Davis, Matthew Smart, 1830-1906

Matthew Smart Davis was born in Warren County, N.C., in 1830. He was graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1855 and married Sarah Louis Hill in 1856. He was principal of the Louisburg Male Academy, 1856-1881, and, for a number of years prior to 1880, he was also Franklin County superintendent to schools. From 1880 to 1896, he was chiefly involved in farming and serving as Franklin County treasurer. In 1896, he reorganized the Louisburg Female Academy (later Louisburg College) and served as its president until his death in 1906.

President of Louisburg College, Louisburg, N.C.

Matthew Smart Davis, son of Edward and Rebecca Pitchford Davis, was born near Inez in Warren County, N.C., on 3 October 1830. In June 1856, he married Sarah Louisa Hill, with whom he had nine children, six of whom survived to adulthood: Edward Hill, lawyer and Methodist minister; Florence Madree, who married Eugene Allen; Mary Madeline, who married Ivey Allen and was president of Louisburg College, 1906-1918; Lula Pauline, who married Zollicoffer Egerton; Charles Weldon, who died at the age of 21; Mabel Irwin, Louisburg College teacher and librarian at the Warren County Public Library; and Marion Stuart, architect, of Louisburg.

Matthew Smart Davis received his A.B. degree from the University of North Carolina in 1855 and his A.M. in the early 1860s. In 1856, he began teaching at the Louisburg Male Academy, where he soon became principal. Davis held this position for 25 years. For several years prior to 1880, he served as Franklin County superintendent of schools. In 1880, he left teaching for farming at the Egerton plantation called Little Egypt and at Green Hill, Sarah Louisa Hill's family's plantation, southwest of Louisburg. During this time, he also served three terms as Franklin County treasurer. In 1896, he became president of Louisburg College, which his daughters had attended when it was Louisburg Female Academy. Davis died in office in 1906.