Los Angeles County CA Archives Biographies.....Davis, Joseph Jefferson 1869 - 
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Author: Luther A. Ingersoll (1908)

    JOSEPH JEFFERSON DAVIS, widely known as a successful man of affairs, as head
of the Santa Monica Land & Water Company and identified with other extensive
business enterprises, is a native of Ottawa, Canada, born August 8th, 1869. His
father, Jefferson Davis, was a capitalist and land owner, a native of Lancaster,
England, and his mother, Mary Proctor, was of Sussex, England. The family came
to the United States and located at Milwaukee, Wis., about 1862, there the
father died, the mother surviving until 1903, when she passed away at Santa
Monica at seventy-five years of age. Mr. Davis came to California in 1890. In
1895 he entered actively into the organization of the United Electric Gas &
Power Company, for the purpose of supplying light, fuel and power to the city of
Santa Monica and vicinity. Mr. Davis was vice president and general manager with
offices at Santa Monica. In 1900 this company's stock and plant was sold to the
Edison Electric Company and Mr. Davis, in 1905, associated with R. C. Gillis,
purchased the San Vicente y Santa Monica Grants and interested others with them,
which resulted in the development of that section of the country known as
Westgate, Brentwood Park and Carlos Heights along the foothills.

    In 1903 Mr. Davis formed a company and took over all of the interests of the
Santa Monica Land & Water Company. He also purchased the unsold lands of the San
Vicente and the Boca Santa Monica Grants (see index, Westgate) and has spent an
almost fabulous amount of money in improvements thereon. Mr. Davis, vice
president of the Santa Monica Land & Water Company, is a stockholder and
director in the Broadway Bank in Los Angeles and has other extensive financial
and property interests.

    Mr. Davis married, in 1896, Miss Emma Volkman, a daughter of Martin Volkman,
of Santa Monica. They have three sons, Herbert Leslie, Robert Carlyle and Joseph
Jefferson. The family residence is one of the finest modern country seats at
Westgate.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Ingersoll's century history, Santa Monica Bay cities: prefaced with a brief
history of the state of California, a condensed history of Los Angeles County,
1542 to 1908: supplemented with an encyclopedia of local biography and
embellished with views of historic landmarks and portraits of representative
people.

Los Angeles: Luther A. Ingersoll (1908)


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/losangeles/bios/davis229bs.txt

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