Alexander Kelso Davis (Noxubee County)
Lieutenant Governor: 1874-1876
State House: 1870-1873
Born: c. 1845 in Mississippi
Died: November 20, 1884 in Canton, MS
Born in Mississippi and raised in Tennessee. Self-taught. His 1876 impeachment trial can be read here. After leaving office, he became a minister. He is listed on the 1880 census in Macon with wife Ophelia and three children, and he died four years later in Canton. See entry in the Mississippi Encyclopedia for fuller biography.
His daughter, Alexenia Davis (1866-1908), married Nelson Halter Foote and eventually relocated to Chicago.
Mentions of Davis in the correspondence of Adelbert and Blanche Ames, 1873-1875
“Another Black leader who held a major office at the state level was Alexander Kelso Davis. Davis came to Mississippi in 1869 and settled in Noxubee County, where he became a lawyer. He was elected to the legislature in 1869… Davis’ performance as a legislator was partially responsible for elevating him to the office of lieutenant governor.”
(Buford Satcher, Blacks in Mississippi Politics 1865-1900, 1978)
“Mr. A. K. Davis, colored, died on Thursday at Canton, Miss., of heart disease. He was an ex-slave, a native of Mississippi and a self made man of more than ordinary intellect. He figured prominently in republican politics, was at one time a member of the Legislature and was Lieutenant Governor of the State under Ames and resigned to avoid impeachment. He abandoned politics in 1876 and entered the ministry and became the pastor of the Colored Methodist Church at Canton. He was highly respected by both races. He was the reputed son of the late Colonel A. C. McClurg [A. K. McClung], of Mississippi.”
(New York Herald, 22 Nov 1884)
Links:
The Mississippi Encyclopedia: Alexander K. Davis
Memorial for daughter Alexenia Davis Foote on Find A Grave
This page was last updated on February 11, 2026.