One of the pioneer builders of Pomona, and a man of sterling character, Ferdinand Davis was born in Cushing, Maine, February 8, 1840. He learned the carpenter trade as a boy, and at the age of nineteen went to Lebanon, N. H., to engage in that business. At the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted, September 21, 1861, in the Seventh New Hampshire Regiment, and took part in sixteen engagements, first seeing service in the Tenth Army Corps, Department of the South, and later in the Army of the James, General Butler, in command. He was wounded in Florida, and was afterwards attached to the brigade staff of General Hawley of Connecticut, and mustered out at Concord, N. H., December 22, 1864, though in service till February 8, 1865.
After the years spent in the service of his country, Mr. Davis returned to Lebanon and resumed work at his trade; he worked for a New York firm who took contracts for interior finishing, and later took up this line himself in New York City, gradually working into architectural drawing, for which he had a natural inclination.
In 1887, Mr. Davis came to California as a licensed architect and located for a short time in Pasadena; soon after he came to La Verne in charge of building operations there, and in 1888 he settled in Pomona. Here he immediately became identified with the building up of the town, and drew plans for all the business blocks on the north side of Second Street, from the First National Bank Building to Geary Street, and the four business blocks on the four corners of Garey Avenue. He drew the plans for Trinity Church, and was associate architect for the Congregational Church. Mr. Davis also was architect for the Ebell Club House, the Masonic Temple, the Investment Building, in Pomona, among other work; and the Masonic Temple and other buildings at Ontario; modern business blocks and residences in Claremont; and the packing houses at San Dimas and Glendora.
Besides his business interests, Mr. Davis has given time to orange growing, and owns an eight-acre grove in the Ontario district. Since his first settling in the Valley he has been a part of its growth, and has been a factor for progress and upbuilding in the community. In fraternal circles he is a member of the Commandery in the Masons, and is also a member of Vicksburg Post, G. A. R.
Mr. Davis married in Lebanon, N. H., January 8, 1867, to Eliza A. Thompson, and four children were born to them: Bernice G.; Mrs. Nellie Hibbard; Raymond M., manager of the Bank of Italy at Modesto, and Mrs. Beatrice Ashworth of Santa Barbara. The family attend the Trinity Methodist Church.
History of Pomona Valley, California, with Biographical Sketches
of The Leading Men and Women of the Valley Who Have Been
Identified With Its Growth and Development from the Early Days
to the Present
Published in Los Angeles, Cal., by the Historic Record Company
1920
Transcribed by Linda Jackson 10/28/08, Pages 631-632
Los Angeles County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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