James Henry Davidson (June 18, 1858 - August 6, 1918), teacher, lawyer, politician, Congressman, was born in Colchester, Delaware County, New York, son of James and Ann (Johnson) Davidson. After being educated in the public schools of Delaware County and Walton (N.Y.) Academy, he taught elementary school for several years, including 1882-83 in Wisconsin, then returned to New York to study law, graduating as president of his class from Albany Law School in 1884. He was admitted to the bar in New York, but moved to Green Lake County, Wisconsin, where he worked for Chittenden and Morse, grain dealers, until he set up his own law office in Princeton in 1887. He was elected District Attorney for the county in 1888 and on October 8, 1889, married Niva T. Wilde, daughter of Ferdin and Wilde, druggist of Ripon.
Davidson served as chairman of the Republican congressional committee for the Sixth District of Wisconsin from 1890-1896. On January 1, 1892, he moved to Oshkosh and joined the law firm of Thompson and Harshaw for three years, then went into partnership in 1895 with his brother-in-law, R. W. Wilde. That same year he was appointed city attorney for Oshkosh and in 1896 was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from the Sixth District of Wisconsin. Re-elected for seven succeeding terms, he became chairman of the committee on railroads and canals, and served on the committee on rivers and harbors. Defeated in 1912 and again in 1914, he resumed his law practice, but in 1916 he was elected and served in the 65th Congress on the committee for military affairs from 1917 until his death at the age of sixty on August 6, 1918. His three children were James Ferdinand, Kenneth Wilde, and a daughter, Avery. Davidson was a member of the Elks, Knights Templar, Masons, and the Winnebago Bar Association.
