Background
He was the son of Thomas J. Davies and Ruth (Foot) Davies (ca 1772-1852).
He was the son of Thomas J. Davies and Ruth (Foot) Davies (ca 1772-1852).
He was educated in the public schools and at age 14 went to live with Judge Alfred Conkling in whose office he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1826.
He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1866 to 1867. He commenced practice in Buffalo, New York and entered politics as a Whig. In 1835, Davies married a daughter of John Tappan (brother of Lewis Tappan, Benjamin Tappan and Arthur Tappan), and they had six children, among them Henry Eugene Davies.
In 1840, he was a Whig alderman of the New York Common Council.
In May 1849, Davies was appointed Corporation Counsel of New York City, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Willis Hall. In November 1849, he was elected to succeed himself, and remained in office until the end of 1852.
In 1855, he was elected to the New York Supreme Court to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Justice Robert H. Morris, and remained on the Supreme Court bench until the end of 1859. In 1859, he was elected to the Court of Appeals on the Republican and American tickets, defeating the Democratic incumbent Alexander South. Johnson.
Davies was an associate judge of the Court of Appeals from 1860 to 1865, and Chief Judge from 1866 to 1867.
He died on December 17, 1881, at his residence at 60 West Fifty-first Street in New York City.