Mr. Davis was the son of William and Rebecca Morton Davis, and was born in Plymouth March 3, 1785. He graduated at Harvard in 1804, and after studying law with Judge Joshua Thomas, was admitted to the bar in Plymouth. He was appointed early in his career Judge Advocate, with the rank of Major, which title he bore through life. In 1821 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Sessions, and served until the court was abolished in 1828. He was at various times representative and senator, and was a member of the executive council from 1841 to 1843. He was a director of the Plymouth Bank from 1826 to 1839, and from 1840 to 1848, and President from 1840 until his death. He was a man of commanding presence, an impressive speaker, and was selected on several public occasions to act as presiding officer. The first time I saw him in the President’s chair was at a whig county celebration on the Fourth of July, 1840, when the chief address of the day was made by Robert C. Winthrop. His speech and his toasts calling up the speakers were unusually happy. Martin Van Buren, who had succeeded Andrew Jackson as President, and was a candidate for re-election, had many times boasted of following in the footsteps of his illustrious predecessor, and Mr. Davis gave as one of the sentiments, “Martin Van Buren, he has followed so fast in the footsteps of his illustrious predecessor, that he has accomplished his journey in half the time.” Mr. Davis married, July 8, 1817, Harriet Lazell, daughter of Judge Nahum Mitchell of East Bridgewater, and his children were William, born May 12, 1818, who married December 2, 1849, Helen, daughter of John Russell; Abby Mitchell, born November 9, 1821, who married in 1841 Robert B. Hall, and Elizabeth Bliss, born November 8, 1824, who married Henry G. Andrews. Mr. Davis died at the United States Hotel in Boston, July 29, 1848. In 1849, William Davis, previous to his marriage, cut off the westerly end of the house in question, and it was moved to a lot on Court street, opposite the foot of Cushman street, where it now stands the property of Charles B. Bartlett. I have never known a more complete mutilation of a house than that caused by the alteration to which I have referred.