HON. GEORGE L. DAVENPORT, judge of the Ninety-first District Court of Eastland County, has been one of the prominent lawyers of West Texas over twenty years, and both as a man and lawyer has attained the highest character. His abilities long ago gave him a most creditable position at the bar, and his qualifications have received recognition again and again in public posts of honor and responsibility.
   Judge Davenport was born in Coryell County, Texas, in 1873. His father, Captain O. F. Davenport, was a native of Georgia, and on coming to Texas in 1855 settled on the frontier of Coryell County. He had to defend his home and property against the aggressions of the Indians, and for years sustained an almost constant combat with the vicissitudes of the new country. A few years after coming to Texas he enlisted and served all the four years of the war between the states in the Confederate army. He was captain of his company. His principal business for many years was the cattle industry. Captain Davenport subsequently removed with his family to Eastland County, and after a brief residence at Eastland, located at Ranger, where he lived until his death, in 1903. He was one of the substantial citizens of the county, highly honored in all his relationships, and he represented the county in the thirteenth session of the Legislature.
   George L. Davenport was sixteen years of age when brought to Eastland County, and he grew to manhood and received most of his education in Texas schools and colleges. He studied law in the office of Scott & Brelsford at Eastland, was admitted to the bar in 1898, and did his first practice at Ranger. In November, 1899, he was elected county attorney, and on taking charge of that office moved to the county seat of Eastland. He was county attorney four years, and soon after retiring from office moved to Stamford in 1905, and was one of the able members of the bar of that city until 1918. In that year he returned to Ranger and resumed his law practice.
   In the meantime, in October, 1917, the great oil boom had struck Ranger and had rapidly transformed the town into a modern oil metropolis, one of the marvels of the period of oil discovery in Texas. Judge Davenport had an interesting experience as city recorder of Ranger during the boom times.
   As a consequence of the great increase of population, wealth and industry following the petroleum era the Legislature in the spring of 1920 created a new judicial district for Eastland County. To fill the new post of district judge until the next regular election Governor Hobby appointed Mr. Davenport on June 20, 1920. In the following July Judge Davenport's appointment to the bench was ratified in the democratic primaries, and he was chosen for the full term as district judge in November.
   Judge Davenport married Miss Martha Rawls, of Eastland County. They have one daughter, Mrs. Fay Lindquist, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

from History of Texas, Fort Worth and the Texas Northwest Edition. B. B. Paddock, editor.  Lewis Publishing Co.  Chicago, 1922. pp. 356-357.