Jeff Davis County was created by act of the legislature on Aug. 18, 1905, and was named for Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy. Born in Kentucky, Davis later moved to Mississippi. He was educated at Transylvania U. and West Point, served seven years in the army partly under Gen. Zachary Taylor, was elected to Congress in 1845, again fought under Taylor at Monterey, was appointed to the Senate in 1847, and was Secretary of War under Pierce in 1852. Elected President of the Confederacy in Sept. 1861, he was captured by the Union Army at Irwinville, Ga. on May 10, 1865. He died in New Orleans on Dec. 6, 1889.