Chatham County GaArchives Biographies.....Davidson, William Murray 1862 - living in 1913
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 13, 2004, 12:11 am

Author: William Harden
p. 565-566

   WILLIAM MURRAY DAVIDSON, property owner and real estate dealer, is one of the
prominent citizens of the city of Savannah, a power in the business world and of
most distinguished stock. As his name indicates, he is of Scotch descent and is
a fine representative of the people, who never conquered, though often beaten,
finally gave kings to England, field marshals to France and Prussia and Russia,
cardinals to Rome, the second greatest man to the Reformation and to America a
body of citizens whose priceless value cannot be reckoned and who have made such
an imprint upon our history that any of our citizens are proud to claim Scotch
blood.

   Mr. Davidson was born in Savannah on the 27th day of August, 1862, the son of
Capt. W. M. and Sarah Anne (McIntire) Davidson. Captain Davidson was born in
Dunfermline, Scotland, in the year 1821. He came to Savannah in 1840 and in 1844
established himself as a merchant in a location on Congress street between
Jefferson and Barnard.

Before the war he had joined the Chatham Artillery of Savannah, of which he was
second lieutenant when the war broke out. He gave up his business to go into the
Confederate army and was in active service throughout the war. He was in command
of the company of infantry that was the last to leave Savannah when General
Sherman's army occupied the city, his command having had charge of the
breastworks on the canal west of the city. After the war he resumed business, in
which he continued for several years, and he served three terms as alderman of
the city of Savannah. The demise of this highly respected and well remembered
gentleman occurred in Savannah in 1894.

   The paternal grandfather of Mr. Davidson was Capt. George Davidson of the
British navy, who was captain of one of the quarter decks of the ship "Superb"
under Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar. Following this battle he retired from
the navy and became the owner of substantial property interests in Fifeshire. In
his later years he came to America, but did not locate in Savannah. From that
time he maintained his. residence in New York and was buried in Greenwood
cemetery. Mr. Davidson's grandaunt, on his father's side, was the wife of
William Murray of Scotland, who was a distinguished jurist and held the position
of lord advocate of Edinburgh. Lady Amelia Murray, his sister, was lady in
waiting on the Duchess of Kent, mother of Queen Victoria. She made an extended
visit to America during the period before the war in which slavery was the great
issue of discussion. She traveled through the North and the South and visited
for some time in Savannah. On her return to Scotland she wrote her views of the
American situation, which, being published widespread and being contrary to the
views expressed by Harriet Beecher Stowe in her work entitled "Uncle Tom's
Cabin," was the cause of her dismissal from her position in the household of the
Duchess of Kent; the official reason being her interference in American affairs.
The Davidson family are prominently connected with the history of Dunfermline
and the subject's father was the first child to be baptized in Dunfermline Abbey
after the reinterring of the remains of King Robert Bruce in the abbey about
1822. The abbey and indeed the entire borough are rich in the most romantic
Scottish history. In the latter many of the kings were born and in the former
are interred many of the most celebrated characters in Caledonian annals. The
mother of the immediate subject of this review was the daughter of Andrew
Mclntire, who came to Savannah from Donegal, Ireland, in 1820.

   William Murray Davidson was educated in this city, taking his first draughts
at the "Pierian Spring" as a pupil in the old Barnard street school, and
subsequently becoming a pupil in Chatham Academy and studying under the private
tutelage of Prof. C. C. Talliaferro. He also attended for three months Eastman
business college at Poughkeepsie, New York. In 1879, at the age of eighteen
years he took charge of his father's business and conducted the same about
twenty years. For several years past Mr. Davidson has been engaged in real
estate transactions and is the owner of valuable property interests in Savannah.
He is a director of the Real Estate Bank and Trust Company and has other
interests of broad scope and importance. He keeps in touch with all valuable
public works and is a member of the Savannah public library board. He is
president of the St. Andrews Society.

   Mr. Davidson was married to Miss Jennie Wyly, who was born in Jacksonville,
Alabama. They have one child, William Murray Davidson, and their household is
the abode of culture and gracious hospitality. Mrs. Davidson is a direct
descendant of John Sevier.



Additional Comments:
From:

A HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA
BY
WILLIAM HARDEN

VOLUME I
ILLUSTRATED
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK
1913


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