Henry Gassaway Davis was born in Woodstock, MD (outside of Baltimore) in 1823 and died in Washington, DC in 1916 (92 years). Mr. Davis married Katharine Anne Bantz in 1853 and they had eight children. Early in his professional career he worked for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. His work on the B&O railroad often brought him to Virginia (soon to be West Virginia) where he noted the natural resources. Mr. Davis begins buying land and in the late 1850s partners with two of his brothers to establish the H.G. Davis and Company. At the onset of the Civil War Mr. Davis planned to join the Union Army however his management of the B&O rail system in MD, PA, and VA was vital to the war effort and he received an exemption.
In 1866 Mr. Davis entered politics and was elected to the (new) West Virginia Legislature. In 1868 he was elected a WV State Senator and in 1870 Mr. Davis was elected to the U.S. Senate (WV-D) where he served twelve years. In 1904 he was the U.S. Vice Presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket with Alton Parker. The ticket lost to Theodore Roosevelt (and Vice President Charles Warren Fairbanks).
In 1875 Mr. Davis’ daughter Maria Louise (known as Hallie) marries Stephen B. Elkins. Mr. and Mrs. Elkins purchase land in Leadsville (a portion of Leadsville is renamed Elkins in 1890) and begin building an estate, starting with Halliehurst mansion. Mr. Davis purchases land next door and builds a summer home named Graceland, named for his daughter Grace. Mr. Davis and Mr. Elkins go into business together and establish the Davis Coal and Coke Company. (About Coal & Coke)
As early as 1891 Mr. Davis and Mr. Elkins were speaking to the Lexington Presbytery of the Southern Presbyterian Church about establishing a college in Elkins. Both men had come from humble beginnings and understood the importance of education. Mr. Davis had donated to the building of several schools in West Virginia and Mr. Elkins, himself a former teacher, embraced the idea of a College in Elkins. It took over twelve years but on September 21, 1904 the first classes of Davis & Elkins College were held.
Mr. Davis’ embraced many philanthropic projects in addition to the establishment of D&E – Davis Memorial Hospital (1903); Davis Presbyterian Church (1895); he also regularly supported the Children’s Society of W.V.
Davis research by Kevin M. Evix