New Haven has enjoyed a period of notable growth along business lines and among those who have been active in advancing its commercial expansion is Richard G. Davis, who is at the head of the firm of R. G. Davis & Sons, wholesale and retail dealers in flour, grain, feed, hay and other products. He was born in Guilford, Connecticut, July 27, 1850, and is a son of Daniel L. Davis, who was also born in Guilford, as was the grandfather, Joel Davis. The family is of Scotch origin and was planted on American soil by Benjamin Davis, who came from Scotland early in the seventeenth century and settled at Southould on Long Island. James Davis, the son of Benjamin Davis, was born there May 28, 1726, and in 1776 removed with his family to Guilford. He valiantly espoused the cause of the colonists in the struggle for independence and was wounded at Point Rock. He served as a private under Captain Sage, of Middletown, Connecticut, and after the close of the war was granted a pension of twenty-five dollars and twenty-five cents per annum. In early life he became a sailor and followed seafaring while living on Long Island. He afterward took up carpentering and became a house joiner, serving a regular apprenticeship to that trade during the period of the Revolutionary war. Subsequently he continued to work in that line until his demise. Daniel L. Davis, father of Richard G. Davis, took up the occupation of farming and also engaged in mechanical pursuits, building houses, working at the wagon maker's trade and doing other kinds of labor that called for mechanical skill and ingenuity. The same spirit of patriotism which prompted the enlistment of his ancestor in the Revolutionary war led him to join the Union army, with which he served as a drummer of Company E, First Connecticut Regiment. Illness, however, soon forced him to return home. He married Lucy Ann Griswold, a native of Guilford, Connecticut, and a daughter of Joel and, Polly (Bartlett) Griswold, both representatives of Connecticut families of English descent which were early established in the new world. Both Mr. and Mrs. Daniel L. Davis have passed away. The former, who was born July 1, 1820, died in 1896 at the age of seventy six years, while Mrs. Davis departed this life in 1904 at the age of eighty-four years. In the family were two children, Richard G. and Theodore L., both living in New Haven.
     Richard G. Davis had the usual experiences of the farm-bred boy, being reared on the old family homestead, the summer months being devoted to the work of the fields, while during the remainder of the year he pursued his education in the public and high schools of Guilford. When a youth of nineteen he severed home ties in order to start out in life independently. After serving an apprenticeship of three years at the carpenter's trade he began work as a journeyman and was thus employed for three years. On the expiration of that period he began contracting and building on his own account and continued in that field of labor for a year. On the 1st of December, 1876, however, he entered the commercial field as a retail dealer in flour and feed at No. 538 Grand avenue. While his capital was small and he had to establish the business on a limited scale, he has since developed his interests until he has now the largest retail feed business in the state. His present plant at Nos. 353-357 East street includes the office and warehouse, while the elevator and mill are at Nos. 552-556 Grand avenue. The latter building has a floor space eighty by one hundred and thirty-six and a half feet, while the other building is sixty-nine by one hundred and twenty-two feet. The company employs thirty people and their trade extends throughout New England, Mr. Davis has admitted his sons to a partnership and they are now actively associated with him in the conduct of the enterprise. The firm is miller's agents for the "Ben Hur" and "Jones Superlative" flours and they handle grain, feed, hay and straw in addition to flour. Mr. Davis is also a director of the Second National Bank of New Haven.
     It was on the 19th of December, 1876, at Fairhaven, Connecticut, that Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Minnie R. Hemingway, a daughter of Harvey F. Hemingway, and they have three children, Harvey Hemingway, Louie L. and Jessie L. The eldest son has been associated with his father in business for the past seventeen years.
     Mr. Davis is a stalwart republican and for three years he served as alderman from the fourteenth ward, being elected to that position when the ward was annexed to the city He has taken an active interest in politics and in civic affairs and his influence is always on the side of progress and improvement. He holds membership in the Sons of the American Revolution, his claim being established through his descent in the maternal line from Captain Samuel Lee. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar and a Scottish Rite Mason and his religious faith is that of the Congregational church. He belongs to the Pilgrim church of New Haven, of which for the past twenty years he has been deacon. His has been a useful and well spent life and while he started out in the business world without actual previous business experience, his well directed efforts have made him a prosperous and influential merchant.