Henry G. Davis

Henry G. Davis
United States Senator fromWest Virginia
In office March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1883
Preceded by	Waitman T. Willey
Succeeded by	John E. Kenna
Personal details
Born	Henry Gassaway Davis (1823-11-16)November 16, 1823 Woodstock, Maryland,U.S.
Died	March 11, 1916(1916-03-11)(aged 92) Washington, D.C.,U.S.
Political party	Democratic

Henry Gassaway Davis(November 16, 1823 – March 11, 1916) was a millionaire andSenatorfromWest Virginia.He was theDemocratic Party's nominee forVice President of the United Statesin1904.

Born on a farm inHoward County, Maryland,he became a railroad executive before branching out into coal mining and banking as founder of the Potomac and Piedmont Coal and Railway Company. Davis won election to both houses of theWest Virginia Legislaturebefore serving as U.S. Senator from 1871 to 1883. His younger brother,Thomas Beall Davis,also served in Congress. After his tenure in the Senate ended, Davis continued to grow his business interests. In partnership with his son-in-law,Stephen Benton Elkins,Davis created the Davis Coal and Coke Company and led it to become one of the largest coal companies in the world.

The1904 Democratic National Conventionnominated a ticket ofAlton B. Parkerfor president and Davis for vice president. Davis was chosen primarily for his ability to provide funding to the campaign. At nearly 81 years old, he is the second oldest person ever on a major American party's national ticket afterJoseph Bidenand the oldest vice presidential nominee. The Republican ticket ofTheodore RooseveltandCharles W. Fairbanksprevailed by a wide margin. After the election, Davis helped establishDavis & Elkins College.He died in Washington, D.C., on March 11, 1916.

Biography

Early life

Henry G. Davis

Henry Gassaway Davis was born nearWoodstock,Howard County, Maryland,the son of Louisa Warfield (née Brown; March 10, 1799 – July 23, 1868) and merchant Caleb Dorsey Davis (March 3, 1792 – September 4, 1850). He was the great-great-great-grandson of Maryland pioneer Thomas Davis, and the great-great-great-great-grandson of Maryland politician and justiceColonel Nicholas Gassaway,both of whom were of Welsh ancestry and emigrated to Maryland in the mid 17th century.

Stage coaches stopped at Woodstock five days a week en route toWashington, D.C.,and Davis later often recalled one of his earliest memories: witnessing the groundbreaking of the country's first railroad on July 4, 1828, from atop his father's shoulders inBaltimore.

Davis had three brothers and a sister. His father's business prospered until he won a contract to grade a section of road between Baltimore andFrederick, Maryland,which caused heavy losses. Creditors caused even the family's horses and carriages to be sold, which proved devastating to Caleb Davis's health.

Early career

When his family's finances collapsed, Davis, then 15 years old, abandoned his education and took a job carrying water for workmen at a nearby quarry and then became caretaker of "Waverly," a nearby farm owned by GovernorHoward.When Davis was 20, the B&O completed track from Frederick toCumberland,and needed men to run the trains and handle cargo. Thus, Davis went to work for theBaltimore and Ohio Railroadas abrakeman.His hard work and enthusiasm drew the attention of the railroad's president,Thomas Swann,who promoted him to freight conductor and then passenger conductor. Davis met many statesmen, including SenatorsHenry Clayof Kentucky (Davis came to admire him and received invitations to visit at his home),Thomas H. Bentonof Missouri,Lewis Cassof Michigan,Benjamin WadeandThomas Corwinof Ohio, andStephen A. Douglasof Illinois, all of whom embarked the B&O train in Cumberland to reach Washington, D.C. (or disembarked on the reverse route). Davis also often stayed at a hotel in Washington between trips and conversed with other notables, including SenatorsWilliam C. Rivesof Virginia,John C. Calhounof South Carolina, andDaniel Websterof Massachusetts. When the B&O finally completed track toWheelingon the navigableOhio River,Davis was put in charge of thePiedmontstation. It was a crucial station because it was at the foot of a mountain, where trains traveling eastward added engines to surmount the slope. Until the railroad completed a house for him (so that his new wife could join him), Davis lived in a box car and also came to admire the natural landscape of the Allegheny Mountains. After four years, his brother Thomas joined him, and they established a store, often trading farm products for manufactured goods such as jeans, shoes, calico and sugar. In 1858, Davis resigned his railroad job to concentrate on the firm, Henry G. Davis & Company.

Davis also explored the Alleghenies, particularly the area drained by thePotomac Riverto the east and theCheat Riveron the western side of the eastern continental divide. He purchased land rich in timber or coal (often for $1 an acre). He soon built sawmills to process the lumber and extended branch railroads to new coal mines, and also invested in banking in Piedmont.

When the Civil War began, even the B&O's president,John Work Garrett,initially sympathized with the Southern cause. However, the B&O was crucial for the Union armies. Davis favored the Union and also admired the new President,Abraham Lincoln.When Confederate raiders attacked the B&O and destroyed track and bridges, part of Davis' job was to restore service and keep the supplies moving. Many in western Virginia likewise favored the Union, met in twoWheeling Conventions,and adopted a statehood referendum and constitution that eventually led to West Virginia becoming the 35th state. In 1865, Davis would be elected to theWest Virginia House of Delegatesas one ofHampshire County's representatives.

Personal life

On February 22, 1853, in Frederick County, Maryland. Davis married Katherine Ann Salome "Kate" Bantz.Henry and Katherine had eight children, three of whom died in infancy. One of those three is unidentified; the remaining seven were:

• (1) - Mary Louise "Hallie" Davis (December 19, 1853 – March 1, 1933) - She married industrialist and politicianStephen Benton Elkins(September 26, 1841 – January 4, 1911) on April 14, 1875, in Baltimore; her married name was Hallie Davis Elkins. Hallie Davis was Stephen Elkins's second wife; his first was Sarah Simms "Sallie" Jacobs (1845 – 1872), whom he had married in 1866 and with whom he had two children. His marriage with Hallie Davis produced five children. Elkins, a Republican, would become his father-in-law's protégé and business partner and die 22 years before his wife and five years before her father.
• (2) - Kate Bantz Davis (December 1, 1856 – January 21, 1903)
• (3) - Anderson Cord Davis (1859 - December 1862)
• (4) - Ada Kate Davis (January 14, 1862 - September 1863)
• (5) - Grace Thomas Davis (October 19, 1869 – January 18, 1931) (a.k.a. Gracie Davis)
• (6) - Henry Gassaway Davis Jr. (May 10, 1871 – April 24, 1896) (a.k.a. Harry Davis), lost at sea off the Atlantic coast ofSouth Africa
• (7) - John Thomas Davis (March 31, 1874 – June 27, 1935)

Political and commercial life

In 1865 Davis was elected a member of theWest Virginia House of Delegates.The following year, he founded the Potomac and Piedmont Coal and Railway Company with the intent of furnishing transportation to his coal mining and timbering interests. The company was given the right to construct railroad grades inMineral,Grant,TuckerandRandolphcounties. He became astate senatorin 1869. In 1870, he was elected to theUnited States Senate,serving two terms, with his service ending in 1883.

Parker/Davis campaign poster

Following his service in the Senate, Davis retired toElkins, West Virginia,where he resumed banking and coal mining. Davis's company now controlled 135,000 acres (550 km²), employed 1,600 men of sixteen nationalities, operated two power plants, and worked over 1,000 coke ovens and 9 mines within one mile (1.6 km) of the central office atCoketoninTucker County.By 1892, the Davis Coal and Coke Company, a partnership between Davis and his son-in-law, SenatorStephen Benton Elkins,was among the largest coal companies in the world.

Davis represented the U.S. at thePan-American Conferencesof 1889 and 1901.

Candidate for Vice President

In1904,Davis became the Democratic nominee for vice president on a ticket withAlton B. Parker.They lost to theRepublicanticket ofTheodore RooseveltandCharles W. Fairbanksby a wide margin. At the age of 80, Davis was and remains the oldest person to be nominated for vice president on a major party ticket. He was chosen primarily because of his ability to provide much-needed funds to the campaign.

Davis in 1911

Later years

Davis in his last years acted as chairman of the permanent Pan American Railway Committee (1901–1916) and also donated land to buildDavis and Elkins CollegeinElkins, West Virginia.He died inWashington, D.C.,on March 11, 1916, at the age of 92. He was interred in the Maplewood Cemetery in Elkins. A bronze equestrian statue of Davis was erected in 1927, at Sycamore Street and Randolph Avenue in Elkins, with an identical twin in Davis Park in downtownCharleston, West Virginia.

Legacy

• Davis and Elkins College,in Elkins, WV; named for Senators Davis and Elkins
• Graceland (Elkins, West Virginia);the summer home for Davis and a National Historic Landmark
• Henry Gassaway Davis House;Davis' home at Piedmont, West Virginia, built in 1871
• He is the namesake of the town ofHenry, West Virginia
• He is the namesake of the town ofGassaway, West Virginia
• He is the namesake of the town ofDavis, West Virginia

References

• United States Congress."Henry G. Davis (id: D000103)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

External links

• TheWest Virginia & Regional History CenteratWest Virginia Universityhouses the papers of Henry G. Davis in three collections,A&M 13,A&M 717,andA&M 1028

Further reading

• Williams, John Alexander.West Virginia and the Captains of Industry(1976)

Williams, John Alexander. "Davis and Elkins of West Virginia: businessmen in politics" (PhD dissertation, Yale University, 1967)  ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,  1967. 6708432.