years the brothers moved to the Cape Fear, together with the tide of settlers who came in with the Moores, about the year 1725. Jehu Davis married Jane Assup, an Irish lady, and among other children left Thomas, who married Mary Moore, daughter of George Moore by his first wife, Mary Ashe, a sister of Governor Samuel Ashe and General John Ashe, and George Moore was the son of "King Roger Moore" and grandson of Governor James Moore, of South Carolina. Their son, Thomas Frederick Davis, married Sarah Isabella Eagles, daughter of Joseph Eagles, Sr., and his wife, Sarah Read, sister of Colonel James Read, of Revolutionary fame.

Of this marriage was born, March 1, 1820, on his father's plantation at Porter's Neck, then New Hanover, now Pender county, George Davis, the subject of this sketch.

Mr. Davis, when eight years of age, was sent to Pittsboro, N. C., to attend the school of Mr. W. H. Hardin, and, upon his return to Wilmington, by invitation of Governor Dudley, he was prepared for college by Mr. afterwards Rev. Dr. Curtis, of Hillsboro, who was tutor in the Governor's family.

Mr. Davis entered the University of North Carolina at the age of fourteen years and graduated in 1838 at the age of eighteen years, receiving the highest honors of his class and was its valedictorian. After his graduation he began the study of law in the office and under the direction of his brother, Thomas F. Davis, who later became a minister of the Episcopal Church and Bishop of South Carolina.

At the age of twenty years he obtained his license to practice in the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, and one year thereafter in the Superior Court, and was admitted to the Bar of New Hanover county, where he lived ever afterwards, until his death in 1896, practicing his profession with great success and constantly growing reputation.

Mr. Justice Bradley, of the Supreme Court of the United States, in an address delivered before the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, thus portrays the ideal lawyer: "In order to be an accomplished lawyer, it is necessary besides having a knowledge of the law, to be an accomplished

man, graced with at least a general knowledge of history, of science, of philosophy, of the useful arts, of the modes of business, of everything in fact that concerns the well being and intercourse of men in society. He ought to be a man of large understanding; he must be a man of large acquirements and rich in general information, for he is the priest of the law, which is the bond and support of civil society and which extends to and regulates every relation of one man to another in that society and every transaction that takes place in it. Trained in such a profession and having these acquirements and two things more, which can never be omitted from the category of qualifications-incorruptible integrity and a high sense of honor-the true lawyer cannot but be the highest style of man, fit for any position of trust, public or private, one to whom the community can look up to as a leader and guide; fit to judge and to rule in the highest places of magistracy and government, an honor to himself, an honor to his kind."

I do not think that my sincere admiration of Mr. Davis leads me too far when I say that he fully realized this lofty ideal in his life, attainments and character. From his admission to the Bar to the end of his career, Mr. Davis was a most diligent student of the science of the law and the application of its sublime principles to the transactions of men and their relation to each other.

Endowed by nature with extraordinary mental powers, he acquired knowledge rapidly and soon rose to prominence in his profession. Steadily advancing, his mind expanded more and more, his learning increased and his judgment matured until he stood at the very head of his profession, the peer of those illustrious men who have shed a halo of glory around the judicial history of this State and country.

Says Judge Connor, in the address delivered by him at the unveiling of the statue of Mr. Davis in Wilmington on April 20th, 1911: "Mr. Davis came to the study and practice of the law 'resolved to master it, not to play in its shallows, but to sound its depths,' and right royally did he work up to the

standard and gather the fruits which are the reward of such labor."

Duly appreciating the force of that saying, "Rightly to be great is not to stir without great argument," he fully prepared himself upon all questions submitted to him, by a careful consideration of the facts, a profound investigation of the legal principles involved and an exhaustive examination and analysis of the authorities applicable to the subject. The domains of Common Law, Maritime Law, and the boundless expanse of equity were all explored by him, in discussing the many and varied questions demanding his consideration, and even the patent law he investigated and applied with success. He was a strong and cogent reasoner, logical in his array of law and facts, clear in his survey and persuasive with his impressive eloquence.

The measure of his extraordinary talents, of the professional labor he performed, the great skill he exhibited and his vast learning, is beyond the limited scope of this humble effort and the time allowed me, but it may be said that, in all his works, Mr. Davis manifested the powers of a great, profound and accomplished lawyer, and closed his career with a reputation which is an enduring monument to him and the profession he so greatly adorned.

But Mr. Davis was not merely learned in the law. He was a cultured scholar, deeply read in the science of government and constitutional and general history, especially the history of his own State, of which he knew more than any of her sons, and to which he contributed much that is valuable, rescued from oblivion and brought to light by his own researches.

The great authors of the world and of all times were his constant companions, and from those "Men of might, those grand in soul," he gathered the food for his intellectual life, which he freely dispensed for the instruction and enjoyment of others.

Gifted with a pure and elegant rhetoric, he was a graceful and polished writer, an eloquent orator, moved by noblest impulses, inspired by loftiest sentiments. And in the many