G. Cullom Davis

G. Cullom Davis, 87, died on Friday, September 9, 2022, in Springfield, IL. He was born on May 2, 1935, in Aurora, IL, to George and Elizabeth (Scripps) Davis. He grew up in Peoria, IL, completed high school at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, and graduated in 1957 with a degree in history from Princeton University where he was a member of the Tiger Inn. He taught history at the Punahou School in Hawaii before returning to study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received his Ph.D. in American History in 1968.

Cullom joined the History Department at Indiana University in Bloomington and taught for 5 years before being recruited in 1969 to be among the founding faculty of Sangamon State University (“SSU”; now part of the U of I system as University of Illinois Springfield or “UIS”). Cullom was a creative, enthusiastic educator devoted to student learning and to growing SSU and its mission as a multidisciplinary public affairs institution. He was an ardent supporter of the Arts and Prairie Stars soccer, likely stemming from all those mornings watching his sons play on the campus fields. He held several administrative leadership roles during his 39 years of service at SSU/UIS.

Cullom brought the discipline of Oral History to the university and created and led its Oral History Office. He authored several seminal oral history texts, including “Oral History: From Tape to Type” in 1977. Cullom also designed and promoted the Public History concentration of the master’s degree in history. In service to his profession, Cullom served on boards and presided over many state and national professional organizations and was presented countless awards for his advocacy, innovation, and expertise in history.

In 1981, Cullom became the Director of the Lincoln Legal Papers where he served until his retirement in 2008. This project, focused on discovering, interpreting, indexing, and digitizing all known legal works of Abraham Lincoln, became the most comprehensive chronicling of Lincoln’s legal career. The Lincoln Legal project was ambitious and novel for its time and remains in use globally, providing unique insight into the legal mind of Abraham Lincoln.

Cullom’s many years in Springfield were marked by civic interests including support of Planned Parenthood, desegregation of the Springfield Public Schools, expanding the Lincoln Memorial Gardens, educating the public on the Springfield Race Riot of 1908, and advisory work in the creation of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. He also served on the board of directors of Springfield Marine Bank until its purchase by Banc One and he was a Trustee of the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund. Cullom also was active in politics, serving as an Illinois Alternate Delegate in the 1972 Democratic Party Presidential Convention in Miami.

Cullom Davis was preceded in death by his parents, and sister, Mary Scripps Swayngim.

He is survived by his wife, Ann (Chapman) Davis of Springfield, who he married on May 27, 1976; children, Cathy Davis Lunday of Mount Dora, FL, Lesa Davis of Chicago, Cully Davis of Woodside, CA, and John Giordano and Mark Giordano, both of Springfield; along with eight grandchildren.

A Memorial Service celebrating Cullom’s life will be held at Lincoln Memorial Gardens at a later date.

Memorial contributions in his honor to can be made to Lincoln Memorial Gardens, 2301 E. Lake Shore Drive, Springfield, IL 62712.

The family is being served by Butler Funeral Homes – Springfield, 900 S. Sixth St., Springfield.