Edwin Adams Davis facts for kids

Edwin Adams Davis (born May 10, 1904 – died April 24, 1994) was an American historian. He was famous for his studies about Louisiana, his adopted home state. He taught for many years at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge. He was especially known for two history textbooks: Louisiana: A Narrative History and Louisiana: The Pelican State. The second book was for middle school students and he wrote it with Joe Gray Taylor.

Early Life and Education

Edwin Adams Davis was born in Missouri. His father was Frank Byrd Davis, and his mother was Willie Belle Greever. Sadly, his mother passed away when he was only eight or nine years old.

Davis married La Verna Mae Rowe. They had one son, named Edwin Adams Davis Jr.

He went to the former Kansas State Teachers College, which is now Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas. He earned his advanced degrees from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, and from LSU.

Building Louisiana's Archives

Besides teaching at LSU, Edwin Davis is often called the "father of the Louisiana state archives." Before 1936, Louisiana did not have a proper place to keep its important historical records. This was surprising because Louisiana had many old documents from its time as a French and Spanish colony.

Davis convinced the leaders at LSU to start a system for saving these state records. In 1936, the state legislature agreed. They made the LSU archives the official place to store public government records. LSU continued this important role for twenty years.

In 1940, under Governor Sam Houston Jones, a new law was passed. It said that almost all state records were public property. This meant people could look at most of these files.

In 1954, Davis took a break from teaching at LSU. He led the effort to create a permanent state archives. He had gained experience for this job by working on a Historic Records Survey during the New Deal era. From 1954 to 1956, Davis was the main expert for this survey.

The State Archives and Records Act of 1956 made the rules even stronger. It created the State Archives and Records Service as its own separate agency.

When Governor Earl Kemp Long returned to office in 1956, he tried to stop funding for the archives. But Davis and his colleague, John C. L. Andreassen, worked hard. They managed to get emergency money from the Louisiana Board of Liquidation.

Finding enough space for all the records was also a big challenge. In the next legislative session, the archives finally received regular funding. With this money, the archives moved to a permanent building. It was Peabody Hall on the LSU campus, right next to the Louisiana State Capitol.

Leading the Louisiana Historical Association

Edwin Davis was also the first president of the newly organized Louisiana Historical Association (LHA). On March 29, 1958, a meeting was held at Louisiana College in Pineville. Thirty-five new members joined the association.

Later, on June 6, 1958, the LHA's rules were updated at Memorial Hall on the LSU campus. At this meeting, Davis was officially named the LHA president. Kenneth Trist Urquhart became the vice-president, and John C. L. Andreassen was chosen as the secretary-treasurer.

Key Books and Writings

Besides his textbooks, Davis wrote other important books. One was Fallen Guidon: The Saga of Confederate General Jo Shelby's March to Mexico. This book was first published in 1962 and again in 1995.

The book tells the story of some Confederate soldiers after the Battle of Appomattox Court House in April 1865. A group led by General Joseph O. Shelby from Missouri decided to go to Mexico. They wanted to start a new life there, rather than surrender to the Union Army. Shelby hoped to join forces with Benito Juárez in Mexico. Davis was a descendant of one of Shelby's soldiers.

Other works by Edwin Davis include:

• The Rivers and Bayous of Louisiana
• The Barber of Natchez with William Ransom Hogan, LSU Press, 1973. This book tells the story of William Johnson. He was a formerly enslaved person who became free and a successful businessman in Natchez, Mississippi, before 1850.
• "Diary of William Newton Mercer" of Henry Miller Shreve Expedition, Journal of Southern History, with John C. L. Andreassen (1936).
• Of the Night Wind's Telling: Legends from the Valley of Mexico, a book about folklore (1946).