[Ancestors] [Descendants]
Samuel Levis
Last updated 12 Feb 2024 in Spear–Johnson Family.
Individual
Born: 30 Sep 1649 in Harby, , Leicestershire, England
Died: Bet 1 Jan 1733/34 and 12 Apr 1734 in Springfield Township, Chester County, Province of Pennsylvania, British America
Father: Christopher Levis (? – ?)
Mother: Mary Need (? – 1664)
book-plantagenet-ancestry-2004: Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry — A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families; Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004; individual page images, unrecorded site (accessed 15 July 2009)
Reference Detail: Page 537, Need family, #18.ii, #18.ii.a
Comment Detail: Source includes name (Samuel Levis).
estate-probate-samuel-levis-1734: Probate record for Samuel Levis (1734); Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 25 Aug 2021)) ⟩ "Chester ⟩ Estate Papers, No 496-624, 1700-1810" images 132-139; citing "Estate Papers, 1713-1810, Chester County, Pennsylvania, Register of Wills; Probate Place: Chester, Pennsylvania"; also ⟩ "Chester ⟩ Will Books A-C, Vol 1-3, 1713-1755" images 173-174; citing "Will Book A, Vol. 1, 1714-1820, pages 411-413"
Reference Detail: Estate papers, will pages 1-2; Will books pages 411-412
Comment Detail: Source includes name (Samuel Levis).
religious-registry-quaker-leicester-rg6-1397-66: Registry from Society of Friends (Leicester, England), class RG6, piece 1397, page 66 [written] or 20 [stamped]; England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578-1837, database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 25 Aug 2021), “⟩ Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Rutland ⟩ Piece 1397: Monthly Meeting of Leicester: Old Dalby: Marriages (1668-1711)”, image 28; citing “The National Archives; Kew, England; General Register Office: Society of Friends' Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Marriages and Burials; Class: RG 6; Piece: 1441”
Reference Detail: Right page, top
Comment Detail: Source includes name (Samuel Levis).
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book-plantagenet-ancestry-2004: Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry — A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families; Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004; individual page images, unrecorded site (accessed 15 July 2009)
Reference Detail: Page 537, Need family, #18.ii
Comment Detail: Source includes date (30 Sept. 1649) and location (Harby, Leicestershire [, England]).
periodical-samuel-levis-quaker-immigrant-1999: “Samuel Levis: Quaker Immigrant to Pennsylvania” by Leslie Mahler, journal article; The Genealogist, 13.1 (American Society of Genealogists: Spring 1999), pages 30-36, online home (https://fasg.org/the-genealogist/: accessed 31 Mar 2007)
Reference Detail: p. 35, (gen. 14, Samuel Levis)
Comment Detail: Source includes date (30 7m 1649) and location (Harb, Leicestershire [, England]). The 7m is presumed to be September, since this predates the 1752 Gregorian calendar reform in England.
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book-chester-and-delaware-pa-v1-1904: Gilbert Cope and Henry Graham Ashmead (ed.), Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1904; book image (PDF), Internet Archive (https://archive.org : accessed 23 Aug 2019)
Reference Detail: Page 251 (PDF page 371), "The Levis Family"
Comment Detail: Source includes year (1734).
periodical-samuel-levis-quaker-immigrant-1999: “Samuel Levis: Quaker Immigrant to Pennsylvania” by Leslie Mahler, journal article; The Genealogist, 13.1 (American Society of Genealogists: Spring 1999), pages 30-36, online home (https://fasg.org/the-genealogist/: accessed 31 Mar 2007)
Reference Detail: p. 36, (gen. 14, Samuel Levis)
Comment Detail: Source defines boundaries to possible date of death. It must have happened between the date of his will (4 October 1728) and the date it was proved (13 April 1734).
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book-chester-and-delaware-pa-v1-1904: Gilbert Cope and Henry Graham Ashmead (ed.), Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1904; book image (PDF), Internet Archive (https://archive.org : accessed 23 Aug 2019)
Reference Detail: Page 250 (PDF page 366), "The Levis Family"
Comment Detail: Source identifies Samuel [Levis] as a child of Christopher Levis.
periodical-samuel-levis-quaker-immigrant-1999: “Samuel Levis: Quaker Immigrant to Pennsylvania” by Leslie Mahler, journal article; The Genealogist, 13.1 (American Society of Genealogists: Spring 1999), pages 30-36, online home (https://fasg.org/the-genealogist/: accessed 31 Mar 2007)
Reference Detail: p. 35, (gen. 13, Mary Need)
Comment Detail: Source (citing Christopher Levis' will) identifies Samuel Levis as a son of Christopher Levis. The source does not provide sufficient evidence to denote the type of parent/child relationship.
book-plantagenet-ancestry-2004: Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry — A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families; Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004; individual page images, unrecorded site (accessed 15 July 2009)
Reference Detail: Page 537, Need family, #18.ii
Comment Detail: Source identifies Samuel [Levis] as a biological [implied] son of Christopher Levis.
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book-chester-and-delaware-pa-v1-1904: Gilbert Cope and Henry Graham Ashmead (ed.), Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1904; book image (PDF), Internet Archive (https://archive.org : accessed 23 Aug 2019)
Reference Detail: Page 250 (PDF page 366), "The Levis Family"
Comment Detail: Source identifies Samuel [Levis] as a child of Mary (Nede) [Levis].
book-plantagenet-ancestry-2004: Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry — A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families; Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004; individual page images, unrecorded site (accessed 15 July 2009)
Reference Detail: Page 537, Need family, #18.ii
Comment Detail: Source identifies Samuel [Levis] as a biological [implied] son of Mary Need.
Show all citations and reference details for Samuel Levis in a new window.
Family
Spouse/Partner: Elizabeth Clator (? – ?)
Married: 4 May 1680 in , , Leicestershire, England
book-chester-and-delaware-pa-v1-1904: Gilbert Cope and Henry Graham Ashmead (ed.), Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1904; book image (PDF), Internet Archive (https://archive.org : accessed 23 Aug 2019)
Reference Detail: Page 251 (PDF page 371), "The Levis Family"
Comment Detail: Source includes date (1680 (3 mo, 4)) of the marriage of Samuel Levis and Elizabeth Clator.
book-plantagenet-ancestry-2004: Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry — A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families; Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004; individual page images, unrecorded site (accessed 15 July 2009)
Reference Detail: Page 537, Need family, #18.ii.a
Comment Detail: Source includes date (4 May ⟨conflict⟩) of marriage of Samuel Levis and Elizabeth Claytor. See research notes of either for conflict details.
religious-registry-quaker-leicester-rg6-1397-66: Registry from Society of Friends (Leicester, England), class RG6, piece 1397, page 66 [written] or 20 [stamped]; England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578-1837, database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 25 Aug 2021), “⟩ Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Rutland ⟩ Piece 1397: Monthly Meeting of Leicester: Old Dalby: Marriages (1668-1711)”, image 28; citing “The National Archives; Kew, England; General Register Office: Society of Friends' Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Marriages and Burials; Class: RG 6; Piece: 1441”
Reference Detail: Right page, top
Comment Detail: Source includes date (4th of the third month 1680 [old style]) and location (⟨apparent conflict⟩). See research notes for conflict details.
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Child: Samuel Levis (1680 – 1758)
Child: Alice Levis (? – ?)
Child: Mary Levis (? – ?)
Child: William Levis (? – ?)
Child: Elizabeth Levis (? – ?)
Child: Christopher Levis (? – ?)
Child: Sarah Levis (1694 – 1723)
Miscellaneous Facts
Events
Immigration: Bef 4 Nov 1684 at , , Province of Pennsylvania, British America
Social Rank: yeoman, 4 Oct 1728
Will (signed): 4 Oct 1728
Will (proved): 13 Apr 1734
book-chester-and-delaware-pa-v1-1904: Gilbert Cope and Henry Graham Ashmead (ed.), Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1904; book image (PDF), Internet Archive (https://archive.org : accessed 23 Aug 2019)
Reference Detail: Page 251 (PDF page 371), "The Levis Family"
Comment Detail: Source includes year (1684) of his second arrival in the colonies, this time with his family.
periodical-samuel-levis-quaker-immigrant-1999: “Samuel Levis: Quaker Immigrant to Pennsylvania” by Leslie Mahler, journal article; The Genealogist, 13.1 (American Society of Genealogists: Spring 1999), pages 30-36, online home (https://fasg.org/the-genealogist/: accessed 31 Mar 2007)
Reference Detail: p. 35-36, (gen. 14, Samuel Levis)
Comment Detail: Source includes latest possible date (by 4 November 1684) and location (Pennsylvania).
estate-probate-samuel-levis-1734: Probate record for Samuel Levis (1734); Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 25 Aug 2021)) ⟩ "Chester ⟩ Estate Papers, No 496-624, 1700-1810" images 132-139; citing "Estate Papers, 1713-1810, Chester County, Pennsylvania, Register of Wills; Probate Place: Chester, Pennsylvania"; also ⟩ "Chester ⟩ Will Books A-C, Vol 1-3, 1713-1755" images 173-174; citing "Will Book A, Vol. 1, 1714-1820, pages 411-413"
Reference Detail: Estate papers, will page 1; Will books page 411
Comment Detail: Source includes date (the Fourth day of October in the year of our Lord one Thousand, Seven hundred and Twenty Eight) and rank (yeoman).
book-plantagenet-ancestry-2004: Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry — A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families; Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004; individual page images, unrecorded site (accessed 15 July 2009)
Reference Detail: Page 537, Need family, #18.ii.a
Comment Detail: Source includes date (4 Oct. 1728).
estate-probate-samuel-levis-1734: Probate record for Samuel Levis (1734); Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 25 Aug 2021)) ⟩ "Chester ⟩ Estate Papers, No 496-624, 1700-1810" images 132-139; citing "Estate Papers, 1713-1810, Chester County, Pennsylvania, Register of Wills; Probate Place: Chester, Pennsylvania"; also ⟩ "Chester ⟩ Will Books A-C, Vol 1-3, 1713-1755" images 173-174; citing "Will Book A, Vol. 1, 1714-1820, pages 411-413"
Reference Detail: Estate papers, will page 2; Will books page 412
Comment Detail: Source includes date (Fourth day of October in the year of our Lord one Thousand Seven hundred and Twenty Eight).
periodical-samuel-levis-quaker-immigrant-1999: “Samuel Levis: Quaker Immigrant to Pennsylvania” by Leslie Mahler, journal article; The Genealogist, 13.1 (American Society of Genealogists: Spring 1999), pages 30-36, online home (https://fasg.org/the-genealogist/: accessed 31 Mar 2007)
Reference Detail: p. 36, (gen. 14, Samuel Levis)
Comment Detail: Source includes date (4 October 1728).
book-plantagenet-ancestry-2004: Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry — A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families; Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004; individual page images, unrecorded site (accessed 15 July 2009)
Reference Detail: Page 537, Need family, #18.ii.a
Comment Detail: Source includes date (13 April 1734).
estate-probate-samuel-levis-1734: Probate record for Samuel Levis (1734); Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 25 Aug 2021)) ⟩ "Chester ⟩ Estate Papers, No 496-624, 1700-1810" images 132-139; citing "Estate Papers, 1713-1810, Chester County, Pennsylvania, Register of Wills; Probate Place: Chester, Pennsylvania"; also ⟩ "Chester ⟩ Will Books A-C, Vol 1-3, 1713-1755" images 173-174; citing "Will Book A, Vol. 1, 1714-1820, pages 411-413"
Reference Detail: Will books page 414
Comment Detail: Source includes date (the Thirteenth day of Aprill anno Dom 1734).
periodical-samuel-levis-quaker-immigrant-1999: “Samuel Levis: Quaker Immigrant to Pennsylvania” by Leslie Mahler, journal article; The Genealogist, 13.1 (American Society of Genealogists: Spring 1999), pages 30-36, online home (https://fasg.org/the-genealogist/: accessed 31 Mar 2007)
Reference Detail: p. 36, (gen. 14, Samuel Levis)
Comment Detail: Source includes date (13 April 1734).
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Attributes
Residence: at Springfield Township, Chester County, Province of Pennsylvania, British America
book-chester-and-delaware-pa-v1-1904: Gilbert Cope and Henry Graham Ashmead (ed.), Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1904; book image (PDF), Internet Archive (https://archive.org : accessed 23 Aug 2019)
Reference Detail: Page 251 (PDF page 371), "The Levis Family"
Comment Detail: Source includes year (1684) and location (Springfield, Delaware county, Pennsylvania).
book-plantagenet-ancestry-2004: Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry — A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families; Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004; individual page images, unrecorded site (accessed 15 July 2009)
Reference Detail: Page 537, Need family, #18.ii
Comment Detail: Source includes latest estimated immigration date (4 Nov. 1684) and location (Springfield, Chester County, Pennsylvania) in which the family settled.
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General Notes and Anecdotes
When Samuel came to the colonies in 1682, he brought servants and material and built a home for his family in Chester County, in the Province of Pennsylvania. He then returned to England and brought back Elizabeth and Samuel in 1684. [book-chester-and-delaware-pa-v1-1904]
Samuel was a member of the Provincial Assembly from Chester County in 1686, 1689, 1694, 1698, 1700, 1701, 1706, 1707, 1708 and 1709. He was Justice of the Peace in 1688, 1690, and 1698, and a member of the Governors Council in 1692. [Are these single years, or was there a longer term of service involved?] [book-chester-and-delaware-pa-v1-1904]
Samuel was a slaveholder. In his will he bequeathed "my negro man Jeffery" to his daughter, Elizabeth. [estate-probate-samuel-levis-1734]
book-chester-and-delaware-pa-v1-1904: Gilbert Cope and Henry Graham Ashmead (ed.), Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1904; book image (PDF), Internet Archive (https://archive.org : accessed 23 Aug 2019)
Reference Detail: Page 251 (PDF page 371), "The Levis Family"
estate-probate-samuel-levis-1734: Probate record for Samuel Levis (1734); Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 25 Aug 2021)) ⟩ "Chester ⟩ Estate Papers, No 496-624, 1700-1810" images 132-139; citing "Estate Papers, 1713-1810, Chester County, Pennsylvania, Register of Wills; Probate Place: Chester, Pennsylvania"; also ⟩ "Chester ⟩ Will Books A-C, Vol 1-3, 1713-1755" images 173-174; citing "Will Book A, Vol. 1, 1714-1820, pages 411-413"
Reference Detail: Estate papers, will page 1; Will books page 411
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Research Notes (Conflicts/Spelling/Followup)
CONFLICTS
Marriage Date (Samuel and Elizabeth): This database uses 4 May 1680. The book Plantagenet Ancestry gives gives a marriage date of 4 May 1684. [book-plantagenet-ancestry-2004]
Marriage Location (Samuel and Elizabeth): This database uses Leicestershire, England. The Quaker record for their marriage (which is from the Leicester Monthly Meeting) implies it was in Claxton, England, more than 100 miles away. This needs more research. [religious-registry-quaker-leicester-rg6-1397-66]
FOLLOWUP
Their removal certificate from Harby was dated 20 Jul 1684, and can be seen in the Philadelphia (Province of Pennsylvania) Friend's records.
In his well, Samuel left an inheritance to John Davis of Darby, weaver. However, I currently have no other reference to John Darvis. Could he have been a husband of Samuel's daughter Alice? [estate-probate-samuel-levis-1734]
According to the Springfield Historical Society's web site, "The Samuel Levis House, also known as the "Checkboard" House (from the bricks, which create a checkerboard effect using the Flemish bond) is one of the county's oldest and best preserved historical homes. It remained in the Levis family from 1682 to 1925. The hearth in the cellar is believed to have been one of William Penn's favorite places to relax when he visited Samuel. The original kitchen in the basement has huge storage cellars and a tunnel, said to have been used as a stop in the Underground Railroad. [Note that this land is now located in Delaware County after being split from Chester County. URL: http://www.delcohistory.org/shs/index.htm]
After the house passed from the Levis family (perhaps before?) it was the home of the Addingham Country Club.
book-plantagenet-ancestry-2004: Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry — A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families; Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004; individual page images, unrecorded site (accessed 15 July 2009)
Reference Detail: Page 537, Need family, #18.ii.a
estate-probate-samuel-levis-1734: Probate record for Samuel Levis (1734); Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 25 Aug 2021)) ⟩ "Chester ⟩ Estate Papers, No 496-624, 1700-1810" images 132-139; citing "Estate Papers, 1713-1810, Chester County, Pennsylvania, Register of Wills; Probate Place: Chester, Pennsylvania"; also ⟩ "Chester ⟩ Will Books A-C, Vol 1-3, 1713-1755" images 173-174; citing "Will Book A, Vol. 1, 1714-1820, pages 411-413"
Reference Detail: Estate papers, will page 1; Will books page 411
religious-registry-quaker-leicester-rg6-1397-66: Registry from Society of Friends (Leicester, England), class RG6, piece 1397, page 66 [written] or 20 [stamped]; England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578-1837, database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 25 Aug 2021), “⟩ Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Rutland ⟩ Piece 1397: Monthly Meeting of Leicester: Old Dalby: Marriages (1668-1711)”, image 28; citing “The National Archives; Kew, England; General Register Office: Society of Friends' Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Marriages and Burials; Class: RG 6; Piece: 1441”
Reference Detail: Right page, top
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Sources
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