Davis, Walter

Born: 1817 Richmond, Virginia

Died: 1861-01-06 Springfield, Illinois

Flourished: Springfield, Illinois

Davis settled in Springfield, Illinois, sometime before 1839, when he served as one of the founding members of the Springfield Mechanic's Union. From 1839 to 1840, he was partners with Jackson A. Hough in a cabinet business. He married Emaline Planck in Sangamon County in 1847. Together they had four children, three of whom died young. Davis was a sergeant in Colonel E. D. Baker's Regiment in the Mexican War. In June 1849, he received appointment as receiver of the U.S. General Land Office in Springfield, a position he held until 1853. In 1850, Davis owned $1,000 in real estate.

Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 12 April 1839, 3:6; 21 January 1840, 3:4; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Sangamon County, 29 December 1847, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 572; History of Sangamon County, Illinois (Chicago: Inter-State, 1881), 168; Petition of Simeon Francis and others to the Illinois General Assembly; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1849 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1849), 137; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1851 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1851), 141; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1853 (Washington, DC: Robert Armstrong, 1853), 139; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Sangamon County, IL, 86.