General James Davis: Farmer, soldier, politician

LEGACY COMES TO LIFE

EDITORS NOTE: The story of General James Davis is told by his third great-grandson, Robyn Davis. Robyn is a member and president of the Erastus “Deaf” Smith Chapter of The Sons of the Republic of Texas in Pasadena. Robyn serves the SRT as the San Jacinto, District Representative and as a committeeman on the Texian Navy Day and Logo committees.

My name is James Davis, and I was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1790. The exact date of my birth is not for sure but sometime in the month of July. My parents, the Reverend John Davis and Mary Eastin, had a total of 12 children. Maybe that’s why birth dates could not easily be remembered.

I was commissioned as an officer in the Army during the War of 1812 and Battle of New Orleans, fighting alongside of my good friend, Sam Houston. My next stop after my time serving during the war was in the Alabama territory where I was appointed sheriff of Marian County in 1818.

In 1823, I was appointed the County Judge of Franklin County, Alabama, followed by a stint as the Solicitor of the Fourth Judicial Court in 1827. After leaving an appointment to the Alabama militia, I finally made my way to Texas in 1834. I reconnected with my friend Sam and served on his staff in 1836. I was appointed by General Houston to help prevent attacks on the Alabama and Coushatta Indians in April 1842.

In May 1842, I was appointed Adjutant General of the Texian Army by General Houston. This was a position I served in until July 1842. During this time, I was assigned to Fort Lipantitlan. I was in command of a garrison of misfit soldiers that General Houston had ordered me to enact discipline and to whip into shape. During this command, the 192 men I commanded defeated a Mexican force three times our size under the command of General Antonio Canales on July 7, 1842.

After my command was over, I began a political career representing Liberty County in the Eighth Congress of the Republic of Texas in 1843-1844. Additionally, I was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1845 casting a vote for Liberty County for the Republic of Texas to join the Union as well as a delegate to the 1848 National Democratic Convention in Baltimore to select a president and vice president.

Lastly, I served as a state senator during the Fourth Legislature of Texas representing Liberty, Jefferson, Tyler and Polk counties 1851-1853. During my time in Congress, I supported homestead exemptions as a right for all landowners.

In 1848, I donated a portion of my land in Polk (now San Jacinto) County to establish a Baptist church, which would later be known as the Laurel Hill Baptist church. This land donation included a parcel for a cemetery to be established. The name was selected because of the laurel trees that lined the baptismal pool of the Laurel Hill Baptist Church.  

I was married to my sweetheart, Anne Eliza Hill Davis. Our family included eight children and we knew all their birth dates. We were happily married and considered wealthy by most folks. One of our daughters, Catherine, married Vernal Lea in 1846. Vernal was the brother of Margaret Lea who was the third wife of my lifelong friend, General Sam Houston. Catherine and Vernal resided in San Jacinto County and had four children.

I died peacefully at home, in Coldspring, June 10, 1869 at the age of 68. I am buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery, Coldspring, Texas.