- Thomas Davis (chief)
Infobox Person
name = Thomas Davis
image_size = 200 px
caption =
birth_name =
birth_date = c. 1755
birth_place =North America
death_date = death year and age|1837|1755
death_place =
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residence =
nationality = Mohawk
ethnicity = Native American
citizenship =
other_names = Tehowagherengaraghkwen
known_for = Important Mohawk figure
education =
alma_mater =
employer =
occupation = War Chief
home_town =
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religion =Anglican
spouse =
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children =
parents =
relations =Joseph Brant (cousin)
callsign =
website =
footnotes =Thomas Davis (c. 1755 - c.1837) was a Mohawk war chief. In Mohawk he was called Tehowagherengaraghkwen.
Early life
Davis' place of birth is uncertain, but he was probably born in upstate
New York .Military life
During the
American revolution , Davis fought as an ally of the British, rising to the position of war chief. [cite book | title = The Lord's Dominion: The History of Canadian Methodism | first = Neil | last = Semple | publisher = McGill-Queen's Press | date = 1996 | ISBN = 0773514007] After Britain's defeat, he travelled toUpper Canada with his cousinJoseph Brant , settling on the Six Nations reserve, building a farm about five miles north of the Mohawk Village which became Brantford. During theWar of 1812 , Davis was active on the British side.cite web | url = http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=3161 | title = TEHOWAGHERENGARAGHKWEN | work = Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online | last = Smith | first = Donald | middle = B. | publisher = University of Toronto | date = 2000]Religious conversion
Sometime before 1820, Davis was
baptised anAnglican . There was little access tomissionaries orpriests near his home on theGrand River . Reverend Ralph Leeming made occasional trips through the area. Otherwise lay preachers conducted religious services. Davis took a leadership role in the religious community of the area. He quit drinking around 1820, and began holding prayer meetings at his farm. He called local Mohawks to prayer by blowing ahorn , and read sections from theBible and the Church of England prayerbook to those who attended. In 1823, a white settler heard the horn, and learnt of the prayer meetings. He offered to arrange forMethodist preachers to visit. His offer was accepted, and preacher Edmund Stoney andordained minister Alvin Torry began making regular trips to the area. As converting Mohawks began to settle around Davis' farm, the area became known as "Davisville". Peter Jones brought a number ofMississaugas who had converted to Methodism there in 1824, and Davis' house became insufficient for both his residence and the Methodism mission, so Davis retired to a log cabin while his house was used by the Methodists. The Mississaugas left for theCredit Mission in 1826, and Davisville was once again a purely Mohawk Methodist settlement. By the time of Davis' death, around 150 of the 2000 Mohawks along the Grand River had converted to Methodism. About the same time the Mission site of Davisville was abandoned as spring flood severity increased along the Grand River after forests were cleared to build farms. [cite news | url = http://www.grandriver.ca/index/document.cfm?Sec=14&Sub1=66&Sub2=97 | title = Lessons from the past | author = Gary Warrick | publisher = Grand River Conservation Authority | work = The Grand Strategy | date = July/August 2005]References
[Lifetime|1755|1837|Davis, Thomas
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