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Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ============================================================================= Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. ============================================================================= Bay City Daily Times Tuesday, 5 February, 1929 CAPTAIN JAMES DAVIDSON, Pioneer, Dies Fails to Rally From Eight Weeks' Illness Pneumonia, From Which He Had Recovered, Left Veteran Shipbuilder and Financier in Weakened Condtion; Age Was 87. CAPTAIN JAMES DAVIDSON, veteran master of the Great Lakes and pioneer shipbuilder of the Saginaw Valley, succumbed to a long illness at his home, 601 Center avenue, Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. MR. DAVIDSON was in his 88th year, having been born in Buffalo, N.Y., on August 12, 1841. Up to eight weeks ago he maintained his usual active interest in his business, going to his office daily. At that time he was stricken with pneumonia, and was forced to take to his bed. His usually vigorous health for a man of his years enabled him to overcome the attack however and he had apparently entirely recovered, but his body was so weakened that he was unable to rally. JAMES DAVIDSON for many years had been a power in the Saginaw Valley. It was he who came first as a young man and grasped the opportunities of the district, later to return and establish him- self in a business that made him immensely wealthy. It was he who, always alert to the call of progress, first claimed the distinction of using a sawmill to cut the huge oak timbers that went into the building of his boats. It was he who saw the possibilities of steam and employed it in his shipbuilding and towing interests. And as he worked he prospered. Soon he was financially independent, and his advice was sought throughout the valley in money matters. MR. DAVIDSON, a rugged descendant of Scotch parents was not the type that sought glory however, and while he maintained an active interest in civic, state and national matters, he sought no pub- lic recognition from the people. Born in Buffalo in 1841 JAMES DAVIDSON was born in Buffalo, N.Y., on August 12, 1841, shortly after his parents, JOSEPH and ELIZABETH DAVIDSON, had arrived from Scotland. His father was one of the subcontractors in building the masonry for the Buffalo Breakwater. Both his parents died when he was at an early age and from then on he was thrown entirely upon his own resources. He engaged himself as a sailor upon the Great Lakes and sailed in various capacities. During the winter, when the ships were not navigating the Great Lakes, he was employed by Bidwell and Banta, shipbuilders at Buffalo, N.Y., and in the evenings he attended the Bryant and Stratton Business College. In the winter of 1860-61 he went to the coast and entered the employ of the Black Ball Line with headquarters at Boston. He sailed on the clipper ship "Panther" and on the schooner "Great Western" for this company, These were wooden sailing ships and the "Panther" made the trip from Boston to Liverpool in 28 days; the "Great Western" in 30 days. The "Great Western" had a capa- city of 1,300 passengers. He also shipped on voyages to India and Russia. Secures Own Boat On his return to the Great Lakes he enlisted in the government service and was made first lieutenant and assigned to the U.S. Schooner "Watchful," then operating in the lighthouse service. At the close of the war he engaged as first mate with CAPT. BRADLEY, of Buffalo, and in partnership with CAPTAIN BRADLEY he bought a half interest in the schooner "Seagull." This was an old ship with a capacity of 150 tons. He was employed as cap- tain to sail the "Seagull" at a salary of $50 a month for the period of the sailing season, which was eight months. In pur- chasing a half interest in the "Seagull" he paid $300 cash and gave his note secured by a mortgage, for $300. After operating the ship two years the "Seagull" was sold at a profit of $200 and he then, on his own account, purchased the schooner "Philena Mills" for $4,500. After operating this schooner for many years the ship was sold for $6,500. The next winter he also purchased the schooner "Louis Wells," which at that time was considered a very large ship, having a capacity of 27,000 bushels of grain. He operated the "Louis Wells" for four years and at the same time was her master. During the winter time, as stated, he was also employed continuously at the Bidwell and Banta Shipyard. On January 27, 1865, JAMES DAVIDSON was married to ELLEN M. ROGERS, of Buffalo, N.Y., who died on September 12, 1908. Enters Shipbuilding. After disposing of the "Louis Wells" he decided to build ships on his own account. The practice in those days was to rent a piece of ground suitable for building the ship, purchase the timber, employ the men, and when the ship was built, abandon the plant. In those days the oak timber was all sawn by hand. It was hoisted up on saw horses and, with a man standing on top of the stick and one underneath, the timber was sawn into a plank. JAMES DAVIDSON was the first man to build a ship with a sawmill and the first mill was the old Mulley type, in which there was quite a waste in the manufacture of timber. He after- wards abandoned this practice and he was then the first one to install a bandsaw mill in the Saginaw Valley, which effected a great saving in the manufacture of oak timber. In the year 1870 he built at Saginaw, the Schooner "Kate Winslow," then considered the largest ship on the Great Lakes. After this ship was completed he returned to Buffalo and then in 1872 came back to the Saginaw Valley and established the present shipyard at West Bay City, which has been operating continuously ever since. The S.S. "James Davidson," which was then the largest steamship on the Great Lakes, was built during the year 1873 and completed in 1874. When the ship was about completed, the sawmill burned. Then came the panic of 1875, 1876 and 1877 and the shipbuilding work was abandoned. It was resumed in 1880 and continued until the supply of oak timber gave out. Built 108 Ships MR. DAVIDSON removed with his family to Bay City during Octo- ber, 1887, and has since resided here. He was always interested in employing machinery to facilitate the handling of ships and cargo and was the first one to intro- duce upon the Great Lakes the triple expansion engine, which was installed in the S.S. "Roumania." He was the first to introduce the steam steerer and steam windlass, also the steam towing mach- ine, by which barges were towed by means of steel wire hawsers. He was the first to introduce the Howden system of forced draft. All of his ships were designed from fine models, consistent with carrying capacity, and to operate in a fast and economical man- ner. In all he has constructed 108 ships, but after the exhaus- tion of white oak timber the plant has been operated in the re- pairing and drydocking of ships and not in building new ones. Some of the largest and most successful steel ships upon the Great Lakes were built from models which JAMES DAVIDSON prepared. It has been his practice to built (sic) ships when the times were dull, and, if a market was not to be had, operate them upon the Great Lakes. During the sixty-five years he has been in the ves- sel business, as one of the largest operators, he has only had five total losses with an aggregate loss of only five lives. Former Bank President MR. DAVIDSON was at one time president of the Old Second Nation- al Bank of Bay City, which afterwards consolidated with the Peoples and the Commercial Banks, and he is one of the original incorpora- tors of the Detroit Trust Company, of Detroit. For many years he was a director in the First and Old Detroit Natioanal Bank, of Detroit, now the First National Bank, but several years ago, owing to a desire to relinquish his responsibilities, he withdrew from all directorates and the only directorship held by him up to now has been on the boards of the Peoples Commercial & Savings Bank of Bay City and the Great Lakes Towing Co., of Cleveland, O. During the panic of 1893, when there were so many financial fail- ures, he was considered a tower of strength and he rendered valuable assistance in stablilizing financial conditions in the Saginaw Val- ley. He was one of the organizers of the Great Lakes Towing Co., with headquarters at Cleveland, O., and he personally appraised all of the properties of the different companies entering into that consolidation. He was elected its first vice-president. MR. DAVIDSON was also one of the first to see the future of the beet sugar indus- try and its benefits to Michigan and he assisted in the early financ- ing of that industry. MR. DAVIDSON is survived by one son, JAMES E. DAVIDSON, of Bay City, three daughters, Mrs. G. A. TOMLINSON, of Cleveland, O., Mrs. SARAH D. YOUNG, of Bay City, and Mrs. M. R. OSBORN, of Los Angeles, Cal., eleven grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Funeral services will be at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, at the family residence, 601 Center avenue. ===============================================================================