Davie, John Chapman, M. D.
Dr. John Chapman Davie, one of Victoria's pioneer citizens, whose distinguished ability in the line of his profession has won him notable success, was born in Wells, Somersetshire, England, on the 22nd of March, 1845, and is a representative of old families in that country. His father, the Hon. John Chapman Davie, M. R. C. S., L. S. A., who practiced his profession in Merton, Surrey, England, came to British Columbia in 1862, accompanied by his four sons. He continued in the active practice of medicine in Victoria and also became a prominent and influential factor in public affairs, serving at one time as a member of the local legislature before the confederation. He married Miss Annie Collard Waldron, a representative of an old family of Wellington, Somersetshire, England, who departed this life in 1866, in the fifty-fourth year of her age. One of her sons, Hon. Alexander Edmund Batson Davie, became a very prominent member of the bar of British Columbia and occupied the high office of premier of the province. Another son, Hon. Theodore Davie, also became premier of the province of British Columbia, and afterward chief justice of the province. The third son, William, has extensive agricultural interests. The father died in 1867, in the fifty-sixth year of his age.
Dr. John Chapman Davie completed his literary education in Silcoates College of England and prepared for his profession in the University of San Francisco, in California. He spent three years there, during which time he attended the lectures of Dr. H. H. Toland and Dr. L. C. Lane, both of whom enjoyed continental reputations and later became distinguished as the founders of colleges.
After completing his university course Dr. Davie returned to Victoria and entered upon the practice of his profession in connection with his father, benefiting by his ripe experience. He has since remained in active practice in Victoria. He is a member of the Provincial Medical Council, of which he has had the honour of being president.
In 1867 Dr. Davie was married to Miss Kate Thain, of Victoria, and unto them were born three daughters, as follows: Isabella, now the wife of D. R. W. Craig of Phoenix, Arizona; Edith, who resides with her father; and Kate, who is now Mrs. Polehampton, and makes her home in England. Mrs. Davie departed this life in 1882, and the Doctor has since remained single. In politics he is a Conservative. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and to the Church of England.
R. E. Gosnell, A History of British Columbia, (Vancouver, B. C.: Lewis Publishing Co., 1906). pp. 699-700.