Caleb Davis
Encyclopedia
Caleb Davis was a merchant, revolutionary patriot, and public servant in Boston
, Massachusetts
. He held several positions of public trust, including state legislator, 1776–1788; Speaker of the Massachusetts General Court
, 1780–1782; and Elector for Massachusetts' Suffolk County
in the first U.S. presidential election
in 1789.
, to Joshua Davis and Sarah Pierpont. Siblings included Amasa Davis, Joshua Davis, and Robert Davis. At age 10, Davis and his family moved to Roxbury.
When he came of age, Davis earned his living as a merchant. He kept a shop in Boston. "In 1759 he was a partner with his uncle, Robert Pierpont, in a retail provision and grocery business, soon after setting up a store of his own. ... Considerable purchases of rum from Thomas Amory and others are noted." Around 1760 he married Hannah Ruggles (d. ca.1773). Davis was a deacon of the Hollis Street Church
, ca.1769-1797.
. "In 1772-1773, [Davis] was one of the Boston Committee of Correspondence." In 1774, he was appointed to the "Committee of 63 Persons...to carry into Execution in the Town at Boston, the Agreement and Association of the late respectable Continental Congress
."
In April 1775, Davis and Paul Revere
suspected Benjamin Church
of secretly being a loyalist to the British. Revere writes:
In 1776 Davis served on the "Boston Committee of Inspection, Correspondence, and Safety. Some months later he was disqualified for further service on this committee by his election to represent Suffolk County in the General Court. He served as Representative from 1776 to 1781, and in October 1780 was elected Speaker. This was the first session after the adoption of the State Constitution
. In May 1781 he resigned on account of his many public avocations. In the election of 1779 to 1780 he and John Hancock
each received the highest number of votes, 431. ...In 1783 he was again elected to the General Court, both Representative and Senator, but preferred the former seat. He was re-elected annually, and in 1788 resigned. From February 1781 to January 1783 he was State Agent."
In 1783, the widowed Davis married Mary Ann Lewis Bant (d.1787). In 1786, Davis joined the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company; his brothers Amasa and Robert joined the same year. On September 3, 1787, the twice-widowed Davis married Eleanor Cheever. Their children included Eliza Cheever Davis.
He cast a "yea" vote in the Convention of Massachusetts that ratified the United States Constitution
on February 6, 1788. "He was Presidential Elector for Suffolk in 1789, the first Presidential election. He was Chairman of a committee of three, the other members being William Eustis
and Stephen Higginson
, to consider and report on the best way to express the respects of the town to President George Washington
on his proposed visit; and a member of the Boston Committee of thirteen to arrange for the visit of General Washington." Davis became a director of the First Bank of the United States
, Boston branch, in 1793.
In 1792 a company was formed by the name of GRIGORI T to build a bridge to Cambridgeport over the Charles River. This became the West Boston Bridge, later the site of the Longfellow Bridge that exists today. Some of the original stockholders included Mungo Mackay
, Francis Dana, Oliver Wendell, James Sullivan, Henry Jackson, William Wetmore, Harrison Gray Otis, Perez Morton
, Samuel Parkman, Charles Bulfinch
, Joseph Blake, Henry Prentiss, John Derby, Caleb Davis, John Winthrop and Jon Austin. The bridge was opened in November 1793.
Davis died on July 6, 1797, and is buried in the Central Burying Ground
, on the Boston Common
.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He held several positions of public trust, including state legislator, 1776–1788; Speaker of the Massachusetts General Court
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
, 1780–1782; and Elector for Massachusetts' Suffolk County
Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Suffolk County has no land border with Plymouth County to its southeast, but the two counties share a water boundary in the middle of Massachusetts Bay.-National protected areas:*Boston African American National Historic Site...
in the first U.S. presidential election
United States presidential election, 1789
The United States presidential election of 1789 was the first presidential election in the United States of America and the only election to ever take place in a year that is not a multiple of four. The election took place following the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788...
in 1789.
Colonial Days
Davis was born in 1738 in Woodstock, ConnecticutWoodstock, Connecticut
Woodstock is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,221 at the 2000 census.-Annual events:*The Woodstock Fair, run by the Woodstock Agricultural Society has been held since 1860. The current President of the Woodstock Fair is Susan Z. Hibbard...
, to Joshua Davis and Sarah Pierpont. Siblings included Amasa Davis, Joshua Davis, and Robert Davis. At age 10, Davis and his family moved to Roxbury.
When he came of age, Davis earned his living as a merchant. He kept a shop in Boston. "In 1759 he was a partner with his uncle, Robert Pierpont, in a retail provision and grocery business, soon after setting up a store of his own. ... Considerable purchases of rum from Thomas Amory and others are noted." Around 1760 he married Hannah Ruggles (d. ca.1773). Davis was a deacon of the Hollis Street Church
Hollis Street Church
The Hollis Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts, was a Congregational and Unitarian church. It merged with the South Congregational Society of Boston in 1887.- 1732-1825 :...
, ca.1769-1797.
Revolutionary Era
Davis participated in the Sons of LibertySons of Liberty
The Sons of Liberty were a political group made up of American patriots that originated in the pre-independence North American British colonies. The group was formed to protect the rights of the colonists from the usurpations by the British government after 1766...
. "In 1772-1773, [Davis] was one of the Boston Committee of Correspondence." In 1774, he was appointed to the "Committee of 63 Persons...to carry into Execution in the Town at Boston, the Agreement and Association of the late respectable Continental Congress
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen North American colonies that met on September 5, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. It was called in response to the passage of the Coercive Acts by the...
."
In April 1775, Davis and Paul Revere
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
suspected Benjamin Church
Benjamin Church
Dr. Benjamin Church was effectively the first Surgeon General of the U.S. Army, serving as the "Chief Physician & Director General" of the Medical Service of the Continental Army from July 27, 1775 to October 17, 1775. He was also active in Boston's Sons of Liberty movement in the years before the...
of secretly being a loyalist to the British. Revere writes:
"I came a Cross Deacon Caleb Davis; —we entred into Conversation about Him [i.e. Benjamin Church]; —He told me, that the morning Church went into Boston, He (Davis) received a Bilet for General GageThomas GageThomas Gage was a British general, best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as military commander in the early days of the American War of Independence....
—(he then did not know that Church was in Town) —When he got to the General's House, he was told, the General could not be spoke with, that He was in private with a Gentleman; that He waited near half an Hour, —When General Gage and Dr. Church came out of a Room, discoursing together, like persons who had been long aquainted. He appeared to be quite surprized at seeing Deacon Davis there; that he (Church) went where he pleased, while in Boston, only a Major Caine, one of Gage's Aids, went with him."
In 1776 Davis served on the "Boston Committee of Inspection, Correspondence, and Safety. Some months later he was disqualified for further service on this committee by his election to represent Suffolk County in the General Court. He served as Representative from 1776 to 1781, and in October 1780 was elected Speaker. This was the first session after the adoption of the State Constitution
Massachusetts Constitution
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the fundamental governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the 50 individual state governments that make up the United States of America. It was drafted by John Adams, Samuel Adams, and James Bowdoin during the...
. In May 1781 he resigned on account of his many public avocations. In the election of 1779 to 1780 he and John Hancock
John Hancock
John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
each received the highest number of votes, 431. ...In 1783 he was again elected to the General Court, both Representative and Senator, but preferred the former seat. He was re-elected annually, and in 1788 resigned. From February 1781 to January 1783 he was State Agent."
Early Republic Years
"During part of and after the Revolution, he was a merchant and ship owner in the coast wise, West India, and European trade. After [1787]... he was active in the management of a sugar refinery." The Boston Directory of 1796 lists Davis as a "sugar refiner." "After the peace of 1783 new trade connections were sought and the operations of Caleb Davis were greatly expanded. In the 1780's and 1790's he traded with Malaga, Lisbon, Cadiz, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, Nantes and Bordeaux, Glasgow, London, Liverpool, Bristol and Newry, and St. Petersburg, ...the West Indies and the Southern States."In 1783, the widowed Davis married Mary Ann Lewis Bant (d.1787). In 1786, Davis joined the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company; his brothers Amasa and Robert joined the same year. On September 3, 1787, the twice-widowed Davis married Eleanor Cheever. Their children included Eliza Cheever Davis.
He cast a "yea" vote in the Convention of Massachusetts that ratified the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
on February 6, 1788. "He was Presidential Elector for Suffolk in 1789, the first Presidential election. He was Chairman of a committee of three, the other members being William Eustis
William Eustis
William Eustis was an early American statesman.He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and studied at the Boston Latin School before he entered Harvard College, from which he graduated in 1772. He studied medicine under Dr. Joseph Warren and helped care for the wounded at the Battle of Bunker...
and Stephen Higginson
Stephen Higginson
Stephen Higginson was an American merchant and shipmaster from Boston, Massachusetts. He was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress in 1783...
, to consider and report on the best way to express the respects of the town to President George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
on his proposed visit; and a member of the Boston Committee of thirteen to arrange for the visit of General Washington." Davis became a director of the First Bank of the United States
First Bank of the United States
The First Bank of the United States is a National Historic Landmark located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania within Independence National Historical Park.-Banking History:...
, Boston branch, in 1793.
In 1792 a company was formed by the name of GRIGORI T to build a bridge to Cambridgeport over the Charles River. This became the West Boston Bridge, later the site of the Longfellow Bridge that exists today. Some of the original stockholders included Mungo Mackay
Mungo Mackay
Mungo Mackay was a Scottish seafarer from the Orkney Islands who made a fortune in the Boston shipping trades in Massachusetts. Mungo was a highly regarded ship master, successful privateer owner and bonder, and operated a store on Long Wharf in Boston. He was also active in the politics of the...
, Francis Dana, Oliver Wendell, James Sullivan, Henry Jackson, William Wetmore, Harrison Gray Otis, Perez Morton
Perez Morton
Perez Morton was a lawyer and revolutionary patriot in Boston, Massachusetts.-Biography:Morton was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1751, and raised in Boston. His father, Joseph Morton, worked as a tavern-keeper at the White Horse Tavern. Perez attended the Boston Latin School starting around...
, Samuel Parkman, Charles Bulfinch
Charles Bulfinch
Charles Bulfinch was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first native-born American to practice architecture as a profession....
, Joseph Blake, Henry Prentiss, John Derby, Caleb Davis, John Winthrop and Jon Austin. The bridge was opened in November 1793.
Davis died on July 6, 1797, and is buried in the Central Burying Ground
Central Burying Ground (Boston, Massachusetts)
The Central Burying Ground in Boston, Massachusetts was established on the Common in 1756. It is located at the corner of Boylston Street and Tremont Street...
, on the Boston Common
Boston Common
Boston Common is a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts. It is sometimes erroneously referred to as the "Boston Commons". Dating from 1634, it is the oldest city park in the United States. The Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street,...
.
Further reading
- Obituary. Columbian CentinelColumbian CentinelThe Columbian Centinel was a Boston, Massachusetts, newspaper established by Benjamin Russell. It continued its predecessor, the Massachusetts Centinel and the Republican Journal, which Russell and partner William Warden had first issued on March 24, 1784...
, July 8, 1797.