Robert Wyche Davis (March 15, 1849 – September 15, 1929) was a United States Representative from Florida. He served in the Confederate Army and became a lawyer. He served in the Florida House of Representatives including as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. Later in his career he was a newspaper editor and mayor.
Early life in Georgia
Born near Albany, Georgia, Davis attended public schools. He enlisted in 1863 in the Fifth Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment of the Confederate States Army, and served until the surrender of his company on April 26, 1865. He later studied law in Florida. He was admitted to the bar in 1869 and commenced practice in Blakely, Georgia.
Florida
He moved to Florida in 1879 and practiced law in Green Cove Springs, Clay County, then in Gainesville, Alachua County, and afterward in Palatka, Putnam County. He served as member of the Florida House of Representatives from Clay County in 1884 and 1885, serving as Speaker of the House the latter year. He also acted as the "general attorney" for the Florida Southern Railway in 1885, but resigned from the post upon being elected to the U.S. Congress.
Davis was elected as a Democratic Representative to the Fifty-fifth and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1905). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1904 to the Fifty-ninth Congress.
He resumed the practice of law in Palatka, and Tampa, Florida. He moved to Gainesville, Florida, in 1914 and served as register of the United States Land Office at Gainesville 1914-1922. He was editor of the Gainesville Sun and was mayor of Gainesville in 1924 and 1925.
He resumed the practice of law in 1928. He died in Gainesville, Florida, September 15, 1929. He was interred in Evergreen Cemetery in Gainesville.
Family
Robert Wyche Davis' great grandfather was Jonathan Davis, born in England circa 1730. Jonathan Davis was married to Lucy Gibbs, the daughter of a prominent family from Virginia.
References
- United States Congress. "Robert Wyche Davis (id: D000132)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- "S. Doc. 58-1 - Fifty-eighth Congress. (Extraordinary session -- beginning November 9, 1903.) Official Congressional Directory for the use of the United States Congress. Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing by A.J. Halford. Special edition. Corrections made to November 5, 1903". GovInfo.gov. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 14.
- "S. Doc. 58-1 - Fifty-eighth Congress. (Extraordinary session -- beginning November 9, 1903.) Official Congressional Directory for the use of the United States Congress. Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing by A.J. Halford. Special edition. Corrections made to November 5, 1903". GovInfo.gov. U.S. Government Printing Office. 9 November 1903. p. 14. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- McCall, Howard H. (July 2010). Roster of Revolutionary Soldiers in Georgia. Genealogical Publishing Com. ISBN 978-0-8063-0219-5.
- Makers of America: An Historical and Biographical Work by an Able Corps of Writers. A. B. Caldwell. 1909.
External links
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byCharles M. Cooper | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 2nd congressional district 1897 – 1905 |
Succeeded byFrank Clark |
This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
| Speakers of the Florida House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | |
- 1849 births
- 1929 deaths
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida
- Speakers of the Florida House of Representatives
- Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives
- Confederate States Army personnel
- People from Blakely, Georgia
- 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
- 19th-century members of the Florida Legislature