A native of Virginia, he was a Presbyterian pastor at a church in New Bern, North Carolina and then in Raleigh, North Carolina before becoming president.As president, Davidson received a large financial commitment from a Maxwell Chambers, making Davidson the wealthiest private college in the entire South.
Lacy left Davidson in 1860 and eventually became a chaplain in the Confederate States Army.
After the war, he returned to the ministry until his death.