Ira Erastas was born in 1839 and his brother William Henry in 1841. At a young age along with their mother and father who was interested in the spirit rappings in Hydesville and their sister Elizabeth they began to have there own seance sittings at home with some having amazing results.

Soon after their first sitting they would meet for the first timewith their spirit guide, the phantom John King. It was said that it was John who told the brothers to start giving public performances, this they did with the first one when they were only 14 and 16 in 1855.

At first they would do things that were known because of the Fox sisters and other mediums in the growing spiritulist movement in America, but then they introduce new things for eg, musical instuments that would move and play by themselves. By the end of the year they would introduce what would become their signature, the spirit cabinet, and would preform acts where they would escape from ropes and knots.

Their act caused a sensation and many claimed it was real proof of spirit manifestions, but others said they were merely stage magicians. The Davenports even though they billed their act as a seance, never claimed to be mediums, this they left for the audience to decide.

Years after their retirement, and after the death of William in 1877, the surviving brother Ira met with Harry Houdini, he told him that they never meant to become known as mediums but their seemingly supernatural powers came at the time os the spiritulist movement, and rather than turn down the money and public appearances allowed members of the public believe what they wanted to.

Inspite of this interview many people still believed them to be mediums. And newspaper even gave them credit for producing miracles.

Ira died in 1911.