Davis (William H.) Papers, 1840-1891

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Title:
William Heath Davis Papers,
Dates:
1840-1891
Creators:
Davis, William Heath, 1822-1909
Abstract:
William Heath Davis (1822-1909) was born in Hawaii. He learned merchandizing from his uncle Nathan Spear. Davis was also a real estate developer and an author. The collection consists of correspondence, legal papers, accounts, bills, business records, cash and cargo books, and miscellaneous papers.
Extent:
2 boxes (1 linear ft.)
Language:
English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], William Heath Davis Papers (Collection 2041). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Biographical / historical:

William Heath Kanaka Bill Davis was born in Hawaii in 1822, the grandson of a Polynesian princess; accompanied his stepfather on voyages to Alaska, and when he was ten, to California; learned merchandizing from his uncle Nathan Spear, a wealthy merchant with stores in San Francisco and Monterey; operated store in San Francisco, served briefly on the town council, and became a millionaire by age 28; invested in 160 acre waterfront property, now located between Front Street and Broadway in San Diego; sent for six prefabricated buildings from Portland, Maine in 1849 and built a wharf and warehouse called New Town; however it did not attract sufficient business, and became known as Davis' Folly; Davis wrote Sixty Years in California (1889) and Seventy-Five Years in California (published posthumously in 1929); he died in 1909.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Robert E. Cowan, 1945.
Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series:

  1. Correspondence (Box 1).
  2. Legal papers, accounts and business records (Boxes 1-2).

Physical location:
Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Processed by Manuscripts Division staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé
Date Prepared:
© 1999
Date Encoded:
Text converted and initial EAD tagging provided by Apex Data Services, April 1999 . Frontmatter gathered from MARC record. Supplementary encoding and revision supplied by Caroline Cubé.

Access and use

Restrictions:

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], William Heath Davis Papers (Collection 2041). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
Website