Mr. Davis acquired his education in the public schools of his native county. At the age of twenty he became a sailor on the Hudson River, running between Albany and New York. In 1863 he was engaged by the Camden and Amboy Railroad as a deckhand and subsequently, in 1869, he was raised to a pilot, running between New York and South Amboy. In 1873 he was engaged by the Erie Railroad as Master of the " General McCallum," where he has since remained.

His career has been an eminently successful one. As a Republican, Mr. Davis has long taken an active part in political affairs and is recognized as one of the party's foremost leaders. He has served as Treasurer of the Town of Weehawken, has been a member of the Town Committee, and was Chairman of the Board of Council and Chief of Police. Air. Davis has also held various other minor offices. He is a progressive, patriotic citizen, a man of the highest integrity, and has long wielded a commanding influence in the affairs of Weehawken, N. J., where he has resided since 1883, having resided for six years in Guttenberg prior to that year. His prominence and popularity have been attested by the several positions which he has been called upon to fill, and the duties of which he has always discharged with fidelity and satisfaction.