I whanau a Davis i Fairview, Kentucky, ki tetahi kaiahuwhenua whai hua, ko ia te mea iti rawa o nga tamariki tekau. I tipu ake ia i Wilkinson County, Mississippi, a i noho ano hoki i Louisiana. Ko tana tuakana ko Joseph Emory Davis i whakawhiwhia ki a Davis ki te United States Military Academy. I muri i tana tohu, i mahi a Jefferson Davis i nga tau e ono hei kaiawhina i roto i te United States Army. I whawhai ia i te Pakanga o Mexico-American (1846-1848), hei koronel o te reimana o nga kaiwhaiwhai. I mua i te Pakanga o Amerika, i whakahaerehia e ia tetahi tipu miro nui i Mississippi, i hoatu e tona tuakana a Joseph ki a ia, a he maha atu i te 113 nga pononga. Ahakoa i tohe a Davis ki te wehenga i te 1858, i whakapono ia he tika kore e taea te wehe i te Uniana.
e ono tau