Henry Gassaway Davis (1823 - 1916)

Born 16 Nov 1823 in Woodstock, Howard County, Maryland, USA

Husband of Katherine Ann Salome (Bantz) Davis — married 22 Feb 1853 in Frederick, Frederick, Maryland

Descendants

Died 11 Mar 1916 at age 92 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA

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Henry Davis is Notable.

Preceded by Waitman T. Willey

Henry G. Davis US Senator (Class 2) from West Virginia 1871—1883

Succeeded by John E. Kenna

Biography

HON. H. G. DAVIS.

Honorable Henry G. Davis, of Elkins, West Virginia, was born in Howard County, Maryland, November 16, 1823; received a country school education; lived and worked upon a farm until 1843; in the employ of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company for fourteen years ; commenced banking and mining coal at Piedmont in 1858; engaged in banking, mining and shipping coal, building railroads, etc., almost continually since that time ; elected to the House of Delegates in 1865 ; member of the National Democratic Convention at New York in 1868, and at Baltimore in 1872; elected to the State Senate in 1868 and 1870; elected to the United States Senate as a Democrat to succeed W. T. Willey, Republican ; took his seat March 4, 1871 ; re-elected, serving until March, 1883; Democratic candidate for Vice President in 1904.

No man has done as much to develop the natural resources of Central West Virginia as Senator Davis. He has built and caused to be built hundreds of miles of railroads and flourishing cities of industry, where but a quarter a century ago was an almost unexplored wilderness. He was president of the West Virginia Central & Pittsburg Railway from the time of its organization until the red was sold to the Wabash in- terests and president of the Davis Coal & Coke Company for a number of years. Both the West Virginia Division of the Western Maryland and the Coal & Coke Railroads will ever stand as monuments to his indomitable energy, untiring progressiveness, and confidence in the resources of West Virginia.

No man in the State is held in greater esteem by its citizens than Senator Davis. Some one has very fittingly styled him the "Grand Old Man of West Virginia."

Sources

• http://archive.org/stream/thomaswestvirgin00nutt/thomaswestvirgin00nutt_djvu.txt
• Wikipedia entry for Henry G. Davis
• Find A Grave Memorial# 5995030
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress