 He died in 1891, aged 79, taking his knowledge with him.John Hobson Matthews mentions Davey in his "History of St. Ives, Lelant, Towednack, and Zennor", published in 1892, the year after Davey's death.In a chapter discussing Cornish and the evidence of its late survival in the region, Matthews indicates that Davey had had some knowledge of the tongue, could decipher local Cornish placenames, and could "converse on a few simple topics in the ancient language".