Biography

Eliza Davis is the wife of John Davis, who was elected governor of Massachusetts four times between 1833 and 1841 (non-consecutively). The couple had five sons. Eliza Davis is historically well known for a long letter she sent to her husband in 1840 regarding political matters that contradicted the "'woman’s sphere' paradigm, [as] women of the antebellum era were not supposed to voice partisan allegiances" (http://pastispresent.org/2012/good-sources/nca-public-address-division-a-conversation-with-the-zborays/). It is possible that FMS was referencing this letter in a letter she sent to LMW in 1841 (18410620FMS_LMW).

Further information on the Davis-Bancroft family tree can be found in the book "Ancestry of John Davis and Eliza Bancroft" by Horace Davis