Monongalia County, West Virginia Biography of William H. DAVIS ************************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: Material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor. Submitted by Valerie Crook, , March 1999 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 57 WILLIAM H. DAVIS. Sometimes the greatest prosperity of a populous city depends upon specific industries for which its lo- cation may particularly favor it, manufacturing building up one section, shipping another, the cultivation of the vine or the growing of fruits another, or mining contributing to still another, all of these attracting wealth and bringing inde- pendence. One of the leading factors in bringing prosperity to the City of Morgantown has been the location here of the tin plate plant of the United States Steel Corporation, of which plant William H. Davis is the efficient and energetic manager. Mr. Davis is likewise prominently identified with the financial interests of the city, being president of the Commercial Bank of Morgantown, and as a citizen has evidenced his public spirit in his support of movements which have attracted the attention and interest of citizens of enlightened and progressive views. Mr. Davis is a native of Wales, and was born December 18, 1864, his parents being the late William R. and Sarah (Crates) Davis, both natives of the same country, where the mother died. William R. Davis was a coal miner by vocation, and in his native land was a foreman and super- intendent of mines. In 1864.he came to the United States, and after coming to this country spent the most of his life in the West, being the owner of a farm near Osage City Kansas. He died at the home of his son William at Elwood, Indiana, at the age of seventy-eight years. The educational advantages of William H. Davis were somewhat limited in his youth, as he was called upon to go to work when he was only fourteen years of age in the tin plate mills of Wales. This experience was of the utmost value to him, as he learned the business from the bottom up, and mastered all the details of each stage of the man- ufacture of this product as he won advancement from po- sition to position. In 1892, following the passage of the McKinley Tariff Bill, Mr. Davis came to the United States and went to work in the tin plate mill of Reed and Leeds at Elwood, Indiana, the first independent plant in the coun- try. After spending a few years as a roller he was made foreman, and several years later, when the mill was taken over by the United States Steel Corporation, was made superintendent of the corporation's Gas City (Indiana) plant. Later he was transferred to the Cleveland, Ohio plant, and made manager, and subsequently went to the Farrell, Pennsylvania, plant, in the same capacity. In May, 1917, he was made manager of the Morgantown plant a position which he still retains. All of these plants be- long to the United States Steel Corporation. Mr. Davis is one of the best informed men in his line in the country, and is an executive of ability and forceful personality. In 1917 Mr. Davis was one of the organizers of the Commercial Bank at Morgantown, and was a member of its first Board of Directors, which, at its first meeting, elected him to the presidency of the institution, a position which he has retained to the present. He has directed the affairs of the bank in a thoroughly capable manner, com- bining conservatism with progressive tactics in a way that has contributed materially to the bank's prosperity. He is a member of Morgantown Lodge No. 4, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; is a thirty-second degree Mason, and a member of Osiris Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Wheeling, West Virginia; and like- wise holds membership in the Elks Lodge at Sharon, Penn- sylvania, and the Masonic and Country Clubs of Morgan- town. He is a Presbyterian in religion, and in politics gives his allegiance to the republican party. On December 25, 1893, Mr. Davis married Miss Alice Williams, daughter of John Williams, of Elwood, Indiana, and they have three children: Inez, Wilton H. and Mary Alice.