A scarce signed 1831-1889 Sixty Years in California Book, signed and Inscribed to Major General Thompson by the author William Heath Davis. William Davis founded the town of San Diego, California. The 1889, 639-page hardback book has much information and starts 17 years before Gold was Discovered in California in 1848. William Davis came from Hawaii and first came to California in 1831 under Mexican rule. The inscription and signature in ink states
“MAJOR GENERAL D. W. C. THOMPSON,
WITH COMPLIMENTS OF THE AUTHOR, WILLIAM HEATH DAVIS”
The book has an early 1900’s newspaper article about His Six Guns Wrote California History. The newspaper article toned two pages where the article was stored. The book has some tears along the inside the front and back hardback covers near the binging. However, the book is very much intact.
The 639 page hardback book is 6 ¼ x 9 inches in size. Please see the other vintage items I have listed on eBay. Thanks for looking.
William Heath Davis
William Heath "Kanaka" Davis Jr. (1822 – 1909) was a merchant and trader in Alta California who helped to establish "New Town" (now Downtown San Diego) in San Diego, California.
Life
Davis was born in 1822 in Honolulu in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi to Captain William Heath Davis Sr., a Boston ship captain and pioneer of the Hawaii sandalwood trade, and Hannah Holmes Davis (1800-1847), a daughter of Oliver Holmes, Governors of Oahu. His nickname "Kanaka" refers to Davis's Hawaiian birth and blood; he was one-quarter Hawaiian from his maternal grandmother Mahi Kalanihooulumokuikekai, a high chiefess from the Koʻolau district of Oʻahu. His elder brother Robert Grimes Davis was a Hawaiian judge and politician.[1][2]
Davis first visited California as a boy in 1831, then again in 1833 and 1838. The last time, he joined his uncle as a store clerk in Monterey and Yerba Buena (now San Francisco). He started a business in San Francisco and became a prominent merchant and ship owner.
In 1847 Davis married María de Jesus, daughter of José Joaquin Estudillo, grantee of Rancho San Leandro, and granddaughter of José María Estudillo. The Davises had at least one daughter, Anna Maria, born c. 1849. About the same time he moved to San Diego, which became part of the United States in 1850 via the admission of California to the union.
New Town San Diego
Davis was the original founder of New Town San Diego, an attempt to build a new community closer to San Diego Bay than the original Old Town San Diego, which was located below the Presidio of San Diego more than a mile from navigable water. The idea for New Town had originated with Lt. Andrew B. Gray, an American surveyor with the boundary commission which laid out the borders and boundaries of the new state of California. Gray's party camped near what is now H Street and he realized that this location near the natural harbor would be a much better location for a city.[3] Davis agreed and recruited José Antonio Aguirre, Miguel Pedrorena, and William C. Ferrell as additional partners in the venture. The partners bought 160 acres (65 ha) of land and laid out streets, a large wharf, and a warehouse. The local residents referred to the project as New Town, Graytown (after Lt. Gray), and "Davis's Folly". The venture did not do well due to a lack of fresh water and hostility from the established settlements at Old Town and La Playa. The U.S. Army maintained a facility in the area for a time, eventually abandoning it during the American Civil War.[3] Later, in 1867, the idea was revived by Alonzo Horton, who built a new subdivision just to the east of Davis's plot, which became a success. The area is now Downtown San Diego, while the original settlement site is still referred to as Old Town.
Davis later wrote a memoir which was of great value to historians in understanding the early years of California and San Diego.[1]
Davis eventually settled in San Leandro in financial straits. He died in Hayward, California on April 19, 1909.[1]