William Edward Davis, Jr., engaged in the bonds and investment business in New Haven, was born February 1, 1879, in Hamden, Connecticut. His ancestors had lived in this state through several generations. He is a descendant of Avery Davis, who founded the American branch of the family. The great-grandfather of William E. Davis also bore the name of Avery Davis and the grandfather was Edward Davis, a native of Stafford, while the father, William Edward Davis, Sr., was born in Hamden. He became a successful brick manufacturer of New Haven, where the family has long been prominent. His political allegiance was given to the republican party and he took active interest in the moral development of the community, serving as a trustee in the Whitneyville church, in which he held membership. He died January 5, 1917, while his wife, who bore the maiden name of Sophia M. Tamblingson and was a native of England, passed away March 30, 1906. Their family numbered four children: Jessie Lee Dodridge, a resident of Hamden; William E.; Harold Minot, a brick manufacturer of New Haven; and Howard Sherman, now deceased.

     William Edward Davis, after attending the public schools of Whitneyville, and the Hopkins grammar school of New Haven, became a student in the Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts, from which he was graduated in 1897. He then entered Yale and won the Bachelor of Arts degree as a member of the class of 1902. Following his graduation he removed to St. Paul, Minnesota, and was employed in clerical capacities by the Northern Pacific Railway Company for two years. Returning to New York, he there entered the office of a private banker and thus received his initiation into the brokerage business. He continued with the New York house for seven years and then entered the bond business on his own account, establishing an office at No. 61 Broadway, New York. later he opened an office at No. 902 Chapel street in New Haven. He is the author of a book on the subject of investments and has made many contributions to various magazines on questions of finance and investment.

     On the 18th of November, 1915, Mr. Davis was married at Horseheads, New York, to Miss Caroline L. Eisenhart, daughter of Richard Gilbert and Alice (Clarke) Eisenhart, and a representative of an old Pennsylvania family. Mrs. Davis is a graduate of Elmira College of Elmira, New York. Mr. Davis gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has membership in the Quinnipiac and New Haven Country Clubs.