Early Years
On June 5, 1779, Clarkson and Davis secured most of the lucrative state government printing work that had provided colonial printers with financial security. They were unable, however, to finance the move to Richmond after the capital was relocated there from Williamsburg in 1780 and unsuccessfully petitioned the General Assembly for permission to retain the public printing contract. Without the revenue of the public work and without the advertising that the contract afforded their Virginia Gazette, their business rapidly waned. They ceased publishing the newspaper at the end of 1780 and dissolved the partnership, with Davis maintaining their old office as a small job–printing operation. In 1782 he purchased property in Williamsburg. In part with revenue earned printing for the French army after the British surrender at Yorktown (1781), Davis was able to move his printing office to Richmond by the mid-1780s.
In Richmond
By 1788 Davis had become postmaster of Richmond. On May 14, 1791, the governor appointed him to succeed the recently deceased public printer, and early in October of that year Davis won $10,000 in the New Haven Wharf Lottery. A believer in banks (he had signed a petition earlier that year asking the federal government to establish in Richmond a branch of the Bank of the United States), he invested his winnings in the new Bank of Virginia. Davis acquired property in Richmond and Henrico County between 1792 and 1813 and sold his Williamsburg holdings in 1804. The former journeyman tradesman had become a major figure in both the public and business life of the capital.
Prominence came at a price. As Virginia grew in the 1790s, so too did the volume of work for the public printer and the scale of Davis's compensation, but the situation created a perception that his increasing wealth came at public expense. Even as the state's population increased and the number of counties grew, Davis continued to print the same number of sets of legislative journals and session laws each year. Western members of the General Assembly regularly complained about the scarcity of public documents in their districts. In 1798 the majority in the assembly replaced Davis as the public printer with Meriwether Jones, a supporter of Thomas Jefferson and a member of the Council of State.
Later Years
Time Line
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1752 or 1753 - Augustine Davis is born in Yorktown.
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February 28, 1778 - Augustine Davis executes a marriage bond in York County and on this date or soon after marries Martha Davenport. They will have four sons and three daughters.
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April 1779 - After the death of the printer John Purdie, Augustine Davis partners with Purdie's nephew, John Clarkson, publishing the Virginia Gazette in Williamsburg.
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June 5, 1779 - John Clarkson and Augustine Davis secure most of the government's lucrative printing work.
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1780 - When the Virginia capital is moved from Williamsburg to Richmond, the printers John Clarkson and Augustine Davis are not able to finance a move. They lose government contracts and cease publishing the Virginia Gazette.
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1782 - Augustine Davis purchases property in Williamsburg.
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Mid-1780s - Augustine Davis moves his printing office from Williamsburg to Richmond.
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1786 - Augustine Davis establishes the Virginia Independent Chronicle newspaper in Richmond.
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Winter 1787–1788 - Augustine Davis publishes essays from The Federalist in his Richmond newspaper, the Virginia Independent Chronicle.
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1788 - By this year Augustine Davis has become postmaster of Richmond.
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May 1789 - Augustine Davis changes his Richmond newspaper's name to the Virginia Independent Chronicle and General Advertiser.
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August 1790 - Augustine Davis changes his Richmond newspaper's name to the Virginia Gazette, and General Advertiser.
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May 14, 1791 - The governor appoints Augustine Davis to succeed the recently deceased public printer.
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October 1791 - Augustine Davis wins $10,000 in the New Haven Wharf Lottery. He invests his winnings in the new Bank of Virginia.
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1792–1813 - Augustine Davis acquires property in Richmond and Henrico County.
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1798 - The General Assembly replaces Augustine Davis with Meriwether Jones as public printer. Davis is a Federalist, Jones a supporter of Thomas Jefferson.
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February 1802 - Augustine Davis loses his position as Richmond's postmaster.
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Late 1802 - Augustine Davis engages John Wood as editor of the Virginia Gazette, and General Advertiser.
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1804 - Augustine Davis sells his property in Williamsburg.
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1805 - Augustine Davis replaces John Wood with Charles Prentiss as editor of the Virginia Gazette, and General Advertiser. Prentiss will leave after less than a year.
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December 1809 - Augustine Davis renames his newspaper the Virginia Patriot, with Samuel Livermore as editor.
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April 1810 - By this date Samuel Livermore has left his post as editor of the Virginia Patriot.
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May 1816 - For a second time, Charles Prentiss becomes editor of the Augustine Davis–owned Richmond newspaper, this time called the Virginia Patriot, and Richmond Daily Mercantile Advertiser.
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June 1817 - Charles Prentiss leaves his position as editor of the Virginia Patriot, and Richmond Daily Mercantile Advertiser.
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Early 1821 - Augustine Davis sells his Richmond printing office and newspaper.
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November 2, 1825 - Augustine Davis dies, probably at Westham, his home in Henrico County. He is buried in Shockoe Cemetery, in Richmond.
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November 11, 1825 - Martha Davenport Davis, widow of Augustine Davis, dies. She is buried with her husband in Shockoe Cemetery, in Richmond.
References
Further Reading
External Links
Cite This Entry
- APA Citation:
Rawson, D., & the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Augustine Davis (ca. 1752 or 1753–1825). (2019, January 10). In Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Davis_Augustine_c_1752_or_1753-1825.
- MLA Citation:
Rawson, David and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "Augustine Davis (ca. 1752 or 1753–1825)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, 10 Jan. 2019. Web. READ_DATE.
First published: April 29, 2014 | Last modified: January 10, 2019
Contributed by David Rawson and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. David Rawson is an adjunct professor of history at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.