Minnie Skinner Davis was born in Baltimore, March 25, 1835.
Her parents, Rev. Samuel A. and Mary Partridge Davis, were natives of Vermont, but moved to Baltimore soon after their marriage.
In that city, Rev. Davis was one of the earlier Universalist ministers.

When about six years of age, Davis was thrown from a carriage and one of the wheels passed across her back.
The shock of that accident was afterwards assumed to be the cause of frequent illness and great delicacy of health.
These circumstances kept the child by the mother's side, and the close companionship had a marked influence upon her future life.
When Davis was about seven years old, the family removed to the State of Massachusetts, where the father became successively pastor of the parishes in Hingham, Quincy, and Sterling.
About this time, there was a revival in the community, and Davis began to realize that other denominations preached very different doctrines than those taught by her father.
In her girlhood, Davis became adept in storytelling.
Her younger sisters found it to be their favorite pastime hearing Davis "tell stories."
One of these, Rosalie, which was published in 1859, was written by an amanuensis when Davis was too feeble to hold a pen, and in later years, it gave solace to Davis to review the story of her childhood.

Davis' school days were often interrupted by weeks of illness or suffering from weak eyes, but she was able to catch up with her studies.
The mother was her constant teacher; it was from her she learned an abhorrence of slavery and intemperance.
But the mother died in 1848, when Davis, the eldest, was only 13 years old, and the youngest, Florence, an infant of three months.
At the age of 17, Davis entered the Green Mountain Institute, Woodstock, Vermont.
From the first, she excelled as a scholar and a writer, and frequently wrote short poems.
Minnie Skinner Davis was born in Baltimore, March 25, 1835. Her parents, Rev. Samuel A. and Mary Partridge Davis, were natives of Vermont, but moved to Baltimore soon after their marriage. In that city, Rev. Davis was one of the earlier Universalist ministers. 
When about six years of age, Davis was thrown from a carriage and one of the wheels passed across her back. The shock of that accident was afterwards assumed to be the cause of frequent illness and great delicacy of health. These circumstances kept the child by the mother's side, and the close companionship had a marked influence upon her future life. When Davis was about seven years old, the family removed to the State of Massachusetts, where the father became successively pastor of the parishes in Hingham, Quincy, and Sterling. About this time, there was a revival in the community, and Davis began to realize that other denominations preached very different doctrines than those taught by her father. In her girlhood, Davis became adept in storytelling. Her younger sisters found it to be their favorite pastime hearing Davis "tell stories." One of these, Rosalie, which was published in 1859, was written by an amanuensis when Davis was too feeble to hold a pen, and in later years, it gave solace to Davis to review the story of her childhood.
Davis' school days were often interrupted by weeks of illness or suffering from weak eyes, but she was able to catch up with her studies. The mother was her constant teacher; it was from her she learned an abhorrence of slavery and intemperance. But the mother died in 1848, when Davis, the eldest, was only 13 years old, and the youngest, Florence, an infant of three months. At the age of 17, Davis entered the Green Mountain Institute, Woodstock, Vermont. From the first, she excelled as a scholar and a writer, and frequently wrote short poems.
Minnie S. Davis