The Cecil Whig., 1886-07-03
THE END AT LAST.
DEATH OF ONE OF CECIL'S ILLUS
TRIOUS SONS.

several hohths-l he
David Davis, ex,iudge Of the United
States Supreme Court, an ext. 5. Sena-
tor and native of Cecil county, died at
his residence at Bloomington, Illinois,
on Saturday morning last at o clock.
His physicians say the immediate cause
of his death was erysipelas, the outcome
of malignant carbuncle which first ap
peared on April 30th; but that diabetes
which must have been assiduously work
ing for two years, was the primary cause,
and to it is attributed his rapid decline
in flesh. For week before the end he
was most of the time unconscious.
HIS CAREER.
David Davis was born in Cecil county,
Md, on March ., 1915, and was therefore
in his I'D year at the time of his death.
His ancestors were Welsh, and settled in
Maryland about the time of the old
| French colonial war in the last century.
His father, who died over two months
before his birth, was a successful physi-
clan who had been student with the
celebrated DR.. Physic, of Philadelphia.
The late Henry Winter Davis was his
| first cousin. He was sent to the acad-
emy at Newark, Del, at the age of 10,
and at 13 entered Kenyon College, Ohio,
where he graduated in 1882, before he
had completed his 18th year. He then
went to Lennox, Mass, to read law, and
subsequently attended the law lectures
at Yale College.
In 1885, at the age of 30, Mr.. ID avis
went to Illinois, and soon aiterward set
| tied in Bloomington, which remained his
home until his death. He speedily be-
came one of the most successful lawyers
in the state. Among his intimate pro
fessional and personal friends in those
early days was Abraham Lincoln, who
| travelled the same circuit with HIM twice
a year for eight years. The two young
| lawyers became very much attached to
each other, and the friendship lasted in
its full strength up to the time of Mr..
| Lincoln'S assassination. 1910 the Wings
nominated Mr.. Davis tor the state sen
ate, but he Was defeated by the Demo
cratic nominee. In 1914 when Polk and
Dallas were sweeping the country, lie
came to the front among the Wings, and
fought his way into the legislature. He
served one term, and declined renomi
nation on the ground that his law prac-
tice was SO valuable that he could not
neglect it. In 1S41 Mr.. Davis was elected
to the convention which framed the pre-
sent constitution of the state. In 1S4S
he was elected judge of the Eighth judi
cial circuit of the state, and was
elected i'll 1919, and again i'll 1861.
HOW HE MADE LINCOLN PRESIDENT.
In 1860 Mr.. Davis was made a delegate
at large to the Republican National Con
Vention in the interest of Mr.. Liucoln's 5
nomination for the Presidency. Lincoln
had remained at his home in Springfield,
and, at his request, Judge Davis went to
Chicago on Saturday night, before the
assembling of the convention, and di-
rected the campaign on behalf of his old
friend. The situation was very gloomy
Lincoln's strength lay with the Indiana
and Illinois delegations alone. Every
other avenue seemed closed Thurlow
Weed had thoroughly organized the Sc
ward cohorts, and the streets were filled
with thousands who were shouting the
New York war cry. Lincoln's raw levies
We're scattered far and wide, and left at
the mercy of disciplined politicians.
They had no organization. They We're
even without a headquarters. The hotels
were packed with the noisy friends of
Bates and Seward. David Davis proved
himself political Carnot. He engaged
two small rooms on the third floor of the
old Fremont House at 500 dav and
threw the Railspitter's flag to the breeze
The raw levies were gathered and disci-
plined. Night and day was he busy
forming combinations and visiting dele
cations. Horace Greeley, under the
guise of a delegate from Oregan, ap
peared as the leader of the Bates men.
Thurlow Weed footed defiance from his
Seward bugle. Davis visited both lead
ers, and was showered with chaff But
his raw levieS were not without backing
On Saturday night he telegraphed to the
lawyers of the Eighth Circuit, assuring
them that Old Abe's stock was rising,
and that its value would be greatly en-
hanced by the presence of his friends in
force. 1t was an electric shock. The
state was aroused. On Monday and
Tuesday trains poured INTO the city over
flowing with Lincoln shouters They
were enthusiastic friends, who gladly
paid their own way out of love for Lin
coin. They massed in the streets, and
raised a din that astonished the noisy re-
tainers of Seward. They thronged the
corridors of the hotels and awoke the
echoes of the nj ght with their cheers
Hourly their number increased They
poured into the wigwam rs soon as the
doors were opened, and the very atmos-
phere of the convention seemed sur
charged with their enthusiasm. The two
small rooms on the third floor of the Ire
mont House were the scene of unwonted
activity. Under Daviss guidance the
work was thoroughly done. When he
entered the city on Saturday night barely
80 weak-kneed delegates stood under the
Lincoln flag. On the first ballot the
Railispltter polled 102 votes to 1874 for
Seward and As for Bates. The lanEy co
horts in the galleries nearly lifted the
roof with their cheers. The second bal
lot gave Lincoln ISL, Seward 1871, and
Old Abe reared with delight Lincoln
was nominated on the next ballot by
vote 354 to 110I for Seward, and the
whole state OF Illinois was thrown into
ecstacy. That night Judge Davis went
to bed for the first time in six days But
he slept well, for he had made Abraham
Lincoln President of the United States,
at total cost of 500 The candidates
offered to refund the money, but Judge
Davis said his friends would not hear
of it.
Judge Davis took the stump in behalf
of Mr.. Lincoln, and in February, 1861,
accompanied the President elect to Wash
ington. remaining sntil March 20. Dur
ing this time he .as a close adviser of
the President. He held frequent inter
views with seward and Douglas, was
consulted in the selection of a Cabinet.
and was instrumental in settling the
trouble between Chase and Seward. HIS
advice was also taken as to the course to
be pursued toward the seeded and Sc
ceding states.
On April 13, 1861. while Oh the train
on his way home from Crbana, where he
had been holding court, he read the news
of the bombardment of Fort Sumter and
the Presidents proclamation calling ont
-, 600 men Illinois was at fever heat.
Citizens irrespective ofparty, assembled
in mass meetings, and resolved to main
tain the Union. Judge Davis presided
over an immense gathering in Blooming
ton, at which prominent Democrats made
war speeches. He gave himself, heart
and soul, to the cause of the Union Al
though not subject to a draft, he pro-