WILLIAM T. DAVIS (excerpts)

. . .among the most experienced pioneer mining men of Northern California. . .He was born in Joe Daviess County, Ill., on October 2, 1860, son of William and Belinda (Pettitt) Davis. . .The senior Mr. Davis came to California first in 1850 and returned in 1860 crossing the plains and located at Forest Hill in Placer County. He developed the Davis Mine, but now called the Pine Nut Mine. 

His son, now the only surviving member of the family, came into Placer Co. in 1869 accompanying his mother in one of the first emigrant trains to cross the continent. He started to work for wages at age 13 and at seventeen he entered the mines. He worked in the El Dorado, the Paragon and others at Forest Hill and has been the superintendent of a number of mines at “Last Chance”. For sixteen years he was the engineer of the Pacific Slab Consolidated Mining Company and he also was connected with the Morning Star, the Brooklyn, the Olympia and the Big Bar Mine in Duncan Canyon. His last mine development was in the Home Ticket Mine. He gave up mining in 1922 and for the past four years he has been a member of the firm of Davis & McBeth at Auburn, dealers in auto accessories, including tires and tubes and in tire-repairing and the furnishing and replenishing of batteries; and they also handle Shell gasoline and oils.