Jacob Cunningham Davis (September 16, 1820 – December 25, 1883) was a politician, a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He was one of five men tried and acquitted in Illinois of the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

in 1844 of

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

, founder of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

Political life

Born near

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...

, Davis attended the common schools and the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula ...

. He moved to

Warsaw, Illinois Warsaw is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,607 at the 2010 census, a decline from 1,793 in 2000. The city is notable for its historic downtown and the Warsaw Brewery, which operated for more than 100 years be ...

, in 1838, where he studied law. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

and commenced practice in Warsaw. He served as clerk of

Hancock County, Illinois Hancock County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 17,620. Its county seat is Carthage, and its largest city is Hamilton. The county is made up of rural towns with many farmers. Hanco ...

. He was appointed circuit clerk in 1841. He was elected and served in the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

from 1842 to 1848 and again from 1850 until his resignation in 1856, having been elected to Congress. Davis was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the

Thirty-fourth Congress The 34th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1855, ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

William A. Richardson William Anthony Richardson (August 27, 1795 – April 20, 1856) was an early California entrepreneur, influential in the development of Yerba Buena, the forerunner of the city of San Francisco. Richardson was the first to receive a land gran ...

. He served from November 4, 1856 to March 3, 1857. He was not a candidate for re-election. After leaving Congress, Davis resumed the practice of law in

Clark County, Missouri Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,634. Its county seat is Kahoka. The county was organized December 16, 1836 and named for William Clark, leader of the Lewis and Cla ...

. He died in

Alexandria, Missouri Alexandria is a city in eastern Clark County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 105. Alexandria is part of the Fort Madison– Keokuk, IA-MO Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Alexandria was founded i ...

, December 25, 1883. He was interred in Mitchell Cemetery, near

Murder trial

In 1844, Davis was indicted and tried for the

murders Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

and

Hyrum Smith Hyrum Smith (February 9, 1800 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, J ...

. The Smiths had been imprisoned in

Carthage Jail Carthage Jail is a historic building in Carthage, Illinois, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It was built in 1839 and is best known as the location of the 1844 killing of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint mov ...

when the prison was stormed by an armed mob that shot and killed them. As a captain in command of the Warsaw Rifle Company of the Illinois

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, Davis was accused of having ordered his men to storm the prison. At trial, Davis and four other defendants

Thomas C. Sharp Thomas Coke Sharp (September 25, 1818 – April 9, 1894) was a prominent opponent of Joseph Smith and the Latter Day Saints in Illinois in the 1840s. Sharp promoted his anti-Mormon views largely through the ''Warsaw Signal'' newspaper, of which h ...

Mark Aldrich Mark Aldrich (January 22, 1802 – September 21, 1873) was a founder of Warsaw, Illinois, and a politician: Illinois Senate, Illinois state senator for the Whig Party (United States), Whig Party, the first American mayor of Tucson, Arizona, and ...

, William N. Grover and

Levi Williams Levi Williams (1794–1860) was a Baptist minister and a member of the Illinois militia. He was active in opposing the presence of the Latter Day Saints in Hancock County, Illinois, during the 1840s. He is one of five defendants who were tried and ...

. were found by a jury to be not guilty of the murders.

Notes

References

* *

Marvin S. Hill Marvin Sidney Hill (1928–2016) was a professor of American history at Brigham Young University (BYU) and a historian of the Latter Day Saint movement. Biography Born on August 28, 1928, Hill completed his Master of Arts in history at BYU in 1 ...

"Carthage Conspiracy Reconsidered: A Second Look at the Murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith"
''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society'', Summer 2004.
"Jacob Cunningham Davis"

Joseph Smith Papers ''The Joseph Smith Papers'' (or Joseph Smith Papers Project) is a project researching, collecting, and publishing all manuscripts and documents created by, or under the direction of, Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the founder of the Latter Day Saint ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Jacob Cunningham 1820 births 1883 deaths College of William & Mary alumni People from Warsaw, Illinois Politicians from Staunton, Virginia Illinois lawyers Missouri lawyers Mormonism-related controversies American people acquitted of murder American militia officers Democratic Party Illinois state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 19th-century American legislators 19th-century Illinois politicians