Cushman Kellogg Davis (June 16, 1838November 27, 1900) was an American Republican politician who served as the seventh Governor of Minnesota and as a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from Minnesota.

Early life and American Civil War

Davis was born in Henderson, New York to Horatio N. Davis and Clarissa Cushman. His family moved to

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belm ...

before he was a year old (his father went on to serve as a member of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

several different times). Cushman went to school at Carroll College and then the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, graduating in 1857.

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 ...

in 1860, he soon after found himself serving in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

in the 28th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment, serving first as a lieutenant in charge of Company B of this volunteer regiment. He was in action in the western campaigns, then in 1864 as an aide to General Willis A. Gorman. CushmanDavisOil

Political career

Davis returned home in 1864 due to poor health. He relocated to

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

due to its reputation as a health resort and began to pursue a legal and political career. He was elected to the Minnesota State House of Representatives from 1867 to 1868 and was appointed as the United States District Attorney from 1868 to 1873. He resigned his position to run as the Republican candidate for Minnesota governor and won. During his term, he established a state board of railway commissioners, revised the state constitution to allow women to vote on school matters and hold elected office, and also provided assistance to farmers affected by a

locust Locusts (derived from the Latin ''locusta'', locust or lobster) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they b ...

plague. He served one term from 1874 to 1876 and declined to be re-nominated for a second.

Return to legal career and second political career

Returning to his legal career, Davis successfully defended Judge Sherman Page in his 1878 impeachment trial. He also formed a partnership with Frank B. Kellogg and

Cordenio Severance Cordenio Arnold Severance (1862–1925) was an American lawyer from Minnesota. He co-founded the American Law Institute and served as president of the American Bar Association. His wife, known as Mrs. Cordenio A. Severance published the book ''I ...

. In 1887, he was elected to the United States Senate. He would serve in the 50th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 54th, 55th, and

56th United States Congress The 56th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 189 ...

es, from 1887 to 1900. He was involved with legislation related to pensions and the construction of the

Soo Locks The Soo Locks (sometimes spelled Sault Locks but pronounced "soo") are a set of parallel Lock (water navigation), locks, operated and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, that enable ships to travel between ...

. Beginning in 1897 he was the chair of the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for authorizing and overseeing foreign a ...

and was closely involved with the sequence of events leading to the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. He was also present at the talks for the Treaty of Paris which ended the war.

Personal life

Davis married Laura Bowman in 1862. He remarried Anna Malcom Agnew Fox at some point in the 1880s.

Honors

Davis was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

in 1894.American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
/ref> He was elected a vice-president general of the National Society of the

Sons of the American Revolution The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), formally the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR), is a federally chartered patriotic organization. The National Society, a nonprofit corporation headquartered in Louisvi ...

in 1895.

Death

Davis died while still in office in St. Paul on November 27, 1900. He is buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

in Virginia.

References

Attribution: *

External links

Memorial addresses on the life and character of Cushman Kellogg Davis, late a representative from Minnesota delivered in the House of Representatives and Senate frontispiece 1901
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Cushman K. 1838 births 1900 deaths People from Henderson, New York Republican Party governors of Minnesota Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War University of Michigan alumni 19th-century American Episcopalians Carroll University alumni Republican Party United States senators from Minnesota Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature