Genealogy

Dictionary of American Biography, v. 4, New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1928-1944, p. 144:

Reuben Davis (Jan. 18, 1813 - Oct. 14, 1890), lawyers, was the youngest of twelve children of the Rev. John Davis, a Baptist minister who had gone to Tennessee, settling near Winchester. About five years after the birth of Reuben, the family removed to northern Alabama. Here Reuben spent much time with the Indians, though he attended the public schools about three months each yea. Disregarding the boy's early inclination to the law, his father, who thought that "lawyers were wholly given up to the Devil even in this world" and that "it was impossible for any one of them ever to enter the kingdom of heaven," persuaded Reuben, then about sixteen years old, "to read medicine" with his brother-in-law, Dr. George Higgason, in Monroe County, Miss. But a brief experience of the medical profession was sufficient to confirm Davis's original preference for the law. Meanwhile, in 1831, he was married to Mary Halbert. In 1832, he opened a law office in Athens, Monroe County, but later moved to Aberdeen. From the beginning, his success as a lawyer was remarkable. At the age of twenty-two, he was elected district attorney of the 6th Mississippi Judicial District. At twenty-six, he had saved $20,000 from his earnings. Defeated for Congress on the Whig ticket in 1838, he was, in 1842, appointed judge of the Mississippi high court of appeals, but resigned after four months on the bench. When the Mexican War broke out, he was elected Colonel of the 2nd Mississippi Volunteers. This organization reached the mouth of the Rio Grande the day of the battle of Buena Vista; but Davis, whose health was poor, saw no actual fighting, returning home in June of the same year. After serving a term as a member of the state Legislature (1855-1857), he was elected to Congress, as a Democrat, and served two terms (1857-1861). He believed that war between the North and the South was inevitable, and so strongly defended the Southern position that his opponent called him a fire-eater. After his resignation from the Federal Congress in 1861, he became major-general of Mississippi troops, commanding a brigade for a short time; but was soon elected to the Confederate Congress, and was present at the Richmond inauguration of President Davis. He served in the Confederate legislative body until 1864, when he resigned because of his inability to work harmoniously with President Davis, to whom, incidentally he was not related. His criticism of the Confederate war policy probably caused his defeat by Gen. Charles Clark for the governorship of Mississippi in 1863. During the Reconstruction period, Davis belonged to the group who believed in controlling the negro by threats of force. He was defeated for Congress in 1878 as a candidate of the Greenback party. During most of the last quarter-century of his life, he devoted his energies to the practice of criminal law. He defended more than 200 clients accused of murder, not one of whom went to the gallows. His principal literary work is his book, "Recollections of Mississippi and Mississippians," published in 1889. He died the following year in Huntsville, Ala.

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Biographical Directory of the United States Congress:
DAVIS, Reuben, a Representative from Mississippi; born in Winchester, Tenn., January 18, 1813; moved with his parents to Alabama about 1818; attended the public schools; studied medicine, but practiced only a few years, when he abandoned the profession; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1834 and commenced practice in Aberdeen, Miss.; prosecuting attorney for the sixth judicial district 1835-1839; unsuccessful Whig candidate for the Twenty-sixth Congress in 1838; judge of the high court of appeals in 1842, but after four months' service resigned; served as colonel of the Second Regiment of Mississippi Volunteers in the war with Mexico; member of the State house of representatives 1855-1857; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Congresses and served from March 4, 1857, to January 12, 1861, when he withdrew; during the Civil War served in the Confederate Army as brigadier general; resumed the practice of law; unsuccessful Greenback candidate for the Forty-sixth Congress in 1878; died in Huntsville, Ala., October 14, 1890; interment in Odd Fellows Cemetery, Aberdeen, Monroe County, Miss.

Bibliography
DAB; Davis, Reuben. Recollections of Mississippi and Mississippians. Rev. ed. Hattiesburg: University and College Press of Mississippi, 1972.

Joseph T Fleming
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