A Wilson Family Tree
Notes for Jacob Cunningham Davis
"History of Saline County, Missouri", Missouri Historical Co., St. Louis, 1881, p. 854:
[From biography of John B. Davis] Jacob C. has filled several important offices in Illinois; was a member of congress, and also in the state legislature, while quite a young man.
From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_C._Davis):
Jacob Cunningham Davis (September 16, 1820 – December 25, 1883) was a politician, a U.S. Representative from Illinois. He was one of five men tried and acquitted in Illinois of the murder of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement.
Political life
Born near Staunton, Virginia, Davis attended the common schools and the College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. He moved to Warsaw, Illinois, in 1838, where he studied law. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Warsaw. He served as clerk of Hancock County, Illinois. He was appointed circuit clerk in 1841.
He was elected and served in the Illinois Senate from 1842 to 1848 and again from 1850 until his resignation in 1856, having been elected to Congress.
Davis was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fourth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William A. Richardson. He served from November 4, 1856 to March 3, 1857. He was defeated in his bid for re-election. After his defeat, Davis resumed the practice of law in Clark County, Missouri. He died in Alexandria, Missouri, December 25, 1883. He was interred in Mitchell Cemetery, near Alexandria, Missouri.
Murder trial
In 1844, Davis was indicted and tried for the murders of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith. The Smiths had been imprisoned in Carthage Jail when the prison was stormed by an armed mob that shot and killed them. As a captain in command of the Warsaw Rifle Company of the Illinois militia, Davis was accused of having ordered his men to storm the prison. At trial, Davis and four other defendants were found by a jury to be not guilty of the murders.
There is more about the death of Joseph Smith at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Joseph_Smith, but nothing about Jacob Davis’s involvement except that he was tried and acquitted. It is noted that “The trial jury was composed exclusively of non-Mormons after the defense counsel convinced the judge to dismiss the initial jury, which included Mormons.”
The Parks manuscript gives his name as Jacob Van Lear (Davis).
Note: Some of the information in these pages is uncertain. Please let me know of errors or omissions using the email link above. ...Mike Wilson
Page generated on 14 September 2024