Davies was born on January 12, 1899, in Magnolia, Arkansas.

Davies joined the Ku Klux Klan in Louisiana and attended a meeting while he was a student at Vanderbilt; however, he later claimed he was disillusioned and stopped going.

[1][3] Davies was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 19, 1939, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee vacated by Judge John J. Gore.

He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 12, 1939, and received his commission the same day.

[3] His service terminated on January 7, 1957, due to his death of a heart attack in Nashville.