John James DAVIS, Congress, WV (1835-1916)

DAVIS, John James, (father of John William Davis), a Representative from West Virginia; born in Clarksburg, Va. (now West Virginia), May 5, 1835; attended the Northwestern Virginia Academy at Clarksburg, and was graduated from the Lexington Law School (now the law department of Washington and Lee University), Lexington, Va., in 1856; was admitted to the bar in 1856 and commenced practice in Clarksburg, Va.; member of the Virginia house of delegates in 1861; member of the first convention looking toward the formation of a new State loyal to the Union, from counties of western Virginia, held April 22, 1861; delegate from Harrison County to the Wheeling convention June 11, 1861; delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1868, 1876 and 1892; member of the West Virginia house of delegates in 1869 and 1870; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-second Congress and reelected as an Independent Democrat to the Forty-third Congress (March 4, 1871-March 3, 1875); was not a candidate for renomination in 1874; resumed the practice of law in Clarksburg, W.Va.; died in Clarksburg, Harrison County, W.Va., March 19, 1916; interment in Odd Fellows Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present