Daniel Franklin Davis (September 12, 1843 – January 9, 1897) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 37th

governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is J ...

. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. A Republican, he served in the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...

and

Maine Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the st ...

Early life

Davis was born in Freedom, Maine, on September 12, 1843. He entered the East Corinth Academy in 1863 but after a few weeks he enlisted in the Union Army to fight in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. Davis served in the 1st District of Columbia Cavalry Regiment and the 1st Maine Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, and attained the rank of corporal in the 1st Maine Cavalry's Company F. He then studied at the Corinna Academy, and at the Wesleyan Seminary in

Kents Hill, Maine Kents Hill is an unincorporated village in the northwestern corner of the town of Readfield in Kennebec County, Maine Kennebec County is a county located in the South-central portion of the U.S. state of Maine. At the 2020 census, the popu ...

. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1869, and established his law career in East Corinth.

Politics

Davis became a member of the

in 1871. He held that position for four years. He then became a member of the

in 1875. He held that position until 1879. In 1879, he was nominated for the governorship by the

Maine Republican Party The Maine Republican Party is an affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Maine. It was founded in Strong, Maine, on August 7, 1854. The party currently does not control the governor's office or either chamber of the Maine Legislatur ...

. In the general election no candidate received a majority of the vote, so the election moved to the

Legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

, which selected Davis. He served from January 17, 1880, to January 13, 1881. During his administration, the enforcement of the

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

law was contested. Davis was not successful in his re-election bid.

Later life

After leaving office, Davis served as the federal collector of customs for the Port of Bangor in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

from 1882 to 1886. He died in Bangor on January 9, 1897, and was buried at Corinthian Cemetery in Corinth.

Family

In 1867, Davis married Laura B. Goodwin of East Corinth; they were the parents of eight children, five of whom lived to adulthood.

References

Sources

Books

External sources

* Sobel, Robert and John Raimo. ''Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978''. Greenwood Press, 1988. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Daniel Franklin 1843 births 1897 deaths People from Freedom, Maine People from Corinth, Maine Politicians from Bangor, Maine Union army soldiers People of Maine in the American Civil War Maine lawyers Republican Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Republican Party Maine state senators Republican Party governors of Maine Kents Hill School alumni 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Maine Legislature