Tuolumne
County
Biographies
RUDOLPHUS C. DAVIS
A man’s reputation is the property
of the world. The laws of nature have
forbidden isolation. Every human being
submits to the controlling influence of others, or, as a master, wields a power
for good or evil on the masses of mankind.
There can be no impropriety in justly scanning the acts of any man as
they affect his public, social and business relations. If he be honest and successful in his chosen
field of endeavor, investigation will brighten his fame and point the path
along which others may follow. One whose
record will bear the closest scrutiny and stand the test of public criticism is
Rudolphus C. Davis, a prominent businessman and mine owner of Columbia, Tuolumne
County. He is a loyal citizen and true
gentleman whom the community numbers among its valued residents. His identification with California dates from
1853.
Mr. Davis was born in Dayton,
Tippecanoe County, Indiana, December 16, 1845, and is of English descent. His grandfather, John J. Davis, was the owner
of large plantations in Texas and became one of the men of wealth and influence
in that state. John S. Davis, the father
of our subject, was born in Ohio in 1809, his father having located there in
pioneer days. As he neared man’s estate
he determined to devote his energies to the practice of medicine and for fifty
years was actively interested in the profession in different parts of the
country. When the subject of this review
was but two years of age he lost his mother by death, being the youngest of her
four children. Dr. Davis was married
again, his second union being with Mary Ann Speed, of Louisville,
Kentucky. With his wife and children he
crossed the plains to California. They
started from Illinois along the southern route, but remained for a year in
Texas with an uncle of Mr. Davis, who was buying a large herd of stock to bring
to this state. The uncle had crossed the
plains before and was the captain of the train which Mr. Davis and his family
joined and which consisted of sixty families, three hundred young men who were
single, with one thousand head of cattle and a large number of horses. It was one of the best equipped outfits that
made the journey to the Pacific coast ere the advent of railroads, the trip
being planned and the outfits superintended by a man of broad experience. At El Paso a man who was en route to
California with a herd of cattle had his stock stolen by the Mexicans, and in order
to get even he took possession of all the cattle he could find along the
way! At El Paso he was arrested and put
in jail by the Mexicans. A request was
sent to the train with which the Davis family traveled to rescue the man. In order to do this they had to cross the
river and make an attack on the jail; but a drunken member of the member of the
party disclosed their plans so that the Mexicans were prepared for them and a
severe battle ensued in which twelve of the Americans were killed and several
wounded. They were obliged to retreat and
the man remained in jail there for eighteen months, while the Davis train was
forced to travel night and day in order to get away from the enraged
Mexicans. It was a very trying
experience, which they might have avoided had they not attempted to rescue the
imprisoned American. The Indians also
occasioned considerable trouble by stampeding the stock, although they were
bribed by gifts of meat, sugar and coffee, the emigrants believing that it was
a cheaper and better way to give them those groceries than to fight them and
perhaps lose many lives.
Upon arriving in California Dr.
Davis and his family located on a farm on the Tuolumne River, near French Bar,
the uncle of our subject there owning a large amount of land, a ferry-boat and
a tavern. In November, 1855, they
arrived at Columbia, reaching their destination just after the execution of a
man by the name of Bartlett, who had been hung for murder. Dr. Davis practiced his profession for three
years at Columbia and returned to the east, and again came to California in
1896, and died in Ukiah, Mendocino County, at the advanced age of eighty-seven
years. One of his sons, T. R. Davis, was
shot by the Indians in Arizona, where he was freighting. The red men killed him and his teamsters and
robbed the wagons. One daughter of the
family, Mary, is deceased, while the other daughter, Charlotte, became the wife
of Judge McGary and resides in Ukiah, Mendocino
County, California.
In 1880 was celebrated the marriage
of R. C. Davis and Miss Florence M. Trask, who was born in Columbia, and is a
daughter of P. M. Trask, one of the highly respected pioneers of Tuolumne
County. The pleasant home of Mr. and
Mrs. Davis has been blessed with three children: George M., who is now acting as his father’s
bookkeeper; Harry and Josephine Florence, who are in school. Theirs is a delightful home, celebrated for
its warm hospitality, and the members of its household enjoy the esteem of all
who know them. Socially Mr. Davis is a
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he has been a
representative for the past twenty-seven years.
His political support is given untiringly to the Republican Party, and
though he has never been an office-seeker and has refused to become a candidate
for different official positions, he has done effective service in the interest
of education as a useful and active member of the school board. He has always taken a deep and active
interest in the growth and development of his section of the state. He is a public-spirited, progressive citizen
and his labors have been an important factor in the substantial progress and
improvement of California. He now lives
in the enjoyment of peace and plenty, held in the highest esteem by all as one
of California’s best and bravest pioneers.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 459-461. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.