One of our seemingly never-ending projects at the historical society is to document the lives of the many sea captains who made South Portland their home. We take a look this week at Capt. Horace F. Davis, who lived with his family at 131 Ocean St. in Knightville.
After he retired from his life as a merchant sea captain, Horace F. Davis served as a South Portland alderman in 1899. South Portland Historical Society photo
Horace F. Davis was born circa 1840 in Freeport, Maine, the son of John and Eliza Davis. His dad was a farmer, so it’s a little surprising that Horace and his brothers, Wesley and Roscoe, all turned to the sea and eventually became merchant sea captains.
Horace married Grace Whitman in 1867 and in September, 1871, he purchased the land and building at 131 Ocean St. from Joseph Seavey (the house you’re looking at when you are exiting the post office parking lot today). He and Grace made their home there and started a family. They had several children, including: Lucy Blanche Davis, born in 1871, but died in 1872 when she was only 17 months old; Guy Davis, born in 1873; Ethel M. Davis, born in 1875; and George A. Davis, born circa 1878.
After building his skills as a sailor, Horace worked his way up to become a ship captain. As early as 1869, he was the captain of the schooner Nevada, a packet schooner making regular runs between Portland and Baltimore. In December, 1871, he purchased the master’s interest in the schooner Hattie E. Sampson and commanded that schooner in the coastal trade for several years.
In 1873, Horace and his brother, Capt. Roscoe S. Davis, had a large three-masted schooner built at the Hutchins and Stubbs yard in Yarmouth. The schooner was named the Grace Davis in honor of Horace’s wife. Horace Davis was the first master of the Grace Davis and commanded her through 1877 (he turned over command to his brother Wesley in 1877, and Wesley turned the command over to brother Roscoe around 1881).
Captain Davis held an ownership interest in many merchant ships. The Grace Deering was a bark that he had built at the Joshua F. Randall Shipyard in Knightville. South Portland Historical Society image
Keeping it local, Horace had a bark (three-masted) built in 1877 in Knightville by Daniel Brewer at the Joshua F. Randall Shipyard. The bark was christened the Grace Deering and Horace’s brother Roscoe was the first master. His brother Wesley also commanded the vessel at other times.
In 1882, Horace and his brother Roscoe again had a ship built at the Hutchins and Stubbs yard in Yarmouth. This three-masted schooner was christened the Lucy A. Davis in honor of Roscoe’s wife, and Roscoe Davis would go on to command her.
Around 1884-1885, Horace took a job as an agent for the Independent Tow Boat Company on Commercial Street in Portland.
In 1884, Horace and his brother Wesley had the schooner Ethel M. Davis built at the Loring and Cobb yard in Yarmouth. The schooner was intended for trade with Mexico. On a trip from Laguna, Mexico, to New York, with a load of mahogany in November, 1888, the schooner was caught in a gale. The vessel capsized off the coast of North Carolina and was abandoned.
Horace Davis also purchased the schooner Express in 1885, and in the 1890s, he also owned the sailing yacht Spray that he used for recreation. He finally retired from the sea in the early-1890s and began the next chapter of his life as he had more time to participate in the local community.
He was already a charter member of the Hiram Lodge of Masons in South Portland. He was also a member of the Masconomo Tribe No. 18 (the Knightville chapter of the Improved Order of Red Men), serving as “sachem” (the equivalent of a club president) and representing their organization on the state level. He was a member and officer of the Oasis Council (Knightville) of the United Order of the Golden Cross. Both captain and Mrs. Davis were active in the Knightville Methodist Episcopal Church, as well, with Horace serving on its board of trustees (the church that was later known as the Trinity Church, where city hall is currently located.
In this image of the 1871 F.W. Beers atlas, we can see the Knightville School (now the site of the post office and its parking lot) with Ocean Street to the left and Cottage Road to the right, converging at Legion Square where E Street crosses. Captain Davis and his family lived in the Ocean Street house across from the school, marked with a “J.S.” for Joseph Seavey who sold the house to Davis in 1871. South Portland Historical Society image
In 1893, Horace became a founding member of a new company, Portland Tinware Company on Cross Street in Portland. He served on the board of directors and worked as a tinsmith there through 1894.
When community members began discussing the pros and cons of becoming a city, Capt. Davis was respected for his opinion on the subject. And when the town of South Portland adopted the city form of government in 1898, Horace Davis was elected as a member of the first “city council.” He served as an alderman in 1899, and again in 1904. He was a member of South Portland’s three-person board of assessors from 1901-1903.
After serving as an alderman in 1904, he finally dropped out of both politics and city affairs. He and Grace moved to Portland and for the remainder of his days. He earned his living as a landlord of his many real estate holdings in the local area. Horace Davis died on Jan. 16, 1922. He and his wife are both buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
Note: South Portland Historical Society offers a free Online Museum with over 15,000 images available for viewing with a keyword search, and we are adding new content regularly. You can find it at https://sphistory.pastperfectonline.com and, if you appreciate what we do, feel free to make a donation by using the donation button on the home page. If you have photographs or other information to share about South Portland’s past, we would love to hear from you. South Portland Historical Society can be reached at 207-767-7299, by email at sphistory04106@gmail.com, or by mail at 55 Bug Light Park, South Portland, ME 04106.
Kathryn Onos DiPhilippo is executive director of the South Portland Historical Society. She can be reached at sphistory04106@gmail.com.
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