Preston Davie

{{short description|American lawyer and military officer (1881–1967)}}

{{Infobox person

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Preston Davie

| honorific_suffix =

| title =

| term =

| predecessor =

| successor =

| image =

| caption =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1881|01|31}}

| birth_place = Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1967|05|21|1881|01|31}}

| death_place = Manhattan, New York, U.S.

| alma_mater = Harvard College
Harvard Law School

| occupation = Lawyer

| party =

| spouse = {{plainlist|

{{marriage|Emily H. Bedford
||1930|reason=div}}
{{marriage|Eugenie Mary Ladenburg
|1930}}

}}

| children =

| father = George M. Davie

| relatives = William Preston (grandfather)

| module = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes

| allegiance = {{Flag|United States}}

| branch = {{army|United States}}

| serviceyears =

| rank = Colonel

| battles = World War I

| awards = Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)

}}

Preston Davie (January 31, 1881 – May 21, 1967) was an American lawyer and colonel during World War I. Davie received a Distinguished Service Medal for his efforts.

Early life

Davie was born in Louisville, Kentucky on January 31, 1881, a son of George M. Davie. He was a grandson of Maj. Gen. William Preston of the Confederate Army who was a member of Congress and U.S. Minister to Spain, and a descendant of William Richardson Davie, the 10th Governor of North Carolina and U.S. Minister to France who was a General in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

Upon completing military service, he graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

Career

Davie amassed a large collection of historical documents over the course of his life, pertaining to the early settling of the United States. These include The Preston Davie Collection of Early Americana housed at University of North Carolina.

Personal life

From his first marriage to Emily H. Bedford, which ended in divorce, Davie was the father of a son and daughter,{{cite news |title=Millionaire Politician; Mrs. May Preston Davie |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1958/08/07/91400801.pdf |accessdate=11 December 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=7 August 1958}} E. T. Bedford Davie and Mrs. Emily Davie Kornfeld.

In 1930, he married his second wife Eugenie Mary "May" Ladenburg (1895–1975), who was a prominent activist in the Republican Party.Staff report (February 12, 1930). Mrs. Davie To Ask Divorce; Wife of Clubman Now is at Reno to File Suit, He Says. New York TimesStaff report (May 6, 1930). Eugenie Ladenburg To Wed On May 31; Her Marriage to Preston Davie to Take Place at Home of Joseph S. Stevens, Jericho, L.I. Plans Are Incomplete. Fiancee, a Member of Colony Club, Is Only Child of the Late Adolf Ladenburg, Banker. New York Times She assisted in the donation of many of his collections following his death.Blackstone-Shelburne (May 22, 1967). Preston Davie, Lawyer, 86, Dead; Colonel on General Staff in World War I Held D.S.M. Graduate of Harvard Law. New York Times

Davie died at his home, 71 East 71st Street, in Manhattan, on May 21, 1967.{{cite news |title=PRESTON DAVIE, LAWYER, 86, DEAD; Colonel on General Staff in World War I Held D.S.M. Graduate of Harvard Law |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1967/05/22/82159895.pdf |accessdate=11 December 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=22 May 1967}}

References

External links

[http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/d/Davie,Preston.html Preston Davie Papers] via University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
[http://www.vahistorical.org/cwg/d.htm Preston Davie Papers, 1750–1967. 633 items. Mss1D2856d. Microfilm reel C15.] via Virginia Historical Society
[http://www.rootsweb.com/~sclancas/records/bios/daviemausoleum.htm Mausoleum of William Richardson Davie]

Category:1881 births

Category:1967 deaths

Category:Harvard Law School alumni

Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)

Category:Lawyers from Louisville, Kentucky

Category:Military personnel from Louisville, Kentucky