Thomas Beall Davis (April 25, 1828 – November 26, 1911), of

Keyser, West Virginia Keyser () is a city in and the county seat of Mineral County, West Virginia. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,853 at the 2020 census. History Keyser, the county seat of Mineral County, is ...

, was an American Democratic politician.

Biography

Davis was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, and was the brother of

Henry Gassaway Davis Henry Gassaway Davis (November 16, 1823 – March 11, 1916) was a millionaire and Senator from West Virginia. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1904. Born on a farm in Howard County, Maryland, he be ...

. He relocated to

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 ...

, where he attended public schools. Davis moved to

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

in present-day West Virginia in 1854 and began working for the

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

. He then relocated to

, several years later, and he engaged in the mercantile, lumbering, banking, mining, and railroad building businesses. In 1876 Davis became a Member of West Virginia Democratic State Executive Committee, serving until 1907. He entered the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular sessions begin with ...

in 1899, representing Mineral County until 1900. Davis became a U.S. Representative from West Virginia's 2nd District in the 59th Congress, serving from 1905–1907 after the resignation of Republican Alston Dayton. He died in Keyser and was buried at Maplewood Cemetery in Elkins. The town of

Thomas, West Virginia Thomas is a city and former coal town in Tucker County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 623 at the 2020 census. History Thomas was platted in 1884. Thomas was named for Thomas Beall Davis (1828-1911), brother of Senator Henry ...

is named for him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Thomas Beall 1828 births 1911 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American politicians Baltimore and Ohio Railroad people Businesspeople from Baltimore Businesspeople from West Virginia Davis and Elkins family Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia Democratic Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates People from Howard County, Maryland People from Keyser, West Virginia People from Piedmont, West Virginia Politicians from Baltimore