Davidsonj
Transcribed from "An Illustrated History of The Big Bend Country, embracing
Lincoln, Douglas, Adams and Franklin counties, State of Washington",
published by Western Historical Publishing Co., 1904.
JOHN R. DAVIDSON, farmer and
dairyman, and one of the commissioners of Lincoln county, resides four
miles west of Reardan. He was born in Butte county, California, March
18, 1855, the son of Vance L. and Harriet M. (Pierce) Davidson. The
father was a native of Kentucky, and died in 1882, in Siskiyou county,
California. The mother is descended from an old and prominent New
York family, in which state she was born. Her husband and father
were the first settlers in Savannah, Carroll county, Illinois, and Davidson
street in that city was named after the father of our subject. Mrs.
Harriet M. Davidson now resides in San Francisco, California.
In that state our subject was reared until
1881, receiving the greater portion of his education in Siskiyou county.
With the exception of five years passed in freighting he followed the business
of farming and dairying. In 1881 he came to the state of Washington
and he now owns five quarter sections of land, four hundred acres of which
are devoted to wheat. He has a band of one hundred head of cattle,
mostly graded stock, and a registered Holstein bull. At the Lincoln
county fair, in 1901 he captured the first prize with this animal, but
he has since sold him. Three cows, of which he was the owner, took
first, second and third prizes.
Mr. Davidson has two brothers, George A. and
Dow L., the former in charge of his brother's dairy, and the latter a gardner
and farmer in California. He has six sisters living: Mary, wife of
Edward E. Price; Almira, widow of Robert O'Neil; Jeanette, wife of Martin
Parker; Sila, wife of Jackson Bean; Carrie, wife of James Fletcher; and
Olive, wife of B. S. Ward.
July 26, 1882, in Siskiyou county, California,
our subject was married to Susie Cory, a native of Indiana. Her father,
Henry C., and mother, Hannah (Eller) Cory, are both dead. Mrs. Davidson
has four sisters: Mary, wife of J. H. Walker; Lida, wife of Charles
Mote; Elda, wife of James Estes; and Ina, wife of Albert Denny. She
has five brothers, Louis, Aaron E., Elsie N., William, and Frank.
Mr. and Mrs. Davidson have five children, Harold P., Ralph E., Ernest A.,
Iva A., and Halsey N., the three latter residing at home. Mr. Davidson
is a member of the I. O. O. F., Reardan Lodge, No. 84. For seven
years Mrs. Davidson was a school teacher in Siskiyou county, California.
At present Mr. Davidson is, politically, independent. Two years he
was an advocate of the principles of the People's party. Previous
to that he was a Republican. In 1901 he was elected county commissioner
on the Democrat ticket, the Democrats having fused with the members of
the People's party. At present Mr. Davidson is residing in Reardan,
where he purchased a nice home property to which he removed his family.
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