Historian
Centurion, 1912–1920
Born 30 December 1833 in Worcester, Massachusetts
Died 29 March 1920 in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Buried Mount Auburn Cemetery
, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Proposed by Worthington C. Ford and Alexander Dana Noyes
Elected 3 February 1912 at age seventy-eight
Archivist’s Note: Brother of John C. Bancroft Davis
Century Memorial
A life curiously like that of Andrews [whose memorial directly precedes this one] in the separation between its earlier and later activities was that of Andrew McFarland Davis; who, after studying for the bar and engaging in manufacture until well on in years, withdrew from business and devoted his time to antiquarian pursuits. The complete success of the experiment in the case of these two men, one of whom lived to be eighty-three [sic: Andrews lived to eighty-two] and the other eighty-seven [sic: Davis lived to eighty-six], is suggestive as to the possibilities for other men retiring from active life. Mr. Davis was not only a busy associate in half a dozen historical societies but he applied himself to personal investigation of historical episodes, often difficult and obscure. His published discussion of Currency and Banking in the Province of Massachusetts, The Confiscation of John Chandler’s Estate, Colonial Currency Reprints, and Certain Old Chinese Paper Money, have a place of authority in their particular field of study.
Alexander Dana Noyes
1921 Century Association Yearbook
