Adoniram J. Davis' obituary in the Aylmer Express newspaper had alerted me to the fact that, as well as being the father of Minnie (Davis) Scott, he also had a son, "Dr. W.J. Davis, of Spokane, Washington". I had no previous information about this son, but I believe I have found him on the 1900 United States Census.
The information situates him in Spokane Ward 4, District 0070, 1120 Broadway Avenue. He is living with a wife, Maud, and three daughters. Here is the information it contains:
William N. Davis, head of household, married white male, born in January 1861, 39 years old, has been married for 8 years. Born in English Canada, both parents born in English Canada, immigrated to the United States in 1877 at age 23, is a naturalized American, Physician by occupation. They rent their house.
Davis, Maud, wife of household head, married white female, born in September 1867, age 32, has been married for 8 years. Born in English Canada, father born in English Canada, mother born ?udia, immigrated to the United States in 1884 at age 16.
Daughter Evelyn H. Davis, born August 1893, age 6.
Daughter Isabell Davis, born October 1896, age age 3.
Daughter Mabel Davis, born October 1896, age 3. All born in Washington.
I've also located a physician named William Norton Davis in the Ancestry database "Spokane, WA Directories 1889-93", which collects four years of the R.L. Polk and Co. directories. He shows up four times; three times at the address 21 & 22 Daniel Block, Spokane Falls, and once (1893) at 9 First National Bank Building. I'm convinced that this William Davis is the Dr. W. J. Davis spoken of in the newspaper, since Norton is his mother, Louisa Norton's, maiden name. I think the Aylmer Express got the initials wrong. "William Norton Davis" also corresponds to the "William N. Davis" in the census.
Neither William nor Maud appear on the 1910 census as far as I can tell. However, the three daughters appear as boarders in a home in Spokane headed by a Charles and Lottie Perkins. Their daughter, Charlotte Perkins, age 15, and Charlotte McMurray, the widowed mother of Lottie Perkins, live their as well. Charles Perkins is a 50-year-old public school teacher. Evelyn Davis is 16, and the twins are 13. The Davis girls do not appear to be working. Where are their parents? If they are orphans, why aren't they living with family? This record indicates that their mother was born in New York.
The database "Washington Deaths, 1883-1960" has an Isabel Ramsey in Seattle, Washington, who died on May 2, 1950 at the age of 53. Her parents are listed as William N. Davis and Maude Haley. Is this our Isabel? I can't find a marriage record for her. In the 1940 census there is an Isabel Ramsey living in Seattle, age 43, who is married but not living with her husband at that point (she is listed as the head of a two-person household, along with a 7-year-old son, Herbert). Interestingly, this Isabel is listed as having only completed two years of high school. She has no listed occupation or income.
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