Jefferson Davis Descendants

It is rare to encounter a descendant of Jefferson Davis, as he left only four grandchildren, born in the late 1800s. If your parent or grandparent is not on the chart below, you are NOT a descendant of President Jefferson DAVIS, Confederate States of America! It is that simple, as he left few descendants.

Jefferson Davis & His Surviving Descendants

All of Jefferson Davis's grandchildren were raised and married in Colorado Springs, Colorado and died less than one hundred years ago, in the twentieth century. If you are an adult descendant of Jefferson Davis, it is quite easy to trace your lineage back to one of his four grandchildren, or his twelve great grandchildren, as that person would be your parent or grandparent.

Joel Addison HAYES Memorial at Find A Grave covers Margaret, the daughter of Jefferson Davis, her husband, children and grandchildren and there is not one with a South Carolina connection. In fact ALL their children and grandchildren were born and died in Colorado, except one who died in California. How Representative Jenny Horne can trace her South Carolinian roots to these Coloradans is quite a mystery.

Stolen Confederate Heritage

Is Jenny Horne a Descendant of Jeff Davis?

Jenny Horne: 

How a descendant of the president of the Confederacy helped vanquish his flag

As other South Carolina legislators recounted their heritage of the Confederate flag that their ancestors had carried into battle, Representative Jenny Horne who wanted the flag removed from courthouse grounds, trumped them all with her statement of  direct ancestral descent from the President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis.

“I’m sorry. I have heard enough about heritage,” Horne said during the debate. “I have a heritage. I am a lifelong South Carolinian. I am a descendant of Jefferson Davis, okay? But that does not matter. It’s not about Jenny Horne. It’s about the people of South Carolina who have demanded that this symbol of hate come off the statehouse grounds.”

Although Southerners are usually reticent about bragging on their famous forebears, Representative Horne's statement won the day. But was it true? I have a hunch that South Carolina Representative Jenny Horne is no more a descendant of Jefferson Davis than Senator Elizabeth Warren is of the Cherokee Nation. My hunches are various. I will begin with the fact that to be a descendant of Jefferson Davis one has to trace lineage back to one of four grandchildren of Jefferson Davis who were born 1879 - 1889, and raised and married in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The above chart is from Genealogy of Jefferson Davis, President CSA

President Jefferson Davis had six children, but only one child, a daughter, Margaret who married a man named Hayes had children, four of whom reached adulthood and they all married in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1890, the Mississippi Legislature allowed her children to preserve the name of her father, the president of the Confederacy, by using the hyphenation of Hayes-Davis.
South Carolina Representative Jenny Horne's maiden name is Jenny A. Anderson, born in South Carolina 1972, to Danny and Cindy Anderson, indeed, a "life-long South Carolinian" as she described herself. The Jefferson Davis family was from Mississippi where they lived and where their older children were born.

Wikipedia:"Margaret Howell was born February 25, 1855, and was the only child to marry and raise a family. She married Joel Addison Hayes, Jr. (1848–1919), and they had five children. They were married in St. Lazarus Church, nicknamed "The Confederate Officers' Church", in Memphis, Tennessee. In the late 19th century, they moved from Memphis to Colorado Springs, Colorado. She died on July 18, 1909, at the age of 54."

Margaret and Joel Hayes had five children, with four living to adulthood. The four Hayes-Davis children were born 1879 - 1889, and raised and settled in Colorado. All four of Jefferson Davis's grandchildren married in Colorado Springs, Colorado between 1904-1913. So far I have found no connection of their descendants to the Anderson family of South Carolina.

This is the most detailed pedigree chart of Jefferson Davis's daughter Margaret (Davis) Hayes available, and I found no indication of any of her descendants who lived in South Carolina, where Representative Jenny Horne was born and raised. Perhaps Representative Horne can elucidate to help us understand her connection. Which one of Margaret's four children were the great grandparent of Representative Jenny Horne. Was it Varina, Lucy, Jefferson or William Hayes-Davis?

Only those who descend from Varina, Lucy, Jefferson or William Hayes-Davis can claim descent from President Jefferson Davis. It is that easy. Census records are readily available to prove lineage, and if Representative Jenny Horne can tell me how she connects I will verify and report it here.

Is Jenny Horne a Descendant of President Jefferson Davis?

Joel Addison HAYES, Jr. & Margaret Howell DAVIS GENEALOGY

Rice University Genealogy of Jefferson Davis