Thomas Whitmell Davis was born on April 7, 1840, in Franklin County, North Carolina. He grew up and attended school in Franklin County, and he graduated from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill in 1860.

 

He enlisted in the Confederate army, and he mustered in as a sergeant in the 15^th North Carolina Infantry on May 24, 1861. In September 1861, he was promoted to 2^nd lieutenant in Company C of the 8^th North Carolina Infantry. Confederates deployed the regiment to Roanoke Island, and Union forces captured it on February 8, 1862. He received a parole on February 21, and he was probably exchanged in August 1862. He was promoted to 1^st lieutenant in the spring of 1863.

 

He took part in the defense of Charleston, South Carolina, and he fell ill sometime that year. By August 1863, he was “emaciated and debilitated from chronic disease of the kidneys.” He resigned on November 24, 1863.

 

He returned to North Carolina after leaving the army, and he married Penelope Jones on December 21, 1863. They had twelve children, including: Mary, born around 1865; Archibald, born around 1866; Cornelia, born around 1868; Kimbrough, born around 1870; Patricia, born around 1872; Thomas, born around 1876; Penelope, born around 1878; John, born around 1879; Maria, born around 1883; and Lula, born around 1885. They lived in Louisburg, North Carolina, and he worked as a farmer.

 

The family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, in the early 1900s. His wife died in 1919, and by 1920, he was living with his daughter Penelope in Raleigh. He died there of cancer on December 24, 1927.

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