Born on January 25, 1761, in Plymouth, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America, Davis graduated from Harvard University in 1781 and read law in 1786.

He was a delegate to the Massachusetts convention to ratify the United States Constitution in 1788.

[1] Davis was nominated by President John Adams on February 18, 1801, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated by Judge John Lowell.

He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 20, 1801, and received his commission the same day.

[1] Davis was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1792,[3] Davis was also elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1813.