Madison-Limestone County AlArchives Biographies.....Davis, Nicholas 
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 September 20, 2011, 5:05 pm

Source: See below
Author: Smith & De Land, publishers

  NICHOLAS DAVIS, deceased, was a prominent representative of an old and
distinguished family, a son of Col. Nicholas Davis, of Limestone County, Ala.,
who was a native of the Old Dominion State, and one of the early settlers of
Alabama.

  He at once became prominent in the public affairs of the State and was a
representative in the first State Legislature, 1819; subsequently he was chosen
a State Senator, serving from 1820 to 1828 inclusive, and for five sessions he
was, the presiding officer.

  He occupied the highest rank, in the estimation of all parties, as a private
and public citizen, and was remarkable for his eloquence. In 1844, he was placed
at the head of the Whig electoral ticket, and in 1847 was the Whig candidate for
Governor of the State. His wife, Martha Hargrave, belonged to an old and wealthy
Quaker family, and was a beautiful and accomplished lady. Col. Jeremiah Clemens,
in dedicating his work entitled "Mustang Gray" to Nicholas Davis, the son, after
speaking of the endearing friendship with which prompted it, uses this language:
"But it is not these alone that move me to write your name on the first page of
this volume. The last words your mother was ever heard to speak, were words of
warm regard for me, and to the hour of his death your father honored me with a
friendship which is among my proudest recollections. In the whole range of my
acquaintance I have never known two persons more remarkable for unswerving
integrity of thought and action or more distinguished for a lofty scorn of all
that was low or vile in humanity."

  A son, Lawrence Ripley Davis, was a Whig like his father. He was elected to
the lower house in 1849, and by his fine talents and address contributed no
little to the success of his party. He was returned in 1861 and threw his
influence into the secession movement.

  Nicholas Davis, the subject of this biography, was born in Limestone County,
and was reared and educated in Alabama. He served as a lieutenant in a company
commanded by Captain Higgins, of Col. Jere Clemens' Regiment throughout the
Mexican War, a portion of which period he was a staff officer.

  He subsequently chose the legal profession, and was admitted to the bar, at
Huntsville, in 1852; and also became a prominent political factor during the
exciting period which followed. He served two terms in the State Legislature,
and when the secession movement was agitated he took a decided stand against it,
and vigorously advocated his views by stumping Northern Alabama, during which he
developed remarkable power as an orator. lie also advocated the election of
Stephen A. Douglas, was an elector upon the Douglas ticket, and served as a
Union delegate from his county in the Secession convention.

  Colonel Davis subsequently became lieutenant-colonel of the Nineteenth Alabama
Infantry, but was not in active service; and after the close of the war resumed
his practice in Huntsville, in which he attained prominence, devoting much of
his time to criminal law.

  Colonel Davis died in Huntsville in 1874.

  His wife's maiden name was Miss Sophia Lowe, and was also a descendant of an
old and noted family. Her paternal ancestors came from England to Maryland with
Lord Baltimore. Her father, Gen. Bartley M. Lowe, was a native of South
Carolina, but his father, who was a captain in the Revolutionary War, soon after
moved to Florida, and accepted service under the Spanish Government, for which
he secured a large grant of land. General Lowe subsequently came to Huntsville
and engaged in mercantile pursuits, and such was his success that he was
sometimes called a "merchant prince." He was the first president of the
Huntsville Bank and prominent in many business movements.

  He was in active service during the Indian War of 1836, and in 1838 became a
resident of New Orleans, where he was a leading cotton factor until his death.
He left three sons: Dr. John T. Lowe, who was chief surgeon of General Loring's
Division of Infantry during the late war; Robert J., a lawyer, legislator and
soldier; and William M. Lowe, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume.

  Mrs. Davis is living in Huntsville with two children: Nichols C. Jr., and
Sophie L.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Northern Alabama: Historical and Biographical
Birmingham, Ala.: Smith and De Land
1888

PART IV.
MONOGRAPHS OF THE PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS IN NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ALABAMA,
TOGETHER WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF MANY OF THEIR REPRESENTATIVE PEOPLE.


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