William Owen Davis

Full Name: William Owen "Will" Davis
Date of birth: February 26, 1847
Date of death: December 5, 1941

Terms of Service
Biographical Notes
Committee Information

Terms of Service top

Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	Party	City/County	Note	Counties in District
S	18	Jan 9, 1883 - Jan 11, 1887	18th ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ 19th ⁽¹⁾	Democrat	Gainesville / Cooke		Cooke, Grayson
S	11	Apr 6, 1882 - Jan 9, 1883	17th ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾ ⁽⁶⁾	Democrat	Gainesville / Cooke		Cooke, Grayson

(1) Democrat, p. 163. Burke's Texas Almanac and Immigrants' Handbook for 1885, 1885.
(2) Democrat. Pocket Directory of the Eighteenth Legislature of Texas, 1883.
(3) 18th Legislature, Regular Session - All Senators except District 3 and 21 are listed in Roll Call as taking the oath of office, 1/9/1883, p. 2; resolution by Sen. Gooch that the Senators shall now be divided by lot into two classes, 1/10/1883, pp. 5-6; drew term of 4 years. Senate Journal. January 10, 1883 January 9, 1883
(4) 2-year term; entire Senate went up for reelection in 1882 due to redistricting. Act passed May 3, 1882, 17th Legislature, C.S., ch. 13, Apportionment Laws of Texas, 1836-1950, 1950.
(5) No record of party affiliation. Assumed democrat due to affiliation in other sessions, service in the Confederate Army, convention attendance, or information included in biographical sketches. Legislative Reference Library.
(6) William O. Davis, sworn 4/6/1882, succeeded J.M. Martin, died 3/9/1882. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.

Terms of Service top

Senate District 18
Jan 9, 1883 - Jan 11, 1887
Legislatures: 18th ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ 19th ⁽¹⁾
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Gainesville / Cooke
Counties in district: Cooke, Grayson

Senate District 11
Apr 6, 1882 - Jan 9, 1883
Legislatures: 17th ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾ ⁽⁶⁾
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Gainesville / Cooke
Counties in district: Cooke, Grayson

Biographical Information top

Biographical Sketches

Biographical sketch, W.O. Davis, p. 77. Born 2/26/1848 in Heard County, Georgia. Personnel of the Texas State Government for 1885, 19th Legislature, 1885.
Memorial, January-February 1942, p. 24. Texas Bar Journal.
Biographical sketch, William Owen Davis, p. 242. Born 2/26/1848. Term expires November, 1886. Texas Legislative Manual, 1882-83, 1883.

Military Service Notes

Confederate States Army, Company K, 5th Infantry. Memorial, January-February 1942, p. 24. Texas Bar Journal.
"Though the freshman senators of the Seventeenth Legislature generally were Democrats . . . No fewer than eleven had fought for the Confederacy," [among them Browne, McLane, McDonald, and Davis,] p. 280. The Texas Senate: Volume II, Civil War to the Eve of Reform, 1861-1889, 1999.

Other Resources

Mentioned in biographical sketch of Hon. Alvin C. Owsley, pp. 651-652. "He [Owsley] at once entered into the practice and was thrown into competition with the ablest lawyers of the State, among them . . . Hon. T.J. Brown . . . Hon. W.O. Davis." Biographical Souvenir of the State of Texas, Containing Biographical Sketches of the Representative Public, and Many Early Settled Families, 1889.
Family group sheet. The Davis Family.
William Owen Davis, birth date 2/25/1847 in Georgia; death date 12/5/1941 in Gainesville, Cooke County; lawyer. FamilySearch Texas Deaths, 1890-1976.
William Owen Davis (1847-1941), burial in Fairview Cemetery, Gainesville, Cooke County. Includes historical marker photo (William Owen Davis, birth date 2/26/1847, death date 12/5/1941). Find a Grave.
Account of altercation on the floor of the Senate between Senators Davis and Houston, "Statesman Enraged: a Stormy Scene in the Senate Chamber," 5/15/1885, p. 1. Galveston Daily News.
Historical marker, William Owen Davis, Fairview Cemetery, Gainesville, Cooke County. Texas Historic Sites Atlas (Texas Historical Commission).

Photographs

Photograph. W.O. Davis, 19th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. W.O. Davis, 18th Legislature, State Preservation Board

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

17th session composite photo of Senate members (Senate chamber vestibule, west wall. 2E.V1). State Preservation Board.
18th session composite photo of Senate members (Senate chamber vestibule, east wall. 2E.V1). State Preservation Board.
19th session composite photo of Senate members (Senate chamber vestibule, east wall. 2E.V1). State Preservation Board.
17th session composite photo of Senate members (Texas State Library and Archives Commission). Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Committee Information top

19th R.S. - 1885 Constitutional Amendments Finance Judiciary No. 1 Judiciary No. 2 (Chair) Penitentiaries Public Lands
18th R.S. - 1883 Comptroller's Books and Records on Common School Bonds Constitutional Amendments Contingent Expenses County and County Boundaries Education (Chair) Finance Judicial Districts Judiciary No. 1 Privileges and Elections Public Printing
17th R.S. - 1881 Educational Affairs Engrossed Bills Finance Judiciary No. 2 Private Land Claims Public Printing Senatorial and Representative Districts

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