17th Century | 18th Century | 19th Century | 20th Century
From “Breezy Knoll” to Hospital
The Breezy Knoll house was built in 1894 for James Thomas Davidson and his wife Elizabeth (Burleigh) Davidson. James T. Davidson was born in Oxford, OH, in 1856, the son of Judge Robert Parks Davidson and Jennie (Claybaugh) Davidson. He graduated from Bowdoin College and practiced law in Indiana before moving to Maine in 1889. He was elected President of the York County National Bank, when it was organized in 1893. Among other commitments, he was one of the original directors of the York Golf and Tennis Club.
Elizabeth Davidson was born in South Berwick, ME, in 1862, the daughter of John Homes Burleigh and Matilda (Buffum) Burleigh. John Holmes Burleigh was a former sea captain, owner of the Newichawannock Woolen Mill, and served in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1873-77. Elizabeth married James T. Davidson in 1883, settled first in Indiana, and returned to Maine in 1889. She was active in the York community while raising six children. She worked with Mary Perkins raising funds for the establishment of the Old Gaol Museum. A number of descendants of the family have lived in York over the years.
When James T. Davidson died in 1901, Elizabeth Davidson stayed in York and was elected President of the bank in 1904. By 1905, having moved back to South Berwick with her children, she was commuting to the bank by trolley and was considering selling the house. Meanwhile Mary Perkins was raising support for the York Hospital Fund. When the Treaty of Portsmouth ending the Russo-Japanese War was signed in 1905, Mary and her daughter Elizabeth Perkins held a fund-raising event for the Hospital, inviting the Japanese envoys. The result was a donation of $1000 for the Hospital Fund from the Japanese envoys and additional dontation of $100 from the Russian envoys. The social affair raised $500 as well. The town entered into negotiations with Mrs. Davidson, a price was agreed upon, and in 1906 the property opened as the York Hospital. The house was demolished when a new hospital building was built in 1958.
Helen Claybaugh (Moss) Ogden.
Great-granddaughter of the Davidsons.