William Heath Davis, Sr. came from a prominent New England family. His maternal grandfather, General William Heath, was the last surviving major general from the American Revolution. This is one reason that the name “Heath” figures prominently in descendant’s names, such as William Heath Davis, Jr. His paternal grandfather, Robert Davis, participated in the Boston […]
THE ONLY FATHER Wm. HEATH DAVIS EVER KNEW: JOHN COFFIN JONES, Jr. William Heath Davis’s natural father, William Heath Davis, Sr., died in 1822, the same year in which Davis, Jr. was born. In 1826 Davis’s mother, Hannah (who stopped using the Davis surname as a widow and resumed her maiden name of Holmes), became […]
William Heath Davis’s older brother, Robert, was three years William’s senior. Robert was educated in private schools in the eastern United States and became the scholar that William was not. Robert’s life and career were centered in the Sandwich Islands, and he became a driving force in the intellectual, judicial and political community of Honolulu. […]
Wm. HEATH DAVIS’S ENIGMATIC MOTHER, HANNAH HOLMES Hannah Holmes Davis Jones was born in 1800 to former Bostonian Oliver Holmes and Mahikalanihooulumokuikekai (last name unknown), a Polynesian princess with whom he had six children. Hannah, Holmes’ eldest daughter, married William Heath Davis, Sr. in 1817 and became a widow just five years later. Hannah’s father […]
The Broker’s Building1889 404 Market Street Architects: G.T. Burkett and R.E. Osgood (1873)Barnett McDougal (1889) Style: Commercial It has been said that some people are born lucky and some are not. And – to that end, there is an old saying – “I’d rather be lucky than good.” The original Broker’s Building was neither. On […]
Known by many names like “Rabbitville”,“New Town,” and the “Stingaree,” San Diego’s “Gaslamp Quarter” as it is known today has a varied and storied past. Join us on Wednesday, July 10th at 7 PM for our next “History Talks!” Lecture and see the colorful history of the Gaslamp brought to life by our very own […]
Like most properties sold by Alonzo Horton in the late 1860s, the lot on the southwest corner of 5th and F changed hands early and often. the brick building now known as the Spencer-Ogden Building, one of the oldest buildings in the Gaslamp Quarter. It is also the oldest structure to be continually owned by the same family.
The Davis-Horton House 1850 410 Island Avenue Architecture: Two-Story Wooden New England Saltbox Mortice and Tenon Construction Through rain and sleet and storms, and even through floods – yes, two of them – the Davis-Horton House, the oldest standing structure in downtown San Diego, has managed to survive. The little yellow house on the […]
Dotted with numerous cultural institutions, distinct architecture, and home to the World-Famous San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park has been dubbed “San Diego’s Cultural Hub, “and “a place with something for everyone!” Located just a few miles away from the Gaslamp Quarter this sprawling urban park can credit its creation to two great expositions- one in […]
September 12, 2018 at 7pm. Lectures are free for Members, $5 non-members. Gazing upon the Gaslamp Quarter from just atop the hill in the Sherman Heights Historic District sits the regal Villa Montezuma; the 1887 Palace of the Arts and home of mysterious, world-traveling Musician and Spiritualist Jesse Shepard. Join us for our next History Talks! […]