Edwin Adams Davis (May 10, 1904 – April 24, 1994)Historical News and Notices
The Journal of Southern History Vol. 61, No. 1 (Feb., 1995), pp. 195-206 (12 pages) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

who specialized in studies of his adopted state of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

. A long-time professor at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of countie ...

, he was particularly known for two textbooks, ''Louisiana: A Narrative History'' and ''Louisiana: The Pelican State'', the latter for

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

s and coauthored with

Joe Gray Taylor Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

of McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana .

Background

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

native, Davis was the son of Frank Byrd Davis (1873-1932) and the former Willie Belle Greever (1873-1913), who died when Davis was eight or nine. Davis married the former La Verna Mae Rowe (1905 - 1990), and they had one child, Edwin Adams Davis Jr. Davis graduated from the former

Kansas State Teachers College Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. ...

, now

Emporia State University Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. Em ...

in Emporia,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

, and received his advanced degrees at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

and LSU.

Academic career

In addition to his professorial duties at LSU, Davis is considered the "father of the Louisiana state archives." There were no state archives prior to 1936 even though no other state possessed the volume and variety of European colonial and American territorial records as did Louisiana. Davis convinced the LSU administration to develop a systematic preservation of state records. The

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

in 1936 empowered the university archives to act as the depository for public records of state government, a role which LSU filled for two decades. In 1940, under

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Sam Houston Jones, the legislature declared nearly all state records public property and opened access to most files. In 1954, Davis took temporary leave of his post at LSU to spearhead the establishment of the archives. He had acquired experience for this undertaking by having worked during the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...

in a Historic Records Survey. Davis became the chief consultant to the survey of the archives undertaken from 1954 to 1956. The State Archives and Records Act of 1956 expanded provisions of the Public Records Act of 1940 and established the State Archives and Records Service as an independent agency. Governor Earl Kemp Long on his return to office in 1956

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

ed operating funds for the archives. Davis and his colleague, John C. L. Andreassen, the first director of the state archives, managed to obtain an emergency appropriation of $43,140 from the Louisiana Board of Liquidation. In addition to the lack of funding, space for the records was at a premium. In the next legislative session, the archives received its first regular appropriation. With this revenue, the archives were relocated to permanent headquarters in Peabody Hall on the LSU campus adjacent to the Louisiana State Capitol. Davis was the first president of the reorganized

Louisiana Historical Association The Louisiana Historical Association is an organization established in 1889 in Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regi ...

. At a statewide meeting held on March 29, 1958 on the campus of

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...

-affiliated Louisiana College in Pineville, thirty-five new members were added. The charter was revised in a subsequent meeting at Memorial Hall on the LSU campus on June 6, 1958. There Davis was named as LHA president, Kenneth Trist Urquhart was chosen as vice-president, and John C. L. Andreassen, secretary-treasurer.

Notable publications

In addition to his textbooks, Davis was author of ''Fallen Guidon: The Saga of Confederate General Jo Shelby's March to Mexico'', published first in 1962 and again in 1995, a year after Davis; death, by

Texas A&M University Press Texas A&M University Press (also known informally as TAMU Press) is a scholarly publishing house associated with Texas A&M University. It was founded in 1974 and is located in College Station, Texas, in the United States. Overview The Texas A ...

. After the

Battle of Appomattox Court House The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought in Appomattox County, Virginia, on the morning of April 9, 1865, was one of the last battles of the American Civil War (1861–1865). It was the final engagement of Confederate General in Chief, Robe ...

in April 1865, some Confederates remained steadfast to what is sometimes known as the

Lost Cause The Lost Cause of the Confederacy (or simply Lost Cause) is an American pseudohistorical negationist mythology that claims the cause of the Confederate States during the American Civil War was just, heroic, and not centered on slavery. F ...

. One particular group led by General Joseph O. Shelby of Missouri, followed its cavalry flag, or guidon, south with the goal of planting an imperial colony in

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. Shelby declared that he and his men preferred exile from the United States to submission to the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

. Shelby was motivated by the report that U.S. President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

wanted the Habsburg emperor Maximilian, I, driven out of Mexico, and Shelby proposed to join forces with

Benito Juarez Benito may refer to: Places * Benito, Kentucky, United States * Benito, Manitoba, Canada * Benito River, a river in Equatorial Guinea Other uses * Benito (name) * ''Benito'' (1993), an Italian film See also * '' Benito Cereno'', a novella by ...

for that purpose. He expected to prevail and spread the

to a new land. Davis was a descendant of one of Shelby's men. Other Davis works include: *''The Rivers and Bayous of Louisiana'' *''The Barber of Natchez'' with William Ransom Hogan, LSU Press, 1973; the story of William Johnson, a

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

who rose to freedom, business success, and high community standing in Natchez,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

, all before 1850. *"Diary of William Newton Mercer" of Henry Miller Shreve Expedition, '' Journal of Southern History'', with John C. L. Andreassen (1936). *''Of the Night Wind's Telling: Legends from the Valley of Mexico'', folklore (1946).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Edwin Adams 1904 births 1994 deaths Historians of the United States History of Louisiana American archivists American non-fiction writers Writers from Baton Rouge, Louisiana People from Missouri Emporia State University alumni University of Iowa alumni Louisiana State University alumni Louisiana State University faculty 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers Historians from Louisiana