Davies Family Events

Congratulations to David and Wesley Dodd of Virginia Beach, Virginia on the birth of their daughter Devon Roome Dodd, August 21, 2007. Devon's maternal grandmother is Prentiss Davies Murphy of Virginia Beach.

We recently received an e-mail from the Director of the Sweet Briar Museum and Assistant Professor of Arts Management at Sweet Briar College. The message reads as follows:

Dear Sirs,

I recently discovered your wonderful family website, and was interested to note the connections with the Crawford family and the historic house, Tusculum.

As you may know, Tusculum has been dismantled and moved to Sweet Briar College, where plans are underway to rebuild the house and use it as a regional preservation center.

I would like to invite you and your family members to attend a special program on Tusculum which will be held on Saturday, September 22, at Sweet Briar College. This date falls during the college's Homecoming, and in fact, the celebration of the Tusculum project will be highlighted all weekend. Speakers include Travis McDonald of Poplar Forest, as well as Kathleen Kilpatrick, the director of Virginia's Department of Historic Resources.

More information about the program, "Moving Tusculum Home", can be found in the on-line version of the Homecoming brochure, which features Tusculum on the cover and gives more details on page 11.

We think it would be very special to have members of your family here, and we invite you to be our guests for a luncheon to be held before the program.

With all best wishes,
Christian Carr

Editor's note:

Tusculum was built by David Crawford. His daughter Elizabeth married Nicholas Clayton Davies, the first son of Henry Landon Davies (and a grandson of "Old Nick").

The Davies Family Organization, led by Bob Chope, has been involved in the effort to preserve Tusculum ever since the 2001 Davies Reunion, and several members of our family have made significant financial contributions to the project. We are very grateful to Sweet Briar College for "Moving Tusculum Home".

If you are one of the many descendants of Nicholas Clayton Davies and Elizabeth Crawford (and their eleven children shown in the Davies Family Tree), and you would like to accept this gracious invitation from Sweet Briar College, please email us: davies@comcast.net (or copy the underlined e-mail address to your message composition window).

After we responded to the e-mail above, we received a second message from Christian Carr as follows:

Dear Mr. Davies,

I'm so pleased to be in contact with you, and have spent quite a while perusing your family's very informative web site. In fact, I came across it while "googling" Tusculum just a few days after attending a reception at Pebbleton. It's a wonderful house.

I have also been in touch with Bob Chope, and hope to get copies of his newsletter that deal with Tusculum. It was also featured in the most recent issue of Sweet Briar College's alumnae magazine (on page 17).

I do hope that some Davies family will be able to attend the September 22 event. If you would like to send along mailing addresses, I will make sure that invitations are sent in early September. The Amherst County Historical Museum has also been an important supporter of this project, and will be running an announcement about the event in their upcoming newsletter, as will the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, which held the house in trust before we assumed ownership of it.

May I keep you apprised of the plans for the house as its reconstruction commences?

With all best wishes,
Christian

Congratulations to Landon and Katie Davies of Elkridge, Maryland on the birth of their daughter Lucy Margaret Davies, July 15, 2007. She is the fourth grandchild of Brooke and Eddi Davies of Charleston, South Carolina.

The Davies Family Organization extends its most sincere condolences to Cousin Clyde Davies and his children and grandchildren on the loss of Shirley Frances (nee Hofbauer) Davies, Clyde's wife of over 56 years. Shirley passed away on December 17, 2006 at 5:20 a.m. from congestive heart failure. Shirley died at a hospital in Woodstock, IL.

For many years Clyde and Shirley lived in San Diego, CA. They thought that San Diego was the ideal place for them to retire. Clyde had fallen in love with the climate while serving in the Navy and stationed in this southern California city. Eventually, the pull of family became strong and Clyde and Shirley decided to move back to where they raised their children in Crystal Lake, IL. Two of their children and several of their grandchildren still call the Crystal Lake area home.

Shirley made it back to Illinois on December 14, 2006 to join Clyde, who at this time was himself in the hospital in Illinois recovering from a stroke. Clyde returned to Illinois in November to take care of the moving arrangements. On December 15, 2006 Shirley entered the hospital.

Shirley was born on March 14, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois. She was the daughter of Ralph and Margaret (nee Mitchell) Hofbauer. Shirley married Clyde on May 6, 1950 in Pocahontas, Arkansas. She graduated from Hirsch High School in 1948.

Together with Clyde, Shirley was one of the original and most enthusiastic supporters of the Davies of Pebbleton Family Organization. She attended both family reunions in Lynchburg, Virginia with Clyde and was available to provide encouragement in keeping our organization moving forward.

Congratulations to Mary Margaret and John vonRosenberg on the birth of their daughter Caroline Ann vonRosenberg, December 15, 2006 in Charleston, South Carolina. She is the third grandchild of Brooke and Eddi Davies of Charleston.


Congratulations to Lynn Bennett Davies-Knaub and Jeffery Louis Knaub, on the birth of their daughter Clara Lynn Knaub, May 31, 2006 in Towson, Maryland. She is the first grandchild of Jack and Caroline Davies of Ruxton, Maryland.

We are very sad to report that Dr Alexander Kossiakoff passed away on August 6, 2005. He was the husband of Arrabelle Davies Kossiakoff. We put a photo of the Kossiakoffs on this page in 2001 (see below).

"Cousin Kossy" was a renowned scientist, author and educator at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The Kossiakoff Conference and Education Center on the APL campus and the Kossiakoff Chemistry Fellowship at JHU have been named for him. His many accomplishments are summarized in a press release on the JHU APL site.

Cousin Kossy was a warm and gracious gentleman who will be greatly missed.

Brooke and Eddi Davies have recently relocated to Charleston, South Carolina. Eddi completed her last year as a reading specialist in Baltimore County Schools in June, 2004. Brooke retired from his position as a software engineer with Northrop Grumman on February 1, 2005. Click here to see photos of Brooke's retirement celebration.

Congratulations to John (Jay) Franklin Davies, III and Lyndsay Dawn Rhodes, who were married in Ligonier, Pennsylvania on January 15, 2005. Jay is the son of Jack and Caroline Davies of Ruxton, Maryland. Jay and Lyndsay are making their new home in Bel Air, Maryland.

Two new Davies cousins were born only nine days apart, and they are the first two grandchildren of Brooke and Eddi Davies.

Charles Brooke vonRosenberg was born on November 2, 2004. He is the son of Mary Margaret and John vonRosenberg of Charleston, South Carolina.

Emily Rose Davies was born on November 11, 2004. She is the daughter of Landon and Katie Davies of Elkridge, Maryland.

Congratulations to Lynn Bennett Davies and Jeffery Louis Knaub, who were married in Brooklandville, Maryland on September 4, 2004. Lynn is the daughter of Jack and Caroline Davies of Ruxton, Maryland. Lynn and Jeff are making their new home in Towson, Maryland.

Elaine Davies Smith was born on June 25, 2003. She is the daughter of Reese and Stephanie Smith of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Her maternal grandmother is Prentiss Davies (Smith) Murphy, also of Virginia Beach.

Congratulations to Kathleen Rose Murray and Landon Brooke Davies III, who were married in Beltsville, Maryland on May 31, 2003.

The bride graduated with honors from the University of Maryland School of Law the previous week, and the groom continues to work as a Software Engineer in the Baltimore area. Both are graduates of the University of Maryland at College Park.

Katie is the daughter of Anne Murray, of Calverton, Maryland, and Landon is the son of Brooke and Eddi Davies of Lutherville, Maryland.

Landon's sister, Mary Margaret vonRosenberg, and her husband John of Charleston, South carolina were both in the wedding party. Other Davies Family members in attendance included Prentiss (Davies) and Kevin Murphy of Virginia Beach, Jack and Caroline Davies of Ruxton, Maryland, Jay Davies of Towson, Maryland, and Lynn Davies of Baltimore.

Landon and Katie are making their new home in Elkridge, Maryland.

Foster Cole Dodd was born on June 26, 2002. He is the son of Wesley and David Dodd of Virginia Beach, Virginia. His maternal grandmother is Prentiss Davies (Smith) Murphy, also of Virginia Beach.

On August 4th and 5th, 2001 more than fifty family members attended the "Davies of Pebbleton Reunion" at the Holiday Inn in Lynchburg, Virginia. Click here for highlights and photos.

On June 23, 2001, a small group of Davies family members met for lunch in Columbia, Maryland and enjoyed some interesting recollections and delicious crabcakes.  Cousin Brooke Davies, his wife Eddi and their son Landon Davies "interviewed" Cousin Arabelle Davies Kossiakoff and her husband Dr. Alexander ("Kossy") Kossiakoff.  They identified the descendants of Seabury Davies who were missing from the Davies Family Tree, and we shared stories about many of the other cousins in our branch of the family.

Mary Margaret (Davies) and John vonRosenberg graduated from Saint Mary's College of Maryland on May 12, 2001.

The commencement exercises were held on the green overlooking the historic St. Mary's River (where the first Maryland colonists landed in 1634). Other Davies descendants in attendance were Brooke Davies (Mary's father), Landon Davies (her brother) and Jack Davies (her uncle).

Mary and John have moved to Charleston, SC, where both begin their teaching careers in August.

Prentiss Davies Smith and Kevin Murphy, were married on April 30, 2001. They live in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Irvin Reese Smith, III was born on April 9, 2001. He is the son of Reese and Stephanie Smith of Virginia Beach, Virginia. His paternal grandmother is Prentiss Davies (Smith) Murphy, also of Virginia Beach.

Mary Margaret Davies and John Palmer vonRosenberg were married on July 29, 2000 at Old Saint Paul's Church in Baltimore.

Other Davies descendants in attendance included the bride's father (Brooke Davies), her brother Landon, her uncle (Jack Davies), her Aunt (Prentiss Davies Smith), and four first cousins (Jay Davies, Lynn Davies, Reese Smith and Wesley Smith Dodd).

Selected photos of the wedding are now available.

We are sad to report that Ralph Bryant passed away on January 5, 2000.

Cousin Ralph was very interested in Davies family history and did a lot of research both in the U. S. and in England. He located the Royal Land Grant to Nicholas Davies in the Virginia State Library in Richmond, and he supplied us with a copy for this Web site.

In 1998, Cousin Ralph traveled from his home in Ft. Collins, Colorado to Lynchburg, Virginia for the Davies Family Reunion. He is included in our reunion photos and biography pages.

Mary Margaret Davies
and
John Palmer vonRosenberg
have announced their engagement.

Both are students at St. Mary's College of Maryland.

Mary Margaret is the daughter of Brooke and Eddi Davies of Lutherville, Maryland.

John is the son of Charles and Anne vonRosenberg of Knoxville, Tennessee, where John's father serves as the Episcopal Bishop of East Tennessee.

A July wedding is planned.

(photo by Anne vonRosenberg)

We received a recent e-mail from Cousin Louie Sell. Louie writes:

"I finished my fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson Center and left the Washington area permanently in August. I am currently spending my time on our farm in Maine and trying to finish a book on Slobodan Milosevic, which Duke University has agreed to publish."

When we saw Louie in Lynchburg at the Davies Family Reunion, he had just retired from the State Department after many years of service as a U. S. diplomat in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Look for Louis Sell on these Web pages:

Online NewsHour: Slobodan Milosevic-- September 23, 1998
Franklin & Marshall College Presidential Distinguished Fellow

In August 1998, descendants of Nicholas Davies gathered from all parts of the nation at the Ramada Inn & Conference Center in Lynchburg, Virginia for the Davies Family Reunion.

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