MS065
JOSEPH J. DAVIS AND FAMILY PRIVATE
PAPERS
1862-1894
Joseph Jonathan Davis (1828-1894) was a US Representative from the Fourth District (NC), (1875-1881); first president of the state (NC) bar association, (1885); North Carolina Supreme Court Justice (1887-1892); Confederate officer and prisoner of war; lawyer; and ranking leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Davis was born in Franklin County on April 13, 1828 and was the tenth child of Jonathon Davis, a planter, and Mary Pomfret Butler. Joseph studied at Louisburg Male Academy, Wake Forest College, the College of William and Mary and the University of North Carolina. He read law under W.H. Battle and graduated with an LL. B. degree in 1850. Davis was admitted to the bar in June 1850 and opened his practice in Oxford, NC.
Davis was initially opposed to secession but at the outbreak of he Civil War enlisted in the Confederate Army. He accepted a commission as captain in Company G, 47th North Carolinian infantry. Davis served with the Army of Northern Virginia and was captured at Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863 in the Pickett-Pettigrew charge at Gettysburg. Davis was interned at Fort Delaware and was later transferred to Johnson’s Island Ohio. While interned at Johnson’s Island, Davis established a law school among the prisoners. He was paroled at Johnson’s Island and transferred to City Point, Virginia for exchange on February 24, 1865.
After his exchange, Davis resumed this law practice in Louisburg along with his partner, Charles M. Cooke. He began his career in politics as a Conservative. In 1866 he was elected as a Democrat to the House of Commons from Franklin Country. In 1870 and 1872 Davis canvassed for the Democratic Party, and in 1872 was a state elector-at-large for Horace Greeley. It was at this time Davis was a high-ranking leader of the Ku Klux Klan. During his tenure in the US House of Representatives, Davis was a southern spokesman against federal interference in election procedures and defended southern claims for war damages and extension of Mexican War pension benefits to ex-Confederate soldiers. He retired from Congress in 1881.
After his stint in politics, Davis resumed his law practice in Louisburg. In 1885 there was an attempt to organize a state bar association in North Carolina. The Fledgling association elected him their first president. Although the association was short-lived, Davis was not responsible for its demise.
Governor Alfred M. Scales appointed Davis to the North Carolina Supreme Court as an associate justice in 1887. He was elected to the court Davis frequently held the tie-breaking vote between the liberal and conservative justices. Important cases decided by Justice Davis were: Cagel V. Parker, 97 (on easements); McCanless V. Flinchum, 98 (on contributory negligence); Michael v. Foil, 100 (on establishing the definitive North Carolina rule regarding privileged communication between lawyer and client; Goodman v. Sapp, 102 (on failure of a witness to take the stand as subject of comment in trial procedure; and Wilmington and Weldon Railroad v. B.I. Allsbrook, 100 North Carolina 138, the landmark decision that upheld the state’s right to tax the railroad’s property even though an exemption had been granted before the Civil War. His judicial opinions appear in volume 96-110 North Carolina Reports.
Davis served on the board of trustees of the University of North Carolina
from 1874-1891. He was on the committee with William A. Graham and Kemp P.
Battle that recommended a plan of organization for the University when it
reopened after the Civil War. In 1883 he was chairman of the visiting
committee and received an honorary LL. D. Degree in 1887.
Katherine Elizabeth Shaw (d. 1881) of Louisburg married Davis on October 21,
1852. Five Children resulted from this marriage: Mrs. Katherine
McAden Davis Crenshaw, Robert Henry, Hugh Levin, Mrs. Mary Helen Davis Allen,
and Lily Davis, who died while still a child. Davis married a second time
to Louisa Kittrell (d. 1899) of Oxford, NC in 1883. Davis died in
Louisburg on August 7, 1892 was buried in Oaklawn Cemetery in Louisburg,
NC.
This Collection contains xerographic copies of letters and notes from Joseph
Jonathan Davis to his wife Katherine Elizabeth Shaw; a letter and a Crenshaw,
Davis’ daughter, and a Scriptual Accrostic [sic]. Many of the letters in
this Collection from Davis to his wife are printed in T.H. Pearce’s,
They Fought: the Story of Franklin County Men in the Years
1861-1865. Davis’ letters to his wife dealt with instructions to her
in the management of things at home and to alleviate her fears.
Arrangement of the Collection in chronological.
It has been designated Accession Number 65 of the Manuscripts Collection, Special Collections Department, William Madison Randall Library, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 601 South College Road, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403-3297.
There are no
access restrictions on this collection.
Processed by Lana
Donaldson Taylor
Special Collections Librarian
Manuscripts
Collection
William Madison Randall Library
The University of North
Carolina Wilmington
April 20, 1989
JOSEPH JONATHAN DAVIS
(1828-1892)
CHRONOLOGY
1828 April 13
Born in Franklin County NC to Jonathan Davis (1796-1842) and Mary Pomfret Butler
1850
Received the degree of bachelor of laws from the University of North Carolina
1850-1852
Practiced law in Oxford, NC
1852
Moved law practice to Louisburg, NC
1852 October 21
Married Katherine Elizabeth Shaw [d. 1881] of Louisburg, NC (Children by this union: Katherine McAden, Robert Henry, Hugh Levin, Mary Helen, and Lily)
1862 March 29
Commissioned Captain of Company G. 47th Regiment North Carolina Troops [Infantry]
1863 July 3
Wounded and captured at the Battle of Gettysburg
1863 July 12
Confined at Fort Delaware, Delaware
1863 July 18
Transferred to Johnson’s Island, Ohio; established a law school among prisoners
1865 February 24
Paroled at Johnson’s Island, Ohio established a law school among prisoners
1866
Resumed the practice of law in Louisburg in partnership with Charles M. Cooke
1866-1867
Elected as a Democrat to the House of Commons from Franklin County, NC
1870-1872
High-ranking leader in the North Carolina Ku Klux Klan
1872
State elector-at-large for Horace Greeley
1874
Served on the Democratic State Executive Committee
1874-1891
Served on the board of trustees of the University of North Carolina
1875-1881
4th District Congressman
1881
Katherine Elizabeth Shaw Davis Died
1883
Served with William A. Graham and Kemp P. Battle on the committee that recommended a plan of reorganization of the University of North Carolina on its reopening after the Civil war
1883
Married Louisa Kittrell (d. 1899) of Oxford, NC
1885 January 25
Elected first president of the short-lived [NC] State Bar Association
1887
Awarded an honorary LL. D. from the University of North Carolina
1877 February
Appointed by Governor Alfred M. Scales to the North Carolina Supreme Court as an associate justice
1888-1892
Re-elected to the North Carolina Supreme Court
1892
Cast the deciding vote in Wilmington and Weldon Railroad V. B.I. Allsbrook (100 NC 138) upholding the state’s right to tax the railroad’s property. Railroad v. Allsbrook was regarded as a landmark decision in the struggle for effective railroad regulation.
1892 August 7
Died in Louisburg, NC
Bibliography
Blackwelder, Fannie Farmer. “Organization and Early Years of The North Carolina Bar Association”. The North Carolina Historical Review XXXIV (January 1957): 36-57.
Cyclopedia of Eminent and Representative Men of the Carolinas of the Nineteenth Century. . . . . Madison, Wisconsin: Brant & Fuller, 1892, Vol. II, pp. 86-89.
Davis, Edward Hill. Historical Sketches of Franklin County. Raleigh: Edwards & Broughton Co., 1948, pp. 150-155.
North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865; A Roster. Vol. 7, pp. 484-485.
Pearce, T. H. They Fought: The Story of Franklin County Men in the Years 1861-1865. [Chicago]: Adams Press, c[1969] pp. 92-102, 111-117, 143-147.
Steelman, Bennet L. Dictionary of North Carolina Biography. Chapel Hill and London: The University of North Carolina Press, 1986. Vol. 2 “Davis, Joseph Jonathan”.
Inventory
Manuscript/Box/File
Note: Pearce refers to: Pearce, T.H. They Fought: The Story of Franklin County Men in the Years 1861-1865. [Chicago]: Adams Press, [c. 1969], pp. 95-102; 111-117; 143-147.
065/1/1
1862 October 12, Letter; Camp Vance near Petersburg, VA from Joseph J. Davis (JJD) to “My Own Sweet Dove”, [wife], Katherine Elizabeth Shaw Davis (KSD); 4pp. (See Pearce pp. 95-96)
065/1/2
1862 October 22,
Petersburg, VA; from JJD to KSD; 2pp. (See Pearce p. 97)
065/1/3
1862 October 25,
Letter, Camp Vance, near Petersburg, VA; from JJD to KSD; 2pp. (See Pearce p.
97)
065/1/4
1862 October 28,
Letter; Camp near Petersburg, VA; from JJD to KSD; includes enveloped
Evangelical Tract Society, Petersburg, Virginia; 2pp.
065/1/5
1862 November 2,
Letter; Camp French; from JJD to KSD; 4pp.
065/1/6
1862 November 3,
Letter; Camp French; from JJD to KSD; 3pp. (Sea Pearce p. 98)
065/1/7
1862 November
5, Letter; Bivouac in the Pines 2 miles from Weldon; from JJD to KSD;
includes envelope addressed to Mrs. Jos. J. Davis, Louisburg, N. Carolina; 2pp.
(See Pearce p. 99)
065/1/8
1862 November 6, Letter.; Weldon; from JJD to KSD; includes envelope addressed to Mrs. Jos. J. Davis, Louisburg, North Carolina; Weldon postmark; paid 10; written on ledger paper; 1p (See Pearce p. 99)
065/1/9
1862 November 7,
Letter.; Bivouac in the Pines 2 miles from Weldon; from JJD to KSD; includes
envelope addressed to Mrs. Jos. J. Davis, Louisburg, North Carolina; Weldon
postmark; paid 10; written on ledger paper; 1p. (See Pearce p. 99)
065/1/10
1862 November 9,
Letter; Camp near Weldon; from JJD to KSD; 1 p. (See Pearce pp.
99-100)
065/1/11
1862 November 10,
Letter; Tarboro; from JJD to KSD; 1p.
065/1/12
1862 November 13,
Letter, Tarborrough [sic]; from JJD to KSD; includes envelope addressed to Mrs.
Jos. J. Davis, Louisburg, N. Carolina 2pp. [2 items]
065/1/13
1862 November 15,
Letter; Weldon; from JJD to KSD; 2pp.
065/1/14
1862 November 17,
Letter; Camp French; from JJD to KSD; 4pp. (Sea Pearce pp. 100-101)
065/1/15
1862 November 19,
Letter; Camp French; from JJD to KSD; 4pp.
065/1/16
1862 November 20,
Letter; Camp French; from JJD to KSD; includes envelope addressed to Mrs. Jos.
J. Davis, Louisburg, N.C.; return address Evangelical Tract Society, Petersburg,
Virginia; (Kindness of Mr. Barham); 2pp.
065/1/17
1862 November 23,
Letter; Camp French; from JJD to KSD; includes envelope addressed to Mrs. Jos.
J. Davis, Louisburg, N. Carolina; 2pp. (See Pearce pp. 101-102).
065/1/18
1862 November 24,
Letter; Camp French; from JJD to KSD; 4pp. (See Pearce p.
102)
065/1/19
1862 November 25,
Letter; Louisburg, N.C.; return address Evangelical Tract Society, Petersburg,
Virginia; (Kindness of Mr. Barham); 2pp.
065/1/20
1862 November 28,
Letter; Camp French; from JJD to KSD; 4pp.
065/1/21
[ca. 1862
November 23-29], Note; from KSD to JJD; includes envelope addressed to Capt.
Joseph J. Davis, Care of Col. S.H. Rogers, 47th Reg. N.C.T.,
Petersburg, VA; 4pp. (Some pages appear to have been removed from this
file.)
065/1/22
1862 November 30,
Letter; Camp French; from JJD to KSD; 3pp.
065/1/23
1862 December 2,
Letter; Camp French; from JJD to KSD; includes envelope addressed to Mrs. Jos.
J. Davis, Louisburg, N. Carolina; 1p. (See Pearce p. 102)
065/1/24
1862 December 17,
Letter; Camp near Goldsboro; from JJD to KSD; includes envelope addressed to
Mrs. Jos. J. Davis, Louisburg, N. Carolina; 4pp. (See Pearce p. 111)
065/1/25
1862 December 18,
Note; Near Goldsboro; from JJD to KSD; includes envelope addressed to Mrs. J. J.
Davis, Louisburg; Kindness of Dr. Gloss; written on 3 x 5 piece of ledger paper;
1p. (See Pearce pp. 111-112)
065/1/26
1862 December 19,
Note; Near Goldsboro; from JJD to KSD; written on 3 X 5 piece of ledger paper;
1p. (See Pearce pp. 111-112)
065/1/27
1862 December 19,
Letter; Near Goldsboro; from JJD to KSD; 2pp.
065/1/28
1862 December 20,
Letter; Near Goldsboro; from JJD to KSD; includes envelope addressed to Mrs.
Jos. J. Davis, Louisburg N. Carolina; written on 3 X 5 ledger paper;
2pp.
065/1/29
1862 December 23,
Letter; Franklin [VA]; from JJD to KSD; 4pp. (See Pearce pp.
112-115)
065/1/30
1862 December 23,
Letter; Franklin [VA]; from JJD to KSD; 4pp. (See Pearce pp. 113-115)
065/1/31
1862 December 31,
Letter; Camp 47th Reg. N.C. Troops. [Franklin, VA]; from JJD to KSD;
4pp. (See Pearce pp. 115-117)
065/1/32
1863 April 17,
Note; from JJS to KSD; 1 p.
065/1/33
1863 June 21,
Letter; 47th Reg. N.C.T.; from JJD to KSD includes envelope addressed
to Mrs. Jos. J. Davis, Louisburg, North Carolina; 6pp. (See Pearce pp.
143-147)
065/1/34
1874 June 3,
Letter; Raleigh; from JJD to KSD; 1 p.
065/1/35
1894 December 23,
Letter; Bakersville, NC; from H.W. Rice to Mrs. Crenshaw {Katherine McAden Davis
Crenshaw, daughter of JJD and KSD]; 4pp.
065/1/36
A Scriptual Accrostre [sic] on one of the best of officer
COPYRIGHT: Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.