Thomas Davis (politician)

Thomas Davis (born December 18, 1806 in Dublin , Ireland , † July 26, 1895 in Providence , Rhode Island ) was an Irish- American politician . Between 1853 and 1855 he represented the first constituency of the state of Rhode Island in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Thomas Davis was initially taught in private schools in his Irish homeland and immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1817. The family settled in Providence. There he continued his training and then began to work in jewelery manufacturing. Politically, he joined the Democratic Party founded by Andrew Jackson . Between 1845 and 1853 he was a member of the Rhode Island Senate . In 1852 Davis was elected to the US House of Representatives against incumbent George Gordon King of the Whig Party . After Benjamin Babock Thurston, he was only the second Democrat to represent Rhode Island as a member of Congress . But since he lost to Nathaniel B. Durfee in the following elections in 1854 , Davis could only remain in Congress for one term until March 3, 1855.

After his tenure in the House of Representatives was over, Davis returned to jewelry making. But he remained politically active. In the years 1858, 1870, 1872 and 1878 he ran unsuccessfully for a return to Congress. Between 1877 and 1878 he was again in the State Senate and between 1887 and 1890 he was a member of the House of Representatives from Rhode Island . He was also on the Providence City School Board. Davis had been married to suffragette and abolitionist Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis since 1849 . The couple had two adoptive daughters.

Web links

• Thomas Davis in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Thomas Davis in the database of Find a Grave (English)