James H. Davidson

James Henry Davidson (June 18, 1858 - August 6, 1918) was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin.

Born in Colchester, New York, Davidson attended the public schools and Walton (New York) Academy. He taught school in Delaware and Sullivan Counties, New York. He graduated from the Albany Law School in 1884 and was admitted to the bar the same year. He moved to Green Lake County, Wisconsin, and commenced practice in Princeton in 1887. He also taught school.

Davidson was elected district attorney of Green Lake County in 1888. He served as chairman of the Republican congressional committee for the sixth district of Wisconsin in 1890. He moved to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, January 1, 1892, and continued the practice of law. He was appointed city attorney in May 1895 for two years.

Davidson was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fifth and to the seven succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1897-March 3, 1913). He served as chairman of the Committee on Railways and Canals (Fifty-sixth through Sixty-first Congresses). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1912 to the Sixty-third Congress and for election in 1914 to the Sixty-fourth Congress. He resumed the practice of his profession.

Davidson was elected to the Sixty-fifth Congress and served from March 4, 1917, until his death in Washington, D.C., August 6, 1918. He died of heart disease and was interred in Riverside Cemetery, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Sources

• James H. Davidson at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Obituary - New York Times