Henry Ebenezer Davies (February 8, 1805 – December 17, 1881) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...

from 1866 to 1867.

Life

He was born in Black Lake, near Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence County, New York, the son of Thomas J. Davies and Ruth (Foot) Davies (c. 1772-1852). (erroneously giving "Blackford Lake" as birthplace) (his mother's obit, correctly giving "Black Lake" as residence) He was educated in the public schools, and at age 14 went to live with Judge Alfred Conkling in whose office he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1826. He commenced practice in Buffalo, New York and entered politics as a Whig. In 1830, he removed to New York City, and practiced law in partnership with

Samuel A. Foote Samuel Augustus Foot (November 8, 1780 – September 15, 1846; his surname is also spelled Foote) was the 28th Governor of Connecticut as well as a United States representative and Senator. Biography Born November 8, 1780 in Cheshire, Conn ...

. In 1835, Davies married Rebecca Waldo Tappan, daughter of John Tappan (brother of Lewis Tappan,

Benjamin Tappan Benjamin Tappan (May 25, 1773 – April 20, 1857) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Ohio and a United States senator from Ohio. Education and career Born on May 25, 1773, in Northampton, ...

and Arthur Tappan), and they had six children, among them

Henry Eugene Davies Henry Eugene Davies (July 2, 1836 – September 7, 1894) was an American soldier, writer, public official and lawyer. He served in the Union Army as a brigadier general of volunteers in cavalry service during the American Civil War ("Civil War") ...

. In 1840, he was a Whig alderman of the New York Common Council. In 1848, he dissolved the partnership with Foote, and formed a new one with William Kent (son of Chancellor

James Kent James Kent may refer to: *James Kent (jurist) (1763–1847), American jurist and legal scholar * James Kent (composer) (1700–1776), English composer *James Kent, better known as Perturbator, French electronic/synthwave musician *James Tyler Kent ...

). In May 1849, Davies was appointed Corporation Counsel of New York City, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Willis Hall. In November 1849, he was elected to succeed himself, and remained in office until the end of 1852. He was a friend of Millard Fillmore, and was his confidential adviser during his term as U.S. President. In 1855, he was elected to the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Justice Robert H. Morris, and remained on the Supreme Court bench until the end of 1859. In

1859 Events January–March * January 21 – José Mariano Salas (1797–1867) becomes Conservative interim President of Mexico. * January 24 ( O. S.) – Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexandru Ioan Cuza (Romania since 1866, final u ...

, he was elected to the Court of Appeals on the Republican and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

tickets, defeating the

Democratic 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 ...

incumbent

Alexander S. Johnson Alexander Smith Johnson (July 30, 1817 – January 26, 1878) was a Judge and Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals and was a United States circuit judge of the United States Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit. Johnson received a rece ...

. Davies was an associate judge of the Court of Appeals from 1860 to 1865, and

Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

from 1866 to 1867. He died on December 17, 1881, at his residence at 60 West Fifty-first Street in New York City. He was buried at the St. Luke's Episcopal Church cemetery in

Beacon, New York Beacon is a city located in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The 2020 census placed the city total population at 13,769. Beacon is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area as we ...

, the same place where Chancellor

(1763–1847) is buried.

References

External links

Political Graveyard
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Henry Ebenezer 1805 births 1881 deaths People from Ogdensburg, New York Chief Judges of the New York Court of Appeals New York Supreme Court Justices Politicians from Buffalo, New York Politicians from New York City New York (state) Republicans New York (state) Know Nothings New York (state) Whigs 19th-century American politicians Lawyers from Buffalo, New York 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers

Life

See also

References

External links