Merchant, municipal official.
Born at Ottawa, Ontario on 4 November 1855, son of Frederick Davis and Cecelia Dunning, at the age of 15 he went to work for three years as a clerk and bookkeeper for the lumber firm of Batson and Currier, which operated a sash, door and blind factory. He then worked as assistant deputy sheriff of Ottawa for two years, followed by five years as a bookkeeper for the City of Ottawa.
In the spring of 1882, he came to Manitoba and took out a homestead claim north of Gladstone. He farmed for 23 years, quitting in 1905 to work for five years as chief forest ranger for the federal government at Dauphin, later opening a meat market in 1911. In 1895, he married Annie Zimmerman (1863-1949) at Gladstone and they had six children: Frederick Davis, John Davis, William Davis, Elsie Davis, Edna Davis, and Annie Davis. He was a member of the Anglican church, Masons, and IOOF. He served on the Dauphin town council.
He died at Vancouver, British Columbia on 2 October 1945 and was buried in the Ocean View Burial Park at Burnaby.
The Story of Manitoba by F. H. Schofield, Winnipeg: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1913.
Death registration [William Alexander Davis], British Columbia Vital Statistics.
Obituary, Vancouver Daily Province, 3 October 1945, page 17.
Obituary [Annie Davis], Vancouver Daily Province, 31 October 1949, page 17.
We thank Darryl Toews for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 14 June 2024
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