His father participated in the Whiskey Rebellion and was the president of the Board of Trustees of the Brookeville Academy, a position that Allen would take later at the age of 24.
Davis took over the estate farm Greenwood at 16 and would write educational books on agriculture.
This in turn led to him becoming the director and trustee of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal during the final 50 miles of construction.
In 1850 he would represent at the state constitutional convention, helping form the Maryland Agricultural College.
His efforts also brought about one of the countries earliest prohibition laws in the State of Maryland.