Theodore Edward Davis
1929 - 2002
Theodore Davis, son of Theodore Keene Davis and Mary Stuart Jardine, was born in Brooklyn, New York. He developed a love of classical music and opera early in life and attended the Metropolitan Opera as a young teenager as often as he was able. He was the great-grandson of William H. Davis and grandson of Henry L. Davis, two organ builders active in New York between 1845 and 1915. Ted researched Davis Organs and wrote several articles on his research.
Davis graduated from the Centre College in Kentucky in 1952, majoring in economics and minoring on psychology and history. He then attended Princeton Seminary, where he met his wife, Harriette Roddey Edwards (1930 – 2008). They were married in 1956. After graduating in 1958, Davis became a Presbyterian minister. After five years, he left the ministry and went to graduate school at the University of Virginia. He received a master’s degree in history in 1964 and came to Oxford College where he served as a professor of history, a position he held until 1993. Davis also served as the Director of Student Services at Oxford from 1969 to 1976. He then developed a course in local history, teaching students to conduct field research and collect data in Newton County.
While a history professor at Oxford College, Davis compiled The Complete 1850 Federal Census of Newton County, Georgia, published by the Oxford Shrine Society in 1978. He later compiled The United States 1870 Census: Freedmen in Newton County, Georgia, which was published by the college in 1988.
He also developed a course called, “Gender and History” in the mid-1980s, which examined history from a female perspective and incorporated women in within a historical context. Davis retired in 1993.
Davis graduated from the Centre College in Kentucky in 1952, majoring in economics and minoring on psychology and history. He then attended Princeton Seminary, where he met his wife, Harriette Roddey Edwards (1930 – 2008). They were married in 1956. After graduating in 1958, Davis became a Presbyterian minister. After five years, he left the ministry and went to graduate school at the University of Virginia. He received a master’s degree in history in 1964 and came to Oxford College where he served as a professor of history, a position he held until 1993. Davis also served as the Director of Student Services at Oxford from 1969 to 1976. He then developed a course in local history, teaching students to conduct field research and collect data in Newton County.
While a history professor at Oxford College, Davis compiled The Complete 1850 Federal Census of Newton County, Georgia, published by the Oxford Shrine Society in 1978. He later compiled The United States 1870 Census: Freedmen in Newton County, Georgia, which was published by the college in 1988.
He also developed a course called, “Gender and History” in the mid-1980s, which examined history from a female perspective and incorporated women in within a historical context. Davis retired in 1993.