David Davidson as a Tot

From the John Holly Williams Collection -- LLF Library

"Several pictures show a mother and her little boy at home reading a book. Some of the pictures are single poses of the mother and some are single poses of the little boy. Only information is the name 'Davidson,' and the date 1945." -- Library caption.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say this toddler is David Davidson, born Feb. 13, 1943. His parents were Burton Kinchen Davidson (1904-1988) and Elizabeth Pitts Davidson (1906-1998).  

From what I know, Burton Davidson and photographer John Holly Williams were the best of friends, and Mr. Williams and his wife treated David like the son they never had.  For many years after World War II, the Davidsons lived in the Florida Keys, where David's father worked for the U.S. government.

Mr. Williams kept an old Model T Ford parked outside his Art Studio during the late 1950s to help attract business, and he was more than happy to allow Dave and my brother Sam drive around town in a most unique car and attract pretty young girls in the process.

David grew up to be a crooner and a musician. Please see this link to view an earlier Sippiana Succotash post featuring David as the entertainer at one of the Lion's Club Water Carnivals.

UPDATE:  My brother, who was friends with David for many years, reports that David married the daughter of the President of Costa Rica and lived there for many years.  After that marriage ended, he lived in Fort Lauderdale and owned a bar there.  He arrived back in Brookhaven around 1978 or 1979. My brother lost touch with him after 1983, when he was last known to be selling cars in Brookhaven and still dabbling in music.

David died Dec. 5, 2002, age 59.  He is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Brookhaven, and his black granite grave marker, which has an etching of a guitar on it, is not far from the old stone fountain.