John Davis (1787–1854)

American statesman, born in Northboro, MA, on the 13th of January 1787. He graduated at Yale, studied law and began to practice in Worcester. In 1824 he was elected to Congress, where he opposed Henry Clay’s tariff bill and advocated a protective tariff. He was elected governor of Massachusetts in 1834, and afterward was sent to the United States Senate, and was again, in 1841, elected governor. Mr. Davis, when in Congress, opposed the Mexican War, advocated the exclusion of slavery from the territories, and for his uprightness was frequently called “Honest John Davis.” He died in Worcester, MA, on the 19th of April 1854.