Elizabeth Wortley Whiting Davies
Elizabeth Wortley Whiting Davies was born on November 2, 1808 at "Pebbleton," the Davies family plantation in Bedford County, Virginia. Elizabeth was the daughter of Tamerlane William Whiting and Jane Smith (nee Payne) Davies. The family bible states her given name as "Elizabeth Wortley Davies," but there are written references to her given names as including "Whiting." The Whiting name is common among members of the Davies family and is derived from the Whiting family that connects to the Davies family through the Clayton branch. The Whitings were among the earliest English settlers in the Colony of Virginia.
Elizabeth married her first cousin James Addison Meriwether on November 28, 1832. Elizabeth and James Meriwether had the following children:
Mary Coles: b. August 1833; married Cyrus Boyle Clay
d. March 10, 1910 in Thaxton, Bedford Co. VA
Ellen Douglas: b. December 1835; married Charles James Meriwether
d. July 5, 1908 at the home of Catherine & Wm. Rucker
Catharine Whiting: b. 1837: married 1st William Hunter Meriwether
in Bedford Co., VA & 2nd Dr. William T. Pryor, Texas
Fannie Elizabeth: b. 1843
James Marbury: b. 1844-46; d. May 4, 1871 (murdered) in Memphis, TN
Nannie Dandridge: b. 1849
Francis Addison: b. June 13, 1851-d. January 29, 1852
Margaret Douglas: b. June 13, d. 1855-July 19, 1855
Elizabeth died on April 18, 1880 at "Sholto", the Meriwether manor home in Boonsboro, Virginia, which at the time was owned by her son-in-law, C. J. Meriwether. Elizabeth was 71 years old at the time of her death.
Her husband, who was known as "Addison", was the son of Francis Thornton Meriwether, Sr. and
Catharine Elizabeth (Davies) Meriwether, who completed "Sholto" in 1800. Addison was born on May 12, 1812 at Sholto. He died December 23, 1876.
Editor's Note: We thank cousin Anne Rucker Loyd for forwarding the photograph of Elizabeth W.W. Davies, who was her great-great grandmother and accompanying genealogical information. Also, cousin James Dave Boyle's excellent work, "The Davies Family of Virginia - The Descendants of Nicholas Davies of Pebbleton" was used as further reference. Anne has also supplied a few additions and corrections to the original article.