Former David Davis site manager to write book on historic mansion

Known as Clover Lawn, the mansion was home to Supreme Court Justice David Davis, the friend, mentor and campaign manager of Abraham Lincoln. The mansion was also the cherished residence of Davis’ wife, Sarah, who spent her time cultivating her historic garden and supporting several philanthropic causes.

Lincoln appointed Judge Davis to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1862, and he served there until becoming a U.S. Senator from 1877 to 1883.

Young’s book, due out by Christmas 2021, will include a detailed history of the mansion, an account of its restoration, and hundreds of high-quality, rarely seen photographs.

“We know that it became a State of Illinois Historic Site in 1960 and began operating a museum around 1962, so there is that story that some of us are familiar with, but I don’t think the public is all that familiar with,” Young said. “This is going to talk about the building of the mansion and also looking forward in time, and that has enabled us to find a lot of new evidence at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield. We have had a lot of help from mansion volunteers as well as students from Illinois Wesleyan University and Illinois State University who have been interns at the mansion doing research.”

Marcia Young, a volunteer at the David Davis Mansion, pictured here in December 2016, said Victorian Christmas traditions included hanging custom candies on trees, including chocolate bugs that were the result of Victorian interest in nature.

PANTAGRAPH FILE PHOTO

Each copy will be bound and embossed and feature an image of the mansion on the cover.

The public is invited to support this project. All donation amounts will be tax-deductible. Donations of $5,000 or more will be mentioned as contributors in the book and various promotional materials, and will receive at least one limited-edition copy of the “The David Davis Mansion: 150 Years at Clover Lawn,” Huffman said.