William Heath "Kanaka" Davis, Jr. (1822 – April 1909) was an early settler of San Diego, California

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

.

Life

Davis was born in 1822, in Honolulu, Sandwich Islands

Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...

 (now Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

) to William Heath Davis, Sr. and Hannah Holmes Davis, a daughter of Oliver Holmes, royal governor of Oahu

Governors of Oahu

The Governor of Oahu was the royal governor or viceroy of the island of Oahu in the Kingdom of Hawaii. The Governor of Oahu resided at Honolulu and was usually a Hawaiian chief or prince and could even be a woman. The Governor had authority over the island of Oahu and Honolulu the kingdom's capital...

, and relative of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was an American physician, professor, lecturer, and author. Regarded by his peers as one of the best writers of the 19th century, he is considered a member of the Fireside Poets. His most famous prose works are the "Breakfast-Table" series, which began with The Autocrat...

. Both were from Boston families in the shipping trade. His nickname "Kanaka" refers to Davis's Hawaiian birth and blood; he was a quarter Hawaiian from his maternal grandmother Mahi Kalanihooulumokuikekai, a high chiefess from Koolau, Oahu.

Davis first visited California as a boy in 1831, then again in 1833 and 1838. The last time he joined his uncle as a store clerk in Monterey

Monterey, California

The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...

 and Yerba Buena

Yerba Buena (town)

Yerba Buena was the original name of San Francisco when in the Spanish Las Californias Province of New Spain, and then after 1822 in the Mexican territory of Alta California, until the Mexican American War ended with the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, when California became a territory of the...

 (now San Francisco

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

). He started a business in San Francisco and became a prominent merchant and ship owner.

Davis married María de Jesus, daughter of José Joaquin Estudillo

José Joaquín Estudillo

José Joaquín Estudillo was a Mexican citizen of Alta California who was the second alcalde of Yerba Buena, California , and whose land holdings, known as Rancho San Leandro, formed the basis of the city of San Leandro.-Biography:He was born at the Presidio of Monterey, to José María Estudillo, a...

, grantee of Rancho San Leandro

Rancho San Leandro

Rancho San Leandro was a Mexican land grant in present day Alameda County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Joaquín Estudillo...

 and son of José María Estudillo

José María Estudillo

José María Estudillo , was an early settler of San Diego, California and was a governing official during San Diego's Mexican period.-Life:...

. The Davises had at least one daughter, Anna Maria, born c. 1849. About the same time he moved to San Diego.

Davis was the original founder of New Town San Diego, an attempt to build a new community closer to San Diego Bay

San Diego Bay

San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port adjacent to San Diego, California. It is 12 mi/19 km long, 1 mi/1.6 km–3 mi/4.8 km wide...

 than the original Old Town San Diego, which was located below the Presidio of San Diego

Presidio of San Diego

El Presidio Reál de San Diego is an historical fort established on May 14, 1769, by Commandant Pedro Fages for Spain. It was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the United States. As the first of the presidios and Spanish missions in California, it was the base of...

 at the foot of a hill a mile inland. It was variously called New Town, Graytown, and "Davis's Folly". Davis believed a town closer to the waterfront would prosper and recruited José Antonio Aguirre

José Antonio Aguirre (industrialist)

José Antonio Aguirre was a merchant and rancher in Alta California, most prominently in what would become San Diego, California....

, Miguel Pedrorena

Miguel Pedrorena

Miguel Telesford Pedrorena or Miguel de Pedrorena was an early settler of San Diego, California-Life:Miguel Pedroena moved to San Diego in 1845. He married María Antonia Estudillo, daughter of José Antonio Estudillo and María Victoria...

, Lt. Andrew B. Gray, and William C. Ferrell as partners in the venture. A depression in 1851 caused the venture to fail. Later, in 1867, the idea was revived by Alonzo Horton

Alonzo Horton

Alonzo Erastus Horton was an American real estate developer in the nineteenth century. The Horton Plaza mall in downtown San Diego is named for him.-Early life:...

, with a new subdivision just to the east of Davis's plot, and became a success.

Davis died in 1909 in San Leandro

San Leandro, California

San Leandro is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is considered a suburb of Oakland and San Francisco. The population was 84,950 as of 2010 census. The climate of the city is mild throughout the year.-Geography and water resources:...

, in financial straits.

Legacy

The oldest building in New Town is the William Heath Davis House, a pre-fab "saltbox"-style home shipped from the east coast and built in 1850. It wasn't Davis's house, but of the same style and age of the Davis home that was on State and F Streets. The house is open to the public today as a museum at 410 Island Ave.

The original plaza for New Town is not today's Horton Plaza, but New Town Plaza, which still exists and is bounded by F, G, Columbia, and India Streets.

Research resources

• Guide to the William Heath Davis Papers at The Bancroft Library