Matthew Clancy (1842-1925) was a California pioneer who eventually settled in the Davis area. After growing up in impoverished Ireland,he left for the United States at the age of 16 with the hope of improving his quality of life. Having little initial success in the Eastern United States, he traveled westward, banking on the agricultural riches of California. After some brief stints in San Francisco as a dairy worker, Clancy was at least able to find consistent work as a farmhand in Yolo County; at one point he even worked for Isaac Chiles. At the age of 31, he began to run a farm on a lease, but he was not able to actually buy his own farmland until around the age of 54. But at his peak ownership, he came to possess almost 400 acres near the outskirts of Davis while he continued to lease and work other lands at the same time. He primarily grew grain and raised cattle. With his wife, Elizabeth Rowan, and their seven daughters, Clancy finally moved into a stately Davis home at the corner of C and 2nd near the end of his life. He passed away at the age of 82 and is buried in Davis Cemetery near several of his immediate family members.
