George L. Davis
George L. Davis, who has been a resident of Lima since the spring of 1899, is interested in oil production and also owns some valuable property in the city, as well as in Auglaize County. He was born in May, 1851, near Auburn, the county seat of Cayuga County, New York, and remained there until his 17th year, when he entered the oil field of Pennsylvania. In short time he was taking contacts for drilling oil-wells, and met with great success in the several States in which he operated. In 1873 he extended his operations to Ecuador, South America, where, for about two years, he was engaged in drilling deep wells to furnish the inhabitants with a much needed supply of water. About 1893 he began operations as an independent oil producer, and has since been thus engaged.
In 1899 Mr. Davis moved to Lima and invested largely in real estate. Besides his handsome home on Spring Street, he owns the Hotel Manhattan property in the heart of the city. It is the intention of Mr. Davis to remodel this building during the next few months, add a number of rooms to meet the growing demands of the business, and make it in every way worthy of the large patronage it now enjoys. Mr. Davis owns a fine farm of 227 1/2 acres in Auglaize County, Ohio, which is devoted to stock-raising and has gained him a good reputation as a breeder of fine roadsters and draft horses. He also raises large numbers of cattle, hogs, and sheep, and conducts his farming along profitable lines.
Mr. Davis was married, in 1877, to Mary Tuller, of Irving, New York. They have two sons George L., Jr., who resides in Indiana, and Carl L., of Lima. Mr. Davis is a prominent Mason, being a member of Lima Council No. 20, R. & S. M., and Shawnee Commandery, No. 14, K. T., of Lima; Ohio Sovereign Consistory, S. P. R. S., of Cincinnati; and Antioch Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Dayton.