Ancestry of
Angela Y. Davis

Civil Rights Activist
and former Black Panther

Benjamin Frank Davis

View famous kin of Benjamin Frank Davis

• • Father of Angela Y. Davis — 2nd Generation
  • Ahnentafel No:
  • 2 
  • Father:
  • Murphy Renchor Jones 
  • Mother:
  • Mollie Spencer   
  • Birth Date:
  • 12 Sep 1909 
  • Birth Location:
  • Linden, Marengo, Alabama 
  • Christening Date:
  •  
  • Christening Location:
  •  
  • Death Date:
  • Jan 1984 
  • Death Location:
  •  
  • Burial Date:
  •  
  • Burial Location:
  • Elmwood Cemetery, Birmingham, Jefferson, Alabama 
  • Spouse Name:
  • Sallye Margarite Bell
  • Marriage Date:
  • 9 Jan 1942 
  • Marriage Location:
  • Jefferson County, Alabama 
  • Child:

  Angela Yvonne Davis (Ahnentafel No:1 )

  • Notes: 

  • Benjamin Frank Davis took the surname of his mother's earlier husband. His father was a white man named Murphy R. Jones. This was during the Jim Crow era south when relations between races was illegal so Benjamin's true parentage was kept a secret. Benjamin's biological father Murphy Jones was discovered through DNA testing and revealed on the PBS show Finding Your Roots by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

    Benjamin Frank Davis's birth year is given as 1908 on his tombstone.

• Sources for Benjamin Frank Davis

  • ¹ Alabama, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1805-1967, Marriage certificate for Benj Frank Davis and Sllye Margarite Bell.
  • ² Alabama, U.S., Episcopal Diocese of Alabama Church Records, 1837-1970, Baptism record for daughter Angella Yvonne Davis.
  • ³ Federal Census, AL, Jefferson County, 1950, Birmingham, E.D. 68-2, Sheet 4, Image 5 of 29.
  • ⁴ Federal Census, AL, Marengo County, 1910, Linden, E.D. 48, Sheet 17B, Image 34 of 40.
  • ⁵ Federal Census, AL, Marengo County, 1920, Linden, E.D. 58, Sheet 2A, Image 3 of 16.
  • ⁶ Gravestone image at FindAGrave.com, (accessed 02/26/2023).
  • ⁷ U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, Draft registration for B Frank Davis.
  • ⁸ PBS Television, Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 21 FEB 2023, Season 9, Episode 8, Angela Y. Davis.

Angela Y. Davis photo by Bernard Gotfryd