Wasco-Statewide County OR Archives Biographies.....Davis, James Alexander June 6, 1862 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com May 7, 2007, 11:35 pm Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company JAMES ALEXANDER DAVIS. On the roster of Wasco county’s public officials appears the name of James Alexander Davis, whose work as assessor has won for him high encomiums, and as a capable educator he also performed pubic service of value. He was born June 6, 1862, in Jefferson county, Tennessee, and his parents, Alexander E. and Martha (Scruggs) Davis, were also natives of that state. His mother was reared in Greeneville, Tennessee, and among her schoolmates was Andrew Johnson, who became the seventeenth president of the United States. Alexander E. Davis enlisted in the Confederate army, offering to take the place of his brother, who had several children, and was killed during the siege of Vicksburg. His widow after remarried, becoming the wife of S. V. Moser in 1874, and five children were born to them: William A. and John P., residents of Portland, Oregon; Charles Edward, of Oakland, California; Robert G., who is a locomotive engineer in the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company and lives in Roseburg, Oregon; and Walter J. Moser, of Starbuck, Washington. An only child, James A. Davis was but fourteen months old at the time of his father’s death and, in compliance with an agreement entered into during the Civil war, was reared by the brother whom Alexander E. Davis had replaced in the Confederate service. The favorite playground of James A. Davis was in the vicinity of the mill owned by his uncle, with whom he often rode on the carriage that conveyed logs to the saw, and when a boy of eight he had the misfortune to lose a leg in this sawmill, which was in operation at Greeneville. In spite of that handicap he walked regularly to the nearest schoolhouse, a distance of three and a half miles, often trudging through the snow in the winter. Afterward he attended Oakhill Academy at Leadvale, receiving instruction from George T. Russell, and later took a postgraduate course under the same teacher, who had migrated to Roseburg, Oregon. Mr. Davis studied law at Emory & Henry University but before he had finished his course in that institution his mother was obliged to seek a more healthful climate and he came with the family to the Pacific coast, reaching Oregon on the 4th day of May, 1884. The change proved beneficial to Mrs. Moser, who resided in the west for many years, passing away in 1915, and her husband’s demise occurred in 1918. In Sheridan, Yamhill county, Oregon, Mr. Davis began his career as an educator, remaining there for two years, and in 1886 proceeded to Roseburg, where his studies were directed by Professor J. B. Homer, now a member of the faculty of the Oregon Agricultural College at Corvallis. For more than twenty years Mr. Davis engaged in teaching, constantly advancing in the profession, and was principal of the high school at Oakland, Oregon, for two years, during which he established the first school library in Douglas county. He had charge of the Yoncalla high school for four years and came to Wasco county in 1905. For two years he was principal of the high school at Antelope and in 1907 came to The Dalles. He was appointed deputy county assessor by J. W. Koonts and acted in that capacity until 1913, when he became assessor, filling the position for four years. In 1921 he was reelected to the office, in which he has since been retained, and has served for a longer period than any other county assessor in Oregon. Mr. Davis has devoted deep thought and study to his work and enjoys the confidence of the voters and taxpayers of Wasco county. Methodical and conscientious, he has made his department a model of efficiency, inaugurating the system whereby assessment notices and tax receipts are made out at one time, and this system, under various forms, is now in use throughout the state. In commercial affairs he has also demonstrated his ability, opening an insurance office in 1917, and soon established a profitable business. In October, 1891, Mr. Davis married Miss Ruth Bridges, a native of California and a daughter of the Rev. Daniel and Euselia (Owens) Bridges, who crossed the plains in a covered wagon during the ‘50s, settling in Scio, Oregon. Rev. Bridges was a Methodist minister and one of the early circuit riders of Linn county. Later he went to Missouri, where he remained until his demise, but his wife passed away in Oregon. To their union were born thirteen children, seven of whom survive: Mrs. Emma Miller; Mrs. Laura Applegate; W. C. Bridges, a resident of Drain, Oregon; Mrs. Amanda Smith; Mrs. Ruth Davis; Isom C. Bridges, of Oregon City; and Mrs. Martha Looney, who lives in Jefferson, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Davis became the parents of four sons. Harold L., the eldest, who was born October 18, 1894, in Oakland, Oregon, and is a high school graduate, is a writer of note and acts as deputy assessor of Wasco county. Percy V., the second son, is deceased. Dudley Quentin, also a native of Oakland, born December 16, 1901, enlisted in the United States navy and was in the service of his country for three years. He is married and has one child, James Quentin, who was born July 2, 1924, at The Dalles. Richard Harding, who was born September 6, 1911, and is a junior in the local high school, has a talent for music and plays in the high school band and also in an orchestra. During the World war Mr. Bridges devoted much of his time to patriotic activities and furthered the success of the various drives. In politics he is a stanch republican and for three years was clerk of The Dalles school board. He takes a keen interest in fraternal affairs and is a past noble grand of five lodges. In the Woodmen of the World and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows he has filled all of the chairs and is also connected with the Neighbors of Woodcraft. Mr. Bridges has discharged life’s duties and obligations to the best of his ability and occupies a high place in the esteem of his fellowmen. Additional Comments: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Pages 237-238 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/wasco/bios/davis334gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 6.7 Kb