Representative William T. Davis View All Years

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William T. Davis

Fremont County

Born in Mt. Pleasant, Ind., May 14, 1851. His parents removed to Atchison county, Mo., in 1855, where the father died soon after the arrival, leaving the wife and six children. In 1860, Mrs. Davis, who had remarried, removed with her family to Sanders county, Neb., where in 1863 she died, leaving the family of six children, and with no one to assist them. At that time Mr. Davis was 12 years old, and started out to shift for himself. After three years of herding cattle on the range, and driving teams across the plains, he returned to Hamburg, Fremont county, and has been a resident of that vicinity ever since. At the age of fourteen he had an attack of sciatic rheumatism that left him a cripple for life. When able to work after this attack, he found his stock in trade to consist of a wood saw and buck, a hopeful heart, and willing hands. It was with these three essentials to future greatness that he begun his career as a business man. Sawing wood in exchange for clothing, books and other necessaries, and doing chores for his board, while attending school, he managed to get liberal common school education, and by strict economy and self-denial a foundation of a future business was laid. Mr. Davis is a self-made man in every sense of the word, and won his laurels single-handed and alone, under adverse circumstances which few would have braved. In 1873, he was married to Miss Elizabeth J. Farr of Fremont county. The family consists of Mr. and Mrs. Davis and an adopted daughter, Miss Gertrude. A few years after marriage he began farming in a moderate way. Cattle and other stock were added as fast as means would permit, and finally matters became decidedly easy on the homestead. Mr. Davis began his political career as city councilman of Hamburg, where he displayed an ability on corporate matters that called him to a place on the school board, and to him the schools of that town owe much of their success. He served his county two successive terms as sheriff, being elected by the largest majority of any candidates on the ticket. He refused a third term. For the past six years he has been most successfully engaged in the clothing business in Hamburg, conducting one of the largest retail clothing houses in southwestern Iowa. After the death of the Hon. E. W. Curry, Mr. Davis was elected his successor as a member of the democratic state central committee. His time will expire in 1898. He has been a life-long democrat, and is a personal acquaintance and ardent admirer of W. J. Bryan, and was one of the delegates to the Chicago convention at the time of his nomination for president. His early religious training was in the Methodist church, though he is not a member. The predominant trait in his character is charity, as the poor of his town can testify, especially at the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. lodge No. 197, and has represented Fremont county in the Grand lodge two years. He is also a Knight of Pythias of Hamburg.

House District 10