Collection context
Summary
- 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.
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:
- Correspondence (Box 1).
- 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.
Access and use
- Location of this collection:
-
A1713 Charles E. Young Research LibraryBox 951575Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
- Contact:
- (310) 825-4988