Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Copies are permitted for research purposes. Permission to publish should be cleared with Emory & Henry College Archives, P.O. Box 948, Emory, VA 24327-0948.

Preferred Citation

James A. Davis Papers, 1847-1973. Accession 42479. Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia. When citing, please make a note that the originals are in the Emory & Henry College Archives in Emory, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Loaned for microfilming by Emory & Henry College Archives, 2 February 2006.

Biographical Information

James A. Davis was born at Pleasant Hill, Smyth County, Virginia, on 12 April 1825, the son of Major Joseph W. Davis and Lucy Eldridge Armstrong Davis. He graduated from Emory & Henry College in 1845, and returned in 1846 as a tutor. Davis became principal of the Preparatory Department in 1849, and chair of Natural Sciences in 1856. Save for two years spent at Martha Washington Female College in Abingdon, he held the latter position (later as professor emeritus) until his death. A licensed preacher, he was a member of the Holston Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. After the death of first wife Jane P. Baker (married in 1850), Davis married Sarah J. Smith in 1852. He died on 30 June 1898, survived by his wife and two of his children.

Scope and Content

Papers, 1847-1973, of Emory & Henry College professor James A. Davis (1825-1898) chiefly contain account books, as well as sermons and instructional notes. Other items include an account book belonging to Emory & Henry President R. G. Waterhouse (1855-1922); a small number of notes and letters written by J. L. Kennedy (1857-1942), a missionary to Brazil; a handful of legal documents (deeds, indentures, etc.) related to the Davis family; Davis family genealogical notes; biographical and autobiographical information about James A. Davis; scattered correspondence; and items, 1914-1973, pertaining to Davis's Ball family descendants. Of note is Davis's "Then and Now: An Autobiographical Sketch by James A. Davis, Professor Emeritus of the Natural Sciences ", which was written with the intent to record not only his own history, but that of the early days of Emory & Henry College.

Misc. Reel 4911 chiefly contains account books, as well as one book of sermons.

Misc. Reel 4912 contains the remaining six numbered volumes (as numbered by Emory & Henry College--see note in Contents List), which chiefly feature accounts, sermons, and instructional notes. The reel also contains another volume, this one with lectures on agricultural chemistry.

Misc. Reel 4913 contains additional account books of James A. Davis, as well as one belonging to Emory & Henry President R. G. Waterhouse (1855-1922), and some notes and letters written by J. L. Kennedy (1857-1942), a missionary to Brazil. Loose papers include a handful of legal documents (deeds, indentures, etc.) related to the Davis family; biographical and autobiographical information about Davis, including an obituary of him penned for The Holston Annual by Waterhouse; Davis family genealogical notes; scattered correspondence; clippings; and items, 1914-1973 , pertaining to Davis's Ball family descendants. Davis's "Then and Now: An Autobiographical Sketch by James A. Davis, Professor Emeritus of the Natural Sciences " was written with the intent to record not only his own history, but that of the early days of Emory & Henry College.