 1808 - 1889 (81 years) Submit Photo / Document
Has 2 ancestors and 6 descendants in this family tree.
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| Name |
Jefferson Finis Davis |
| Birth |
3 Jun 1808 |
Fairview, Christian, Kentucky, United states  |
| Gender |
Male |
| FamilySearch ID |
9MZT-WCP |
| Death |
6 Dec 1889 |
New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, United States |
| Burial |
Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia, United States |
| Headstones |
 Submit Headstone Photo |
| Person ID |
I92628 |
mytree |
| Last Modified |
25 Feb 2024 |
| Father |
Samuel Emory Davis, b. 1756, Augusta, Richmond, Georgia, United States d. 4 Jul 1824, Vicksburg, Warren, Mississippi, United States (Age 68 years) |
| Mother |
Jane Simpson Cook, b. 1759, Todd, Kentucky, United States d. 3 Oct 1845, Woodville, Wilkinson, Mississippi, United States (Age 86 years) |
| Marriage |
1783 |
South Carolina, United States |
| Family ID |
F30356 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family 1 |
Sara Knox "Knoxie" Taylor, b. 6 Mar 1814, Fort Knox, Jay, Indiana, United States d. 15 Sep 1835, Saint Francisville, West Feliciana, Louisiana, United States (Age 21 years) |
| Marriage |
17 Jun 1835 |
Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, United States |
| Family ID |
F30354 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
5 May 2024 |
| Family 2 |
Varina Banks Howell, b. 7 May 1826, Natchez, Adams, Mississippi, United States d. 16 Oct 1906, New York City, New York, New York, United States (Age 80 years) |
| Marriage |
26 Feb 1845 |
Natchez, Adams, Mississippi, United States |
| Children |
| | 1. Samuel Emory Davis, b. 30 Jul 1852, Brierfield, Warren, Mississippi, United States d. 30 Jun 1854, Washington, District of Columbia, United States (Age 1 year) |
| | 2. Margaret Howell Davis, b. 25 Feb 1855, Washington, District of Columbia, United States d. 18 Jul 1909, Colorado Springs, El Paso, Colorado, United States (Age 54 years) |
| | 3. Jefferson Finis Davis, Jr, b. 16 Jan 1857, Washington, District of Columbia, United States d. 16 Oct 1878, Memphis, Shelby, Tennessee, United States (Age 21 years) |
| | 4. Joseph Evan Davis, b. 18 Apr 1859, Washington, District of Columbia, United States d. 30 Apr 1864, Richmond City, Virginia, United States (Age 5 years) |
| | 5. William Howell Davis, b. 16 Oct 1861, Richmond City, Virginia, United States d. 16 Oct 1871, Biloxi, Harrison, Mississippi, United States (Age 10 years) |
| | 6. Varina Anne Davis, b. 27 Jun 1864, Richmond City, Virginia, United States d. 18 Sep 1898, Narragansett, Washington, Rhode Island, United States (Age 34 years) |
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| Family ID |
F30355 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
5 May 2024 |
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| Event Map |
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 | Birth - 3 Jun 1808 - Fairview, Christian, Kentucky, United states |
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 | Marriage - 17 Jun 1835 - Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, United States |
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 | Marriage - 26 Feb 1845 - Natchez, Adams, Mississippi, United States |
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 | Death - 6 Dec 1889 - New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, United States |
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 | Burial - - Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia, United States |
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| Notes |
- Jefferson Finis Davis, the first and only President of the Confederate S t ates of America, was a planter, politician and soldier born in Kentuck y a nd raised in Mississippi. Davis was the tenth and youngest child of R evol utionary War soldier Samuel Davis and his wife Jane Cook Davis (Fini s i n Latin means final—the couple wanted no more children after Jefferso n) . Born June 3, 1808, he was heavily influenced by his oldest brother , Jos eph, who saw to it that he was well educated. Davis attended colleg e in K entucky at Transylvania before entering the U.S. Military Academ y at Wes t Point in 1824.
As a military cadet, Davis’ performance was only adequate. When he gradu a ted in 1828 he placed twenty-third in a class of thirty-four. He wen t o n to serve briefly in the Black Hawk War in 1832. While stationed und er C olonel Zachary Taylor (future President of the United States) the fo llowi ng year, he met the colonel’s daughter, Sarah. Jefferson Davis marr ied he r in 1835 against her father’s wishes. Sadly, the couple came dow n with b ad cases of malaria only three months after the wedding, and th e young br ide died.
Jefferson Davis led a secluded life for the next eight years on his cott o n plantation at Davis Bend, Mississippi. A slaveholder, Davis firmly be li eved in the importance of the institution of slavery for the South. I n 18 45 he married his second wife, Varina Howell, a young woman eightee n year s old. Jefferson and Varina Davis eventually had six children—tw o girls a nd four boys—but only their daughters lived into adulthood.
In the same year, 1845, Mississippi sent Davis to the U.S. House of Repr e sentatives. His Congressional term was short, however. He resigned in J un e 1846 to fight in the Mexican War where he led his troops valiantly a t t he battles of Monterrey and Buena Vista. He was offered a promotion t o br igadier general in 1847 but refused it when he was elected to the U. S. Se nate.
In 1853, President Franklin Pierce appointed Davis U.S. Secretary of W a r where he served with distinction and was recognized as one of the mo s t capable administrators to hold the office. In 1857, Davis returned t o t he Senate as a vocal proponent of states rights. He formally withdre w fro m the U.S. Senate on January 21, 1861 after Mississippi seceded fro m th e Union.
One month later, the Confederate Congress in Montgomery, Alabama select e d Jefferson Finis Davis to become the provisional President of the Conf ed eracy. He was inaugurated for a six-year term as President on Februar y 2 2 of the following year. Davis’ appointment was largely political; h e wa s a compromise candidate chosen to appease both the moderate and rad ica l factions in the Congress. Davis, however, did not want the job. H e ha d hoped for a military command.
Initially, Davis was a popular President with the Southern people. He h a d a dignified bearing, a distinguished military record, extensive exper ie nce in political affairs, and—most importantly—a dedication to the Con fed erate cause. Unfortunately for Davis, these attributes were not enoug h t o triumph over the harsh challenges posed by his new position. His ea rl y popularity was a result of war fervor and he did not have the person ali ty necessary to sustain it. He was impatient with people who disagree d wi th him, and he had the unfortunate habit of awarding prominent post s to l eaders who appeared unsuccessful. Davis’ loyalty to these people l ed to b ickering and quarrels throughout his administration. In addition , he wa s plagued by chronic illness.
Davis’ popularity and effectiveness were not enhanced by the growing num b ers of Confederate defeats in the latter years of the War. On April 2 , 18 65, he and the other members of the Confederate government were forc ed t o flee from Richmond before the advancing Union Army. The Confederat e Pre sident was captured by Northern soldiers near Irwinville, Georgia o n Ma y 10, 1865.
Jefferson Davis was imprisoned at Fort Monroe, Virginia for two years . H e was never tried for treason, but was released on bond in May 1867 . Afte r being released, Davis and his family traveled for some time in E urope b efore returning to the American South. They first took up residen ce in Te nnessee then relocated to the Mississippi gulf coast where Davi s lived ou t his retirement years at an estate called Beauvoir near Bilox i. Mississi ppi tried to return him to the U.S. Senate, but he was not le gally qualif ied to serve since he refused to request an official pardo n from the Unit ed States for his role in the Civil War. Like many of hi s contemporaries , Davis wrote about his wartime experiences. Entitled Th e Rise and Fall o f the Confederate Government (vol 1, vol 2), his two-vo lume book was publ ished in 1881.
Jefferson Finis Davis died in New Orleans, Louisiana on December 6, 188 9 . The year before his death the former President of the Confederate Sta te s of America beseeched the young men of Mississippi to “lay aside al l ran cor, all bitter sectional feeling, and to make your places in the r anks o f those who will bring about a consummation devoutly to be wished— a reuni ted country.”
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Has 2 ancestors and 6 descendants in this family tree.
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