Deane Chandler Davis (November 7, 1900December 8, 1990) was an American attorney and insurance executive from Vermont. Long active in Republican politics, he is most notable for his service as the 74th governor of Vermont from 1969 to 1973.

Early life

Deane Davis was born in

East Barre, Vermont East Barre is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Barre, Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population of the CDP was 826 at the 2010 census. Prior to 2010, East Barre was part of the Graniteville-East Barre CDP, which c ...

, on November 7, 1900, the son of Earle Russell Davis and Lois Salome Hillery. Earle Davis was an attorney who served as

state's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for Washington County and county

probate judge A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as orphans' courts o ...

. The younger Davis attended the schools of Barre, and graduated from Spaulding High School in 1918. As Davis related in a 1978 interview, he intended to begin college after high school, but became ill during that year's

influenza pandemic An influenza pandemic is an epidemic of an influenza virus that spreads across a large region (either multiple continents or worldwide) and infects a large proportion of the population. There have been five major influenza pandemics in the l ...

and did not recover until September. In searching for a university in which he could enroll after recovering, Davis sought one that had a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

-era

Student Army Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

program that would enable him to pay for his expenses. He discovered that the only place on the east coast that met this requirement was

Boston University School of Law The Boston University School of Law (BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston. Established in 1872, it is the third-oldest law school in New England, after Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. Ap ...

, which required two years of liberal arts education. The dean of the law school agreed to enroll Davis provided that he simultaneously complete the liberal arts requirements. He studied at the law school while participating in the SATC program, received his

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree in 1922, and became a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

in Barre.

Career

A Republican, Davis served in local offices including member of the city council and city attorney. From 1927 to 1928 he was Washington County

State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

. From 1931 to 1936 Davis was a judge of the

Vermont Superior Court The Judiciary of Vermont is the State court (United States), state court Judiciary, system of Vermont, charged with Vermont law. Vermont Constitution The Vermont courts are established in the Vermont Constitution in sections 28-41 (Judiciary Depa ...

, having been appointed to fill the vacancy created when Warner A. Graham was appointed to the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The court ...

. As a leader of the party, Davis also attended numerous state and national conventions as a delegate, including the

1948 Republican National Convention The 1948 Republican National Convention was held at the Municipal Auditorium, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from June 21 to 25, 1948. New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey had paved the way to win the Republican presidential nomination in the ...

. In the 1930s Davis practiced law in partnership with Stanley C. Wilson, F. Ray Keyser Sr., and J. Ward Carver. Their firm was described as Vermont's "best ever collection of legal talent," in that it included one future

justice (Keyser), one past and one future

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

(Wilson and Davis), and one past

Vermont Attorney General The Vermont attorney general is a statewide elected executive official in the U.S. state of Vermont who is elected every two years. It was created by an act of the Vermont General Assembly in 1790, repealed in 1797, and revived in 1904. The office ...

(Carver). In 1940 Davis left private practice to become

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

for the National Life Insurance Company. From 1942 to 1943 he was president of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. In October 1942 he became president of the

Vermont Bar Association The Vermont Bar Association (VBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of Vermont. History Founded in September 1878 in Montpelier, the Vermont Bar Association remains the only professional organization for lawyers, judges, paralegals ...

, succeeding Joseph A. McNamara, and he served a one-year term. In 1943 he was appointed a vice president of National Life. He was named president in 1950, and served as chief executive officer from 1960 to 1966. From 1966 to 1968 Davis was National Life's chairman of the board.

Governor of Vermont

From 1957 to 1959, Davis served as chairman of a state commission that reviewed the organization and functions of the state government (a "little

Hoover Commission The Hoover Commission, officially named the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, was a body appointed by President of the United States, President Harry S. Truman in 1947 to recommend administrative changes in the ...

") and proposed modernization and reforms in a report to the

Vermont General Assembly The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly", but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

. In 1968, Davis decided to continue that work by running for

. His candidacy was out of the ordinary because he ran at a relatively advanced age, and because he had not served the usual "apprenticeship" of previous successful Republican nominees for governor. Prior to Davis, the Republican Party, which had controlled statewide offices for more than 100 years, had almost always prepared candidates for governor by electing them to leadership positions in the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator repre ...

, or lesser state offices such as

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. Davis defeated Attorney General

James L. Oakes James Lowell Oakes (February 21, 1924 – October 13, 2007) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for ...

in the Republican primary. In the general election, Davis prevailed over Lieutenant Governor

John J. Daley John J. "Jack" Daley (June 21, 1923 – June 15, 2000) was an American high school teacher and politician from Vermont. A Democrat, he was most notable for his service as Mayor of Rutland (1961–1965, 1981–1987), and lieutenant governor (196 ...

. Davis ran for reelection in 1970 and defeated Lieutenant Governor Thomas L. Hayes in the Republican primary. In the general election, Davis prevailed over Democrat Leo O'Brien Jr., who was a member of the

. Davis served as governor from 1969 to 1973. His governorship was particularly noteworthy for the creation of a state sales tax to help balance the state budget. Davis also oversaw the 1970 enactment of Act 250, a law designed to allow for planned real estate sale and development while also safeguarding the environment, community life, and aesthetic character of the state.

Career as author

In his retirement he authored three books, including 1980's ''Justice in the Mountains'', 1982's ''Nothin' but the Truth'', and 1991's ''Deane C. Davis: An Autobiography''.

Death and burial

Davis died in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

on December 8, 1990. He was interred in Barre's Elmwood Cemetery.

Family

In 1924, Davis married Corrine Eastman (1901–1951). They were the parents of three children— Deane (1925–1929), Marian (1927–2014), and Thomas (1931–2017). In 1952, Davis married Marjorie Phyllis Smith Conzelman (1904–2003).

Legacy

In 1957, Davis received the

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

. The Deane C. Davis Outstanding Business Award annually honors a Vermont enterprise that shows an outstanding history of sustained growth while displaying an acute awareness of what makes Vermont unique. The award is sponsored by ''Vermont Business Magazine'' and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. Davis was a noted

horseman Horseman or The Horsemen may refer to: Avocations * Horseman, an equestrian: ** A person who practices equestrianism Occupations * Wrangler (profession), someone who wrangles horses and other livestock, and called by that name especially in Nort ...

and proponent of the

Morgan horse The Morgan horse is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the foundation bloodstock, foundation sire Figure (horse), Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, Morgans served ma ...

breed, including service as President of the Morgan Horse Club, Inc. The Vermont Morgan Horse Association created the Deane C. Davis Memorial Award in his honor. The Davis Award is presented annually to a person who has a history of promoting the Morgan Horse, but may have made their contribution quietly and steadily over a long period of time. A collection of Davis papers is part of the University of Vermont's special collections. Another, the Deane C. Davis Papers are part of the

Vermont Historical Society The Vermont Historical Society (VHS) was founded in 1838 to preserve and record the cultural history of the US state of Vermont. Headquartered in the old Spaulding School Building in Barre, the Vermont History Center is home to the Vermont H ...

's Barre History Collection.

References

Works

* * *

Sources

The Vermont Encyclopedia
edited by John J. Duffy, Samuel B. Hand and Ralph H. Orth, 2003, page 102

External links

at The Political Graveyard * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Deane C. 1900 births 1990 deaths Politicians from Barre, Vermont Businesspeople from Montpelier, Vermont Politicians from Montpelier, Vermont Military personnel from Vermont Boston University School of Law alumni Vermont lawyers State's attorneys in Vermont Vermont state court judges American businesspeople in insurance Republican Party governors of Vermont Writers from Vermont 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century Vermont state court judges