Allen Bowie Davis (1809–1889) was an American businessman. Davis was born in Montgomery County Maryland to Thomas Davis (1769–1833) and Elizabeth Bowie (1772–1840). His father participated in the

Whiskey Rebellion The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...

and was the president of the Board of Trustees of the

Brookeville Academy The Brookeville Academy is located in the heart of the Historic District in Brookeville, Maryland, a town located north of Washington, D.C., and north of Olney in northeastern Montgomery County, Maryland. It was built in 1810 as one of the firs ...

, a position that Allen would take later at the age of 24. Davis took over the estate farm Greenwood at 16 and would write educational books on agriculture. By 1850 he would own 27 slaves to maintain four separate farms. In 1840 he would be appointed to the board of public works for Maryland. This in turn led to him becoming the director and trustee of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal during the final 50 miles of construction. In 1846, Davis imported 1,400 tons of

Guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...

for $100,000 to redistribute to farmers without markup. Davis also returned the Triadelphia Cotton Company to profitability. In 1850 he would represent at the state constitutional convention, helping form the

Maryland Agricultural College Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...

. He served as president of the Washington-Brookeville Turnpike Company for 16 years and served as county magistrate. His efforts also brought about one of the countries earliest prohibition laws in the State of Maryland. Davis married Rebecca Comfort Dorsey (1809–1836), daughter of

Thomas Beale Dorsey Thomas Beale Dorsey (October 17, 1780 – December 26, 1855) was an American farmer, lawyer, politician and judge in Anne Arundel County and Maryland. Early life Thomas Beale Dorsey was born on October 17, 1780, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland t ...

. After her death Davis married again Hester Ann Wilkins (1809–1887). Davis had 5 children: Allen Bowie Davis Jr. (died 1850), Thomas Davis (1840–1849), William Wilkins Davis (1842–1866), Rebecca Dorsey Davis (1843–1921) and Esther Wilkins Davis (1847–1894). Davis once lived at the Wilson House, part or the

Roxbury Mill Roxbury Mill is a historic flour and grist mill located in Glenwood, Howard County, Maryland, now part of the Howard County Farm Museum. The Roxbury Mill is located next to the Catt Tale (Cat Tail) river and with construction starting in 1753 b ...

Howard County, Maryland Howard County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2010 census, the population was 287,085. As of the 2020 census its population rose to 328,200. Its county seat is Ellicott City. Howard County is included in the Baltimore-Colu ...

, and was proprietor of the family estate Greenwood in Montgomery County built by Ephram Davis in 1755. Davis died in Baltimore at his house on Madison Avenue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Allen Bowie 1809 births 1889 deaths American chief executives 19th-century American businesspeople