Racine, Wisconsin, United States
Davis attended Racine College.
Racine, Wisconsin, United States
Davis attended Racine College.
Samuel Post Davis was born on April 4, 1850, in Branford, Connecticut. He was the son of Reverend George R. Davis, an Episcopal priest, and Sylvia Nichols Davis.
Davis lived a nomadic life with his family. His father moved the family around the United States throughout Davis’s youth.
At fifteen, Davis entered the theological program at Racine College, most likely in an attempt to follow in his father’s footsteps. However, the experience did not prove successful and Davis was eventually expelled from Racine.
While at Racine, Davis did learn that he liked journalism, so after his expulsion, he decided to try to find work in this field. He started his career in Nebraska, and immediately began commenting on political issues and would regularly play hoaxes, such as passing fiction for fact, on his readers. Davis’s work, however, was not appreciated by everyone, and he soon found himself running from enemies and working for short periods for a large number of periodicals.
After jumping around a few years from state to state, job to job, and even starting his own periodical, The Open Letter, which featured current events and literary news, Davis settled in Nevada. He enjoyed the unconventional atmosphere that he found in Nevada; it meshed well with his mischievous personality.
Once in the West, Davis quickly established himself as a bold and original wit and humorist and immediately found common ground with other Sagebrush writers—such as Mark Twain and Dan De Quille—who were fond of subtle but audacious hoaxes. In addition to his regular journalism, Davis wrote poetry, plays, and humorous sketches. In 1879, he joined the Carson City Morning Appeal, whose distinguished editor, Henry Rust Mighels, had recently died.
During his stint at the Morning Appeal, Davis helped to improve policies in Nevada, affecting agriculture, the silver industry, and the railroads. He also continued his endeavors for inciting effective social change through various political appointments. He served as Deputy Secretary of State in 1895. He was elected Nevada State Controller in 1898 and again in 1902. Five years later, he was appointed State Industrial and Publicity Commissioner.
At the same time, Davis was actively engaged in the theater and writing. In 1886, encouraged by Ambrose Bierce, he published Short Stories, a misnamed collection of his fiction, humor, and poetry. He continued to publish fiction and poetry on a wide range of subjects for the rest of his life. He attempted some novels but did not complete them. In 1905, Davis copyrighted The Prince of Timbuctoo, a comic opera comparable to Gilbert and Sullivan's. In 1913, he published his two-volume History of Nevada, a major historical achievement.
Because Davis did not collect his literary productions after 1886, he was largely forgotten until the twenty-first century, when his work was rediscovered and published.
Samuel Post Davis was best known for his journalistic and political work which brought attention to his home state of Nevada. Through his work both as a journalist and politician, he strove to expose corrupt practices by industries or the government, and his efforts resulted in many positive social changes. Most of his writing was published in periodicals, but in his lifetime he did publish two books, Short Stories (1886) and The History of Nevada (1913).
Quotes from others about the person
“Davis left a legacy of probity, courage, and effectiveness.”
“He was best known in his own time for his journalism and humor, but his fiction, poetry, and drama, as well as writing as a historian and memoirist, are likely to provide the enduring foundation for his evolving reputation.”
“Davis shrewdly assesses the delicate balance between faith and gullibility.”
Davis married Nellie Verrill Mighels, in 1880. Davis had four stepchildren and two daughters.
