# Jacob C. Davis
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{{Short description|American politician}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=April 2009}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Jacob C. Davis
|image =
|caption =
|state = [Illinois](/source/Illinois)
|district = {{ushr|Illinois|5|5th}}
|term_start = November 4, 1856
|term_end = March 3, 1857
|predecessor = [William Alexander Richardson](/source/William_Alexander_Richardson)
|successor = [Isaac N. Morris](/source/Isaac_N._Morris)
|office2 = Member of the [Illinois Senate](/source/Illinois_Senate)
|term2 = 1842-1848
1850-1856
|birth_name =
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1820|9|16}}
|birth_place = [Staunton, Virginia](/source/Staunton%2C_Virginia), U.S.
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1883|12|25|1820|9|16}}
|death_place = [Alexandria, Missouri](/source/Alexandria%2C_Missouri), U.S.
|party = [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States))
}}
'''Jacob Cunningham Davis''' (September 16, 1820 – December 25, 1883) was a politician, a [U.S. Representative](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) from [Illinois](/source/Illinois). He was one of five men tried and acquitted in Illinois of the [murder](/source/Death_of_Joseph_Smith) in 1844 of [Joseph Smith](/source/Joseph_Smith), founder of the [Latter Day Saint movement](/source/Latter_Day_Saint_movement).
==Political life==
Born near [Staunton, Virginia](/source/Staunton%2C_Virginia), Davis attended the common schools and the [College of William & Mary](/source/College_of_William_%26_Mary), [Williamsburg, Virginia](/source/Williamsburg%2C_Virginia). He moved to [Warsaw, Illinois](/source/Warsaw%2C_Illinois), in 1838, where he studied law. He was [admitted to the bar](/source/Admission_to_the_bar_in_the_United_States) and commenced practice in Warsaw. He served as clerk of [Hancock County, Illinois](/source/Hancock_County%2C_Illinois). He was appointed circuit clerk in 1841.
He was elected and served in the [Illinois Senate](/source/Illinois_Senate) from 1842 to 1848 and again from 1850 until his resignation in 1856, having been elected to Congress.
Davis was elected as a [Democrat](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) to the [Thirty-fourth Congress](/source/34th_United_States_Congress) to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of [William A. Richardson](/source/William_Alexander_Richardson). He served from November 4, 1856 to March 3, 1857. He was not a candidate for re-election. After leaving Congress, Davis resumed the practice of law in [Clark County, Missouri](/source/Clark_County%2C_Missouri). He died in [Alexandria, Missouri](/source/Alexandria%2C_Missouri), December 25, 1883. He was interred in Mitchell Cemetery, near [Alexandria, Missouri](/source/Alexandria%2C_Missouri).
==Murder trial==
{{see also|Death_of_Joseph_Smith#Responsibility_and_trial|label 1=Death of Joseph Smith: Trial}}
In 1844, Davis was indicted and tried for the [murders](/source/Death_of_Joseph_Smith) of [Joseph Smith](/source/Joseph_Smith) and [Hyrum Smith](/source/Hyrum_Smith). The Smiths had been imprisoned in [Carthage Jail](/source/Carthage_Jail) when the prison was stormed by an armed mob that shot and killed them. As a captain in command of the Warsaw Rifle Company of the Illinois [militia](/source/militia), Davis was accused of having ordered his men to storm the prison. At trial, Davis and four other defendants[[Thomas C. Sharp](/source/Thomas_C._Sharp), [Mark Aldrich](/source/Mark_Aldrich), [William N. Grover](/source/William_N._Grover) and [Levi Williams](/source/Levi_Williams).] were found by a jury to be not guilty of the murders.
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
==References==
{{Biographical Directory of Congress|D000107}}
* {{cite book| author = Dallin H. Oaks| author-link = Dallin H. Oaks|author2=Marvin S. Hill|author2-link=Marvin S. Hill| title = Carthage conspiracy| publisher = University of Illinois Press| url = https://archive.org/details/carthageconspira00oaks| url-access = registration| date = October 1975| isbn = 978-0-252-00554-1 }}
* [Marvin S. Hill](/source/Marvin_S._Hill). [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3945/is_200407/ai_n9408752/pg_1 "Carthage Conspiracy Reconsidered: A Second Look at the Murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith"], ''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society'', Summer 2004.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140626134354/http://josephsmithpapers.org/person?name=Jacob+Cunningham+Davis "Jacob Cunningham Davis"], [Joseph Smith Papers](/source/Joseph_Smith_Papers)
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{US House succession box
| state = Illinois
| district = 5
| before= [William Alexander Richardson](/source/William_Alexander_Richardson)
| after= [Isaac N. Morris](/source/Isaac_N._Morris)
| years= 1856–1857
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Bioguide}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Jacob Cunningham}}
Category:1820 births
Category:1883 deaths
Category:College of William & Mary alumni
Category:People from Warsaw, Illinois
Category:Politicians from Staunton, Virginia
Category:Illinois lawyers
Category:Missouri lawyers
Category:Mormonism-related controversies
Category:American people acquitted of murder
Category:American militia officers
Category:Democratic Party Illinois state senators
Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Illinois
Category:19th-century United States representatives
Category:19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jacob C. Davis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_C._Davis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_C._Davis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.