Title and statement of responsibility area
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Davidson family
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- Textual record
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2.7 m of textual records
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Name of creator
Biographical history
William Davidson (1740-1790) was born in Scotland and was the first English-speaking settler on the Miramichi River of New Brunswick. He obtained a large grant at the mouth of the river in 1765 and introduced the curing of salmon for export. He was a lumber businessman and politician.
His grandson, Allan Alexander Davidson (1818-1889), became a lawyer and practised with John Ambrose Street. Allan Alexander's grandson, Allan Alexander Davidson, Jr. (1857-1934), joined the same law firm and was followed by his nephew, William Harold Davidson.
William Harold Davidson (1896-1958), barrister-at-law, Newcastle, N.B., was the son of James Warren Davidson and Marie Louise Hunt, daughter of George C. Hunt, of Fredericton. He married Daisy May Stephenson of Saint John. They had two children, William Edward and Marjorie Evelyn.
William Davidson attended Harkins Academy and Harkins High School at Newcastle. He then went to the Provincial Normal School where he secured his Superior School license. Davidson taught at Centerville, County of Carleton, and Newcastle.
He enlisted as a private with the 26th Canadian Infantry Battalion on November 27th, 1914, and served with the unit in Canada, England, France, Belgium and Germany. He was gazetted lieutenant in 1917 and demobilized with his unit in 1919.
After the war, he entered King's College Law School at Saint John and was admitted as a barrister in 1923. He also clerk of the Northumberland Court from 1929.
Davidson was an active Conservative and was secretary of the Liberal-Conservative Association from 1924 to 1930. He was a member of the Church of England.
Source: Prominent People of New Brunswick, 1937
Custodial history
Information about the custody of these records prior to acquisition is incomplete.
Scope and content
This fonds consists of material from the practice of three generations of Newcastle (Northumberland County) lawyers, chiefly Allan A. Davidson, Jr. The legal documents reflect solicitor's work rather than civil litigation or criminal presentation. It includes material about expropriation by the Intercolonial Railway / Canadian National Railway and the forestry activities of Fraser Company. There are family documents, financial records and land records from 1795 to 1950. An account book belonging to Henry Gerrish, 1837-1840, is included as are the letterbooks of John Ambrose Street, Street & Kerr and Street & Davidson. There is also a journal of John Ambrose Street's voyage to England, 1817-1819.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Acquired from Harold W. Davidson, 1948-1960
Arrangement
Language of material
- English
Script of material
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No restrictions
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Detailed inventory available