Edmund J. Davis
Edmund Jackson Davis | |
---|---|
14th Governor of Texas | |
In office January 8, 1870 – January 15, 1874 | |
Lieutenant | Vacant |
Preceded by | Elisha M. Pease |
Succeeded by | Richard Coke |
Chair of the Texas Republican Party | |
In office 1875–1883 | |
Preceded by | John L. Haynes |
Succeeded by | Norris Wright Cuney |
Personal details | |
Born | October 2, 1827 St. Augustine, Florida, U.S. |
Died | February 7, 1883 (aged 55) Austin, Texas, U.S. |
Resting place | Texas State Cemetery Austin, Texas, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Anne Elizabeth Britton |
Profession | Lawyer and politician |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States (Union) |
Branch/service | U.S. Army (Union Army) |
Years of service | 1862–1865 |
Rank | Brigadier General |
Commands | 1st Texas Cavalry Regiment |
Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Edmund Jackson Davis (October 2, 1827 – February 24, 1883) was an
Early years
Davis was born in St. Augustine, Florida, a son of William Godwin Davis and the former Mary Ann Channer. His father was a lawyer and land developer in St. Augustine, the oldest permanent settlement in the United States. In 1848, after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Davis moved with his parents to Galveston, Texas.
The next year, Davis moved to Corpus Christi, where he was admitted to the bar. He was an inspector and deputy collector of customs from 1849 to 1853, when he was appointed district attorney of the 12th Judicial District, which included Webb County in south Texas. He became a judge in that district.[3]
The 1850 census has Davis living on Grant Street in downtown Laredo, the seat of Webb County. Davis, three carpenters, and a laborer were residing, apparently in a boarding house, with Tomasa Benavides and her children when the census was taken that year.[4] He subsequently maintained a ranch in Webb County and conducted his law practice in Laredo. For a time he was a judge of the state's 29th Judicial District.[5]
Civil War years
In early 1861, Edmund Davis supported Governor
Davis recruited his regiment from Union men who had fled from Texas to Louisiana. The regiment would see considerable action during the remainder of the war. On November 10, 1864, President Lincoln appointed Davis as a
In March 1863, Davis and his friend
Post war
Following the end of the war, Davis became a member of the 1866 Texas Constitutional Convention. He supported the rights of freed slaves and urged the division of Texas into several Republican-controlled states.
In 1869, he was narrowly elected governor against
On July 22, 1870, the
Davis' government was marked by a commitment to the
In 1873, Davis was defeated for reelection by Democrat
Following his defeat, Davis was nominated to be collector of customs at Galveston but declined the appointment because he disliked U.S. President
After Democrats regained power in the state legislature, they passed laws making voter registration more difficult, such as requiring payment of
Edmund J. Davis died in 1883 and was given a war hero's burial at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. A large gravestone was placed in Davis's honor by a brother. Davis was survived by his wife, the former Anne Elizabeth Britton (whose father, Forbes Britton, had been chief of staff to Texas Governor Sam Houston), and two sons: Britton (a West Point graduate and military officer) and Waters (an attorney and merchant in El Paso).[3]
See also
References
- ^ Gary Cartwright (20 January 2013). "Remains of the Day".
- ^ ">Gonzalez (2017). p. 380.
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(help) - ^ a b c d Texas State Handbook Online. Moneyhon, Carl H. (30 May 2010). "Davis, Edmund Jackson". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ a b Odie Arambula, "Young lawyer Davis had big local role," Laredo Morning Times, May 6, 2012, p. 17A
- ^ a b Odie Arambula, Visiting the Past column, "Radical Republican Davis had support", Laredo Morning Times, 20 May 2012, p. 15A
- ^ ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. p. 720
- ^ Texas State Handbook Online. Olsen, Bruce A. (30 May 2010). "Texas National Guard". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ Brown, Lyle C., Langenegger, Joyce A., Garcia, Sonia R., et al. PRACTICING TEXAS POLITICS, Thirteenth Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. (Page 67-68)
- ^ African-American Pioneers of Texas: From the Old West to the New Frontiers (Teacher's Manual) (PDF). Museum of Texas Tech University: Education Division. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-02-05.
Further reading
- Carl H. Moneyon. Edmund J. Davis: Civil War General, Republican Leader, Reconstruction Governor (Texas Christian University Press, 2010) 352 pages. Biography.
William W Montgomery SOURCES
“An Act granting a Pension to Mary Ann Montgomery, Widow of Wm. W. Montgomery, late Captain in Texas Volunteers,” 17 Stat. 677 (7 June 1872); digital images, “A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875,” Library of Congress, American Memory (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html : accessed 28 Sep 2014). ↩ “Joint Resolution of the Legislature of Texas…,” House Misc. Doc. No. 43, 42nd Congress, 2d Session, The Miscellaneous Documents Printed by Order of the House of Representatives, … 1871-’72, 4 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1872), 2: 43; digital images, Google Books (http://books.google.com : accessed 28 Sep 2014). Note: John Wesley’s birth year was originally posted as “185i” and has been corrected, thanks to a reader’s eagle eye. ↩ Affidavit of Richard Pendergrast, 11 Dec 1863, in The Miscellaneous Documents Printed by Order of the House of Representatives, … 1889-90, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1891), U.S. Congressional Serial Set 2769: 867-858; digital images, Google Books (http://books.google.com : accessed 28 Sep 2014). ↩ Dean W. Holt, American Military Cemeteries, 2d ed. (Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., 2010). ↩ Stanley S. McGowen, Horse Sweat and Powder Smoke: The First Texas Cavalry in the Civil War (College Station, Tex. : Texas A&M Univ. Press, 1999). ↩
External links
- Eicher, John H., and ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Edmund J. Davis from the Handbook of Texas Online
- "Republican State Convention Article" (PDF). The New York Times. 12 June 1869.