’s War (1676). He also was the founder of Newark, New Jersey.
Patric Henry - Patriot / Statesman / Govenor
Patrick Henry was an American lawyer, statesman, orator, and a Founding Father of the United States. He, along with George Washington and five other delegates, represented Virginia at the First Continental Congress in 1774. On March 23, 1775, Henry delivered his legendary speech before the Second Virginia Convention, where he is credited with declaring, “Give me liberty, or give me death.” Later in 1775, he again represented the Colony of Virginia—this time alongside Thomas Jefferson and nine other delegates—at the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. From 1775 to 1776, Henry served as a colonel of the First Virginia Regiment. During the War for Independence, he was elected governor of Virginia, and after the war he became the first governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, helping guide the new state through its earliest years.
2nd Cousins - George Washington - general, first president of the United States, and founding father. **** Robert Treat Paine - statesman, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and founding father. **** Thomas Alva Edison – considered one of the greatest (if not the greatest) inventor(s) in American history. **** Meriweather Lewis – explorer (Lewis and Clark Expedition), governor. ********* 3rd Cousins – Peter Skeen Ogden – considered one of the most significant explorers of the west, chief factor of Fort Vancouver (Hudson Bay Company) **** The Barker Boys – gangsters (The Barker-Karpas Gang – 1930’s).
Brigadier General William Lee Davidson
Brigadier-General William Lee Davidson was the youngest general to serve in the American War for Independence (1776-1783). He participated in the Battle of Germantown and was with Washington at Valley Forge. He fought in the Battle at Brandywine Creek and was severely wounded at the Battle of Colson’s Mill in 1780. After returning to duty, he commanded a regiment of North Carolina militia and was killed at the age of thirty-four in the Battle of Cowan’s Ford on the Catawba River in North Carolina.
