Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Davidson, William ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com September 5, 2007, 2:18 pm Author: Biographical Publishing Company WILLIAM DAVIDSON, secretary and treasurer of the Joliet Pioneer Stone Company, is identified with one of the leading enterprises of its kind in the county. In 1867 he and W. A. Strong bought the Swalm quarry, which was the first opened in this section for commercial use and was also the first to make shipments by canal. Later they bought the Wilson quarry, in which Mr. Davidson afterward bought his partner's interest and to which he has since added until it includes nearly one hundred acres. At the time of purchase it had only one derrick and that a crude one; now its machinery is valued at $60,000 and includes many derricks and a fine crane with a capacity of twelve tons. A yard was also established at Twenty-seventh street in Chicago, where he had a twenty-ton crane, but the elevation of the railroad tracks rendered the continuance of the yard impracticable. In 1885 planers were put in and saws ten years later, and there are four steam derricks with a capacity of fifteen tons each. In 1872 he furnished $99,000 worth of stone flagging for Chicago streets, meantime furnishing employment to three hundred and twenty- five men. He also furnished all of the stone used in the plant of the steel company at South Chicago, where he placed an average of twelve to fourteen thousand per month. In 1869 he sold a fourth interest in the quarry to his brother. In 1882 he incorporated the Joliet Pioneer Stone Company, of which he has been manager from the first and in which he owns the controlling interest. The capacity of the plant is very large and by means of switches, giving easy connection with railroads, shipments are made to all parts of the United States, from New York to the mountains. The remarkable success of the business is almost wholly due to the ability of the owner, although he has been fortunate in having associated with him men of quick insight and great energy. Nature endowed him with superior talents. He was only eleven years of age when he completed the higher arithmetic and his knowledge of mathematics has always proved of assistance to him, while his logical reasoning, clear discernment and indomitable pluck have aided in securing his success. The Davidsons are a very old English family that originated in Denmark. Robert Davidson, a farmer of Cumberlandshire, England, married Esther Howe, member of a wealthy and ancient family of Threcot. When advanced in years he died in Liverpool; she was accidentally killed by the running away of a horse in 1835. Of their seven children who attained mature years four came to America, three being brought to this country by the fourth, William. The eldest, John, who was with William in business, died in Joliet in July, 1895, at seventy-two years of age; Joseph, a partner in the business, died in this city in March, 1895; and a sister died in April of the same year, aged eighty. The fourth in the family, William, was born in Tallantire, Cumberland, England, October 28, 1827. When seven years of age he secured work herding cattle for three pence a day. His school advantages were very limited, his education being acquired by self-culture. After working on farms for some years he began railroading at Newcastle-on-the-Tyne, and for four years was employed in track-laying. Next he went to Liverpool, where he worked on the police force for three months. From the time he was eight years old it had been his ambition to come to America and at last the opportunity was offered. A Connecticut firm sent a man to England to secure one hundred and fifty quarrymen, and under an engagement with him William and Joseph Davidson crossed the Atlantic ocean on a sailing vessel, which landed in New York April 24, 1850, after a voyage of twenty-four days. Three days later he was at work in the Middlesex (Conn.) quarry, where he remained for ninety-nine days, paying for his passage, but receiving no money from the firm. Finding himself unable to secure his wages, he went to Philadelphia, thence to Baltimore, and from there to Little York, Pa., where he worked in a quarry for six weeks. When the quarry was closed he walked one hundred and fifty miles and back again to within one mile of his first location in Pennsylvania, and there he secured work on the Erie canal. Six weeks later he walked to Dalton, Ohio. During those long walks he endured every privation and hardship. More than once he lacked needed food and comforts. The last day he walked thirty-two miles without breakfast or dinner, then worked for a few hours, earning seventy-five cents, after which he walked three miles to a boarding house. For nine months he was employed in track- laying on the Pittsburg & Fort Wayne Railroad. After he worked six weeks it was found that he alone, of all the men, could put in the switches and side tracks satisfactorily, and he was therefore placed in charge of this work, receiving $3 per day, after which he was never without money. Leaving the road at Massillon, he went to Michigan City, Ind., and contracted to take tile from there to Lafayette. In 1852 he went to Chicago and from there, after an illness of ten days, proceeded to Kankakee, where he began to work getting out stone for the railroad. He remained there for three years and from the first acted as foreman and opened the quarries. For two months he quarried in the bottom of the Kankakee River, but, the weather being cold, he turned his attention to the opening of a quarry in the bank. Through a flattering inducement held out by Robert Cunningham, of Joliet, in 1855, he came to Joliet to work in his quarry. In July, 1856, he first became connected with the Wilson quarry, of which he was superintendent for eleven years, his work proving very profitable for the owners, as he brought the quarry from a rundown and unprofitable condition to a substantial financial basis. He continued to work for his original employers until he purchased the quarry in 1867. From the formation of the Republican party Mr. Davidson has voted that ticket. He has allowed himself little recreation or relaxation from business duties, but in the fall of 1872, with his family, returned to England, where he renewed the associations of youth and enjoyed a pleasant vacation. His first wife, Jane Sterling, was born in Canada, of Scotch descent, and died in Joliet; afterward he married Mrs. Ann (Hudson) Finney, a widow with six children. Two children were born of their union, one of whom is living, Mrs. Esther J. Pierce, of Englewood. After the death of Mrs. Ann Davidson our subject married Mrs. Melissa (Van Anchan) Dewey, who was born in Pennsylvania and died in Joliet. The present wife of Mr. Davidson, whom he married in Englewood, was Mrs. Amelia Higbom, of Chicago, an estimable lady, who shares with him the respect of acquaintances and the regard of friends. Additional Comments: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present, Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/davidson897gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/ File size: 7.6 Kb