Biography extracted from History of Sauk County, Wisconsin Chicago: Western Historical Company, published 1880.

Baraboo:

Moses Mitchell Davis, was born in Sharon, Windsor Co., Vt., August 27, 1820; his father was Moses Davis, a native of Methuen, Mass; his mother was Polly Chandler Davis, a native of Pomfret, Conn; he was educated in the common schools, and at Norwich University, which institution he entered in the spring of 1837; while acquiring his education, he was compelled for want of funds to teach school during the winter months, and labor on a farm in the summer, attending to his studies in spring and autumn. He commenced the study of medicine and surgery with Dr. D. C. Joslyn, of Waitsfield, Vt., in 1843; the same year he attended medical lectures at Dartmouth, the New Hampshire Medical College; subsequently he attended two courses of medical lectures at the Vermont Medical College, at Woodstock, from which college he graduated in June, 1846; he at once entered upon the practice of his profession at Norwich, Vt., in 1854, he removed to Portage City, Wis., where he was engaged in the practice of his profession most of the time, until early in 1863, he removed to Appleton, Wis., to take charge of the lands donated by Congress, to the State, to improve the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers and to connect the same by a canal. This change of residence was made necessary by his appointment as Trustee of the property; after the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers improvement, property was sold under a decree of foreclosure. He removed to Chicago, where he resided until a short time subsequent to the great fire of 1871, when he removed to Baraboo, where he has since been engaged in his profession. While a resident of Vermont, he was a member of the Connecticut River Medical Society; he is a member of the Wisconsin State Medical Society and a member of the American Medical Association, and also a member of the American Public Health Association. He has always been a decided Republican; in 1852, he was a delegate from Vermont to the National Convention held at Pittsburgh, Penn., which nominated the late Hon. John P. Hale, of New Hampshire, for President in 1856; he was a delegate from Wisconsin to the National Convention which nominated Gen. Fremont for President; in November, 1855, he was elected to the Assembly from the north half of Columbia Co.; in November 1856 he was elected to the State Senate for two years, and he was re-elected to the same place in November, 1858; in 1860 he was elected President pro tem of the Senate, in 1858, in joint convention of the Legislature, he was elected Regent of the State University for six years and in 1864, he was re-elected; on the re-organization of the University he declined the appointment of Regent; from 1863 to 1870, he was Trustee of Lawrence University; while a Regent of the State University, he was mainly instrumental in the passage of a resolution in favor of the co-education of the sexes; in 1862, he was appointed Trustee of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers improvement property, his associates being Hon. Charles Butler and Judge Alexander Spaulding of New York; in 1862 he was appointed Draft Commissioner of Columbia Co; in June 1861, he was commissioned to take charge of the Indians residing in the vicinity of Green Bay; after more than five years' service, he resigned, as he did not choose to hold office under President Andrew Johnson. While a member of the Legislature, the officers of the Milwaukee and Lacrosse Railway Company used nearly a million of dollars of company bonds to secure the passage of bill giving that company the lands granted by Congress to aid in the construction of a railroad from Columbus or Madison, Wis., to Portage and thence northwesterly to the River or Lake St. Croix; this bill did not secure the construction of the road, although it donated the lands; Dr. Davis opposed the bill, which passed and was vetoed by the Governor, a new bill was prepared, giving the lands to the same company and securing the construction of the road; in 1858 a joint committee of the Legislature investigated the transactions of the company in using its bonds to control the action of the members of the Legislature; it was proved that most of the members took bonds, and a very few refused them; Dr. Davis was member among the few; the officials of the company visited him with their displeasure; they bought up two of the three Republican papers in the county and tired to defeat him for the Senate; without notice, or offer of compensation, they entered upon and took possession of his lots and lands in Portage; the result was a law-suit; the Doctor got an injunction against the occupancy of his property until it was paid for; the company refused to obey the order of the court; after two days notice, the Doctor took up the track on a part of his land; the company sent a hundred men to forcibly take possession and relay the track; the Sheriff arrested about ninety of the railroad men and lodged them in jail; the engines and cars that were run on to the Doctors land were dumped in the sand, and then the company paid the damages which had been proved in court, and thus this bit of railroad war ended. On the 3rd of December, 1846, he married Miss Eunice E. Dana, of Warren, Vt.; five children have been born in this family - three sons and two daughters; one son died in infancy; the eldest daughter is married and settled in Chicago, Ill; the sons are married and engaged in railway service in Minnesota.

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