Madison "Mat" Davis (September 27, 1833 – August 20, 1902) was an American slave who became a member of the Georgia Assembly representing

Clarke County, Georgia Clarke County is located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 128,671. Its county seat is Athens, with which it is a consolidated city-county. Clarke County is included in the Athens ...

and the first African American postmaster in

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

, after being emancipated. He was active in Republican Party politics.

Early years

Davis was born into slavery and was owned by a carriage maker. After the U.S. Civil War he was freed from slavery at age 31.

Career

Representative of Georgia

In 1868, Davis and Alfred Richardson, also a former slave, were elected to the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

from Clarke County. Later the same year, 25 of 29 African Americans were ejected from office after Georgia's legislature determined that African Americans had no protected right to serve in public office. Four more were investigated by a committee to determine their heritage and determine whether they were more than one-eighth African-American. That year, he was a delegate to Georgia's constitutional drafting convention. Madison Davis had a light complexion and was one of two African-American representatives allowed to continue in office. Georgia Supreme Court reversed the decision barring African Americans from office the following year in 1869 and all the legislators were returned to office. He was reelected in 1870.

Later career

Davis went into the real estate business. He was appointed postmaster of Athens in 1890 by President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

; making Davis the first African American to serve in that role. He faced strong opposition from local whites in Athens. (

Monroe Morton Monroe Bowers Morton, nicknamed Pink Morton (July 31, 1856 – February 12, 1919) was a prominent building owner, publisher, building contractor, developer, and postmaster in late 19th-century Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. An African Americans, Af ...

was the second African-American postmaster in Athens.) Davis also worked as U.S. Customs Surveyor in Atlanta and was Captain of Relief No. 2, Clarke County's first black fire company.

Death

He is buried at

Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery was founded in 1882 as a cemetery for African AmericansOfficial website in the 216th general militia district, Athens, Georgia, Athens, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia area.Weeks, 1999 Nine acres in size, it contains an est ...

in Athens.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Madison 1833 births 1902 deaths African-American state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) postmasters Politicians from Athens, Georgia 19th-century American slaves American firefighters Republican Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era Original 33 American real estate brokers 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century African-American politicians People enslaved in Georgia (U.S. state) 19th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly