Record of her will in the Public Trust Office.

Of Clapham Common, Surrey. His father died when he was very young, and his mother died when he was 14, leaving him to the care of his maternal uncle, Ralph Marsh, a woolendraper in Aldgate86.

John was the recipient of a series of letters from his brother, Major Richard Davenport, and these letters were preserved by his descendants, THB Graham and EC Graham, and given to the Household Cavalry Museum in 1959. They can be found in print86. There are only a few mentions of the family, but enough to be very interesting. From there we see Richard encouraging John to become a woolendraper to the Army. (Letters 12, 13, and 14 for example, where Richard recommended John to the Colonel and all the other officers. Typically, this was accompanied by a host of demanding instructions, and a demand for a special deal for brother Richard. It’s not always easy to read the correct tone in letters like this, but my impression is that Richard was not always so pleasant.) John duly did, and became wealthy.

He became a partner with Edward Osland, a woolendraper who witnessed his mother’s will. Osland also inherited the house of Ralph Marsh, so there were close connections between the Osland and Davenport families. Osland is mentioned often in Richard Davenport’s letters, not always in a flattering way it seems to me.

One of the most interesting comments in the letters is in Letter 51: “I suppose you are in jest when you talk of correcting your treatise on horsemanship, for I cannot conceive that you mean to appear in print”. This was written in April, 1760 (and is a pretty typical put-down from Richard). The book “Rules for bad horsemen” had its first edition in 1762, which agrees very well with this letter, giving a bit of evidence that John Davenport actually was the author of this book, writing as Charles Thompson Esq.

There is a bit more evidence of this. In the Kedleston Hall Museum there is an early edition of “Rules for Bad Horsemen”, with, and I quote from the online description: “Inscription on front pastedown: 'Mather to Lord Scarsdale' [Nathaniel, 1st Baron (1726-1804)] and 'written by mr Davenport a clothier in the Strand' “. Thus, the written inscription in this book explicitly names John Davenport as the author. That’s all pretty solid evidence I reckon, and we are safe to conclude that John Davenport wrote the book.

But did he write the other travel books by “Charles Thompson”? Probably not, as they were published first in 1744, but it’s still possible I suppose. However, the 1744 edition calls the author the Late Charles Thompson, so I’m guessing it’s a different person. On the other hand, Google Books says this Charles Thompson is a fictional name. All very confusing.

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From Patrick Baty 34:
John Davenport (ca.1719-1789) of The Hall, Clapham Common, North Side,  Surrey. (See Map of Clapham families in C. Smith's "Actual Survey of the Road from London to Brighthelmston" 1800 [reproduced in The London Rich, by Peter Thorold,1999].
Ref. Robert Bevan 1865-1925, A Memoir by His Son - "An ancestor on his mother's side, John Davenport, wrote an amusing “Hints for Bad Horsemen”, published in 1786 under the pseudonym Charles Thompson."
A letter from R[ichard?] Davenport to his mother from Eton (21st March 1779) was addressed to 432 Strand. In 1794 that address was occupied by Gilpin & Newton, Woollen Drapers and by Davenport & Gilpin, Army Clothiers.
Musgrave's Obituaries prior to 1800 records John Davenport, Clothier 16 July 1789 aged 70.
He was mentioned in Jonathan Eade's will of 1762.  I [PB] have a copy of his will from the PRO - Prob 11/1181. Left his three unmarried children £10,000 each.”
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From the Lambeth Archives Department:
“ John [Davenport], a wealthy merchant (he was Master of the Merchant Taylors' Company in 1775) and woollen draper to the King had bought a large estate on Clapham Common Northside, near the present Sugden Road. ”