Thomas Davis (Rhode Island politician)

Thomas Davis (December 18, 1806 – July 26, 1895) was a British-American manufacturer, politician and abolitionist. He was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and served in the Rhode Island State Senate and the Rhode Island House of Representatives.

Thomas Davis
Member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
In office
1887–1890
Member of the Rhode Island Senate
from the district
In office
1845–1853
In office
1877–1878
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Rhode Island's 1st district
In office
March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855
Preceded byGeorge Gordon King
Succeeded byNathan B. Durfee
Personal details
Born(1806-12-18)December 18, 1806
Dublin, Ireland, U.K.
DiedJuly 26, 1895(1895-07-26) (aged 88)
Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
Resting placeSwan Point Cemetery
Providence, Rhode Island
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
  • Eliza Chase
    ​
    (died)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1849; died 1876)​
Children2 (adopted)
OccupationManufacturer
Politician
Abolitionist
CommitteesProvidence school committee

Early life and education

Davis was born in Dublin on the island of Ireland (the entirety of which was then part of the U.K.), where he attended private schools. He was of an Anglo-Irish background, being of English and Welsh descent, and was part of the landowning Protestant Ascendancy. Davis attended the Anglican Church of Ireland. In 1817, he emigrated with his family to the United States and they settled in Providence, Rhode Island. In Providence, he engaged in jewelry manufacturing and became quite wealthy.

Political career

He became involved in politics and was a member of the Rhode Island State Senate from 1845 to 1853.[1] Davis was elected to the Thirty-third Congress, and served from March 4, 1853, to March 3, 1855.[2] While in Congress, he was outspoken about his disapproval of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.[3] In 1854, he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Thirty-fourth Congress, and returned to his manufacturing pursuits.

Davis hoped to return to Congress, and was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the Thirty-sixth, Forty-second, Forty-third, and Forty-sixth Congresses.[4] He served in the State Senate again in 1877 and 1878,[5] and was a member of the State House from 1887 to 1890.

He was an abolitionist and was against the real estate requirement for voting that Rhode Island imposed upon naturalized citizens.[6][7] Davis was on the North Providence, Rhode Island executive school committee,[8] and was a member of the Rhode Island Historical Society.[9]

Death and legacy

Davis died in Providence on July 26, 1895, and is interred in Swan Point Cemetery.[10]

In 2003, he was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.[11]

Family life

Davis' first wife was Eliza Chase.[12] Following Eliza's death, he married abolitionist, suffragist, and educator Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis in 1849.[13][14] The couple adopted two daughters, and remained together until Paulina's death in 1876.[15]

References
  1. United States. Government Printing Office (1918). Congressional serial set. U.S. G.P.O. p. 596.
  2. Douglas, Frederick (2009). The Frederick Douglass Papers: 1842–1852. Yale University Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-0300135602.
  3. Rhode Island Historical Society (1896). Publications of the Rhode Island Historical Society, Volume 4. The Societu. p. 53.
  4. United States. Government Printing Office (1918). Congressional serial set. U.S. G.P.O. p. 596.
  5. Stanton, Elizabeth Cady (2003). The Selected Papers of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony: National protection for national citizens, 1873 to 1880. Rutgers University Press. p. 254. ISBN 9780813523194.
  6. Conley, Patrick T. and Flanders, Robert J. (2011). The Rhode Island State Constitution. Oxford University Press. p. 132. ISBN 9780199877768.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. "Congressman Thomas Davis". Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  8. Bicknell, T.W. and Stockwell, T.B. (1871). The Rhode Island Schoolmaster, Volume 17. Providence Press Company. p. 29.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Arnold, James N. (1996). The Narragansett Historical Register. Heritage Books. p. 126. ISBN 9780788405105.
  10. Spencer, Thomas E. (1998). Where They're Buried: A Directory Containing More Than Twenty Thousand Names of Notable Persons Buried in American Cemeteries, with Listings of Many Prominent People who Were Cremated. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 296. ISBN 9780806348230.
  11. "Congressman Thomas Davis". Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  12. Douglas, Frederick (2009). The Frederick Douglass Papers: 1842–1852. Yale University Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-0300135602.
  13. Danforth, Charolotte (2006). American Heirloom Baby Names. Penguin. ISBN 9781101210482.
  14. Rhode Island Historical Society (1896). Publications of the Rhode Island Historical Society, Volume 4. The Societu. p. 50.
  15. James, Edward T. and Wilson, Janet (1971). Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume 2. Harvard University Press. p. 444.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.


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