Sheriff John Davis was shot in the head in May of 1881 while he and a deputy collector were attempting to arrest a group of men thought to be part of the James gang and wanted for the murder of a law enforcement officer and other crimes. Sheriff Davis received information about the location of the suspects and picked up the collector on his way to arrest them. When he entered the home where the men were, one of them shot the sheriff just under the eye and seriously wounded the collector before escaping.

Sheriff Davis, who went on to become a prominent state politician, survived the shooting and lived with a bullet lodged in his right side of his brain just over his right ear for 17 years. There were no apparent effects until 1892 when he began having epileptic seizures. He underwent experimental surgery of the era in St Louis using the Roentgen x-ray to guide the surgeon to remove the bullet. The surgery had been thought to be successful but he died a week after the surgery at 10:30 am on February 16, 1898.

He was survived by his wife and daughter. Interred: Rowland Woods Cemetery, Patterson, Wayne County, MO.