DAVENPORT ESTATE THE SOURCE OF $6-MILLION GIFT
TO UNIVERSITYÕS GENERAL ENDOWMENT FUND

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct. 6 -- A $6-million bequest, among
the largest gifts received during the first phase of the University
of VirginiaÕs $700-million capital campaign, has been designated for
the schoolÕs general endowment fund. 
	The gift came from the estate of Marjorie Davenport who,
along with her late husband Braxton Davenport, had long been a
supporter of the University. 
	Before his death in 1975, Davenport entrusted the University
Library with his collection of 19th-century newspapers, official
books of early Virginia records, and period furniture that now
decorates the Garnett Room of the Special Collections Department. In
his will he provided for a substantial gift in memory of his
parents, Henry Bedinger and Alma Stephenson Davenport. 
	The recent Davenport gift will become part of the general
endowment, which is a source of unrestricted capital that permits
the University to pursue new ventures, strengthen its academic
programs, and finance activities that enhance the University
experience for students and faculty. 
	Davenport, who tended to his familyÕs Texas-based oil and
gas business, lived in Charleston, West Virginia with his wife.
Mrs. Davenport devoted herself to the arts and charity, and is
believed to have been the source of many unexpected and untraceable
gifts to Charleston citizens in need. 
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October 6, 1995