Henry Gassaway Davis
| Henry Gassaway Davis | |
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United States Senator from West Virginia |
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In office March 4, 1871 – March 4, 1883 |
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| Preceded by | Waitman T. Willey |
| Succeeded by | John E. Kenna |
| Member of the West Virginia Senate | |
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In office 1869-1871 |
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| Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates | |
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In office 1865-1869 |
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| Personal details | |
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November 16, 1823 |
| Died | March 11, 1916 (aged 92) Washington, D.C. |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
Henry Gassaway Davis (November 16, 1823 – March 11, 1916) was a self-made millionaire and U.S. Senator (1871–1883) from West Virginia. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1904. His brother was U.S. Congressman Thomas Beall Davis.
Henry Gassaway Davis was born near Woodstock, Howard County, Maryland, the son of Louisa Warfield (née Brown; March 10, 1799 – July 23, 1868) and Caleb Dorsey Davis (March 3, 1792 – September 4, 1850). He was the great-great-great-grandson of Maryland pioneer Thomas Davis, and the great-great-great-great-grandson of Maryland politician and justice Colonel Nicholas Gassaway, both of whom were of Welsh ancestry and emigrated to Maryland in the mid 17th century.
Davis worked on a farm until 1843, when he went to work for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as a brakeman and conductor. Later he was put in charge of the Piedmont, West Virginia terminal of the railroad, and soon went into coal mining and banking in Piedmont. On February 22, 1853, in Frederick County, Maryland. Davis married Katherine Ann Salome Bantz. Henry and Katherine had eight children, three of whom died in infancy.
In 1865 Davis was elected a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates. The following year, he founded the Potomac and Piedmont Coal and Railway Company with the intent of furnishing transportation to his coal mining and timbering interests. The company was given the right to construct railroad grades in Mineral, Grant, Tucker and Randolph counties. He became a state senator in 1869. In 1871, he was elected to the United States Senate, serving two terms, with his service ending in 1883.
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