Seeking Plymouth, Devon origins of Lucy (Doniphan) Bryant

Question

On 25 Jan 2024 Jillaine Smith wrote on Doniphan-103:

Seeking a source for Lucy Doniphan, later of Virginia, being born in Plymouth, Devon, England, daughter of Don Alphonse Doniphan and Margaretta Manzano. Thank you.

Comments

Alexander Doniphan who died in Virginia in 1716/17 appears to be the son of another Alexander Doniphan of Plymouth, England.  The younger Alexander was born about 1650 (he said he was 24 in a deposition made in Virginia in 1674).  Are there records of this family in Plymouth?  The family appears to have been successful merchants, so likely left wills in England.  The younger Alexander left a will in Virginia.

Answer 1

I'm not turning up anything useful Jillaine. Of the two links provided as sources for her existence, the first link is broken, the second goes to a Geni page for Silent Bryant and his "proposed first wife" with no name given.

Comments

Thanks for looking, Jo.

I'm also struck by the non-English-sounding names of her parents-- Don Alphonse Doniphan and Margaretta Manzano...

Not names I'd expect to find in 17th century Plymouth, Devon...

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There's another profile, for Don Alphonso Yphan, supposedly born in Spain and settled in Elizabethan England.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Yphan-1

The whole story sounds very unlikely. I'm not sure if a Spaniard would be welcome in Plymouth, with memories of the Spanish Armada still fresh and Spain and England still at war.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the surname was originally Donovan, which became Doniffan, then Doniphan, which someone decided must be Spanish Don Iphan.

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The name became Donovan in America.  Alexander Doniphan https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Doniphan-6 is the first person with this surname found in Virginia records.  He immigrated about 1670.   Unclear where he was born, but his apparent father was a merchant in Plymouth, England.

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It sure looks like all that Don Alphonso stuff is pure fiction. Amazing how much garbage there is floating around the internet.
 

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Jo, could you (or another England researcher) please look for records for Alexander Doniphan or Donovan in Bristol for this time period?  Wills in particular would be helpful. See Kathie Forbes' comment on my initial question above. Many thanks.

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Just one indexed entry  in Bristol  parish registers 1538-1812 (Ancestry)   for Alexander Don*n and that was for a Donaldson married in 1771.

With no first name found one Daniel Donnovan married in 1701.

Using Alexander  D*n*n no results

Using no first name D*n*n  lots of Donns, Downings etc but nothing resembling Doniphan even amongst the odd spellings.

Just putting Doniphan into the general search engine with no dates only results in Donivan and Donovan

Simple search Doniphan, Bristol archives no result. Nothing in right period Donovan, no result Donnovan, Donivan, Donnivan

Only Doniphan in national archives is an American ship named Alexander Doniphan in 1945

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The Bristol Record Society publications are online. I haven't checked all of them, but I looked in the ones covering the 17th century and didn't find anything in the indexes for Donovan/Diniphan and similar.

https://bristolrecordsociety.org/publications/bristol-record-society-publications/

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I did note a number of   wills (1650-1800) in the Nat Archives for Don*van. These were almost all mariners (presumably of Irish origin)

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Helen, apologies for the delay in my response; I was traveling last week.

Thank you SO much for your efforts to find *something* about this mysterious profiled person.