Theodore Fulton Davidson was born in Waynesville (Haywood County), North Carolina, on March 30, 1845. Davidson was a Confederate veteran, politician, and lawyer who held several politically prominent positions, including director of the Western North Carolina Insane Asylum (appointed 1881), judge of the Buncombe County criminal court (1882-1884), attorney general of the state (elected 1884 and 1888), and mayor of Asheville (elected 1895). He died in Asheville on June 11, 1931.