Boston merchant and Whig.

Traded with London. Traveled extensively. Active on Boston town committees before and during the Revolutionary War. Suffered financial reverses during the war and was reduced to the status of a small shopkeeper. Appealed to Franklin, General Henry Knox, and other political leaders to help him secure a government job.

Son of Dr. William and Hannah (Winslow) Davis of Boston. Educated at Harvard (B.A. 1745). Married Mary Phillips (1748); four children.