Elkanah Watson
Elkanah Watson (January 22, 1758 – December 5, 1842) was an American agriculturist, writer, banker, and businessman. He was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts and died at Port Kent, New York. He worked in Albany, New York for several years, founding the State Bank of Albany. After retiring in 1807 to a farm in Massachusetts, he raised Merino sheep and founded the agricultural fair, first organizing one at Pittsfield.[2]
Based on journals which he had kept since his 20s, Watson started writing his autobiography in 1821. It was completed, edited and published as Men and the Times of the Revolution; or Memoirs of Elkanah Watson (1856) by one of his sons, historian Winslow Cossoul Watson.[citation needed]
Early life and education
Elkanah Watson was born, raised and educated in
After completing his indenture in 1779, Watson continued to work for the Browns. During the
After his return to the United States, in 1785 Watson settled in Edenton, North Carolina, joined by Cossoul who had immigrated. They were successful in business until undone by the financial recession of 1789.[citation needed]
Moving to
Watson was on the board of the Bank of Albany, but was removed for his progressive ideas, including support of free schools, stage lines and turnpikes. He founded the State Bank of Albany in 1803, which proved highly profitable, so much so that he retired within a few years to pursue agricultural interests.[3]
In 1807 Watson moved to
Watson was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1815.[5]
Marriage and family
He married and had two daughters and three sons, Emily Morisceau Watson, Mary Lucia Watson, George Elkanah Watson, Charles Marston Watson and Winslow Cossoul Watson, named after his good friend and business partner. Photographer Yvette Borup Andrews was Elkanah Watson's great-great granddaughter.[6]
Legacy
- His papers are held by the New York State Library.[3]
- His Elkanah Watson House in Port Kent, New York has been designated as a National Historic Landmark.
References
- ^ Bayley, Frank William; Perkins, Augustus Thorndike (1915). The Life and Works of John Singleton Copley: Founded on the Work of Augustus Thorndike Perkins. Taylor Press. pp. 254–5.
- ^ Maschino, Jeannie (19 July 2021). "Eagle Archives: July 19, 1938: County Fair idea originated with two Marino sheep". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
- ^ a b c d e f "Elkanah Watson Papers, 1773-1884", SC13294 and SC12579, New York State Library, 2010
- ^ C.F. William Maurer, "Elkanah Watson: A Tale of Freemasonry and Revolution," Philalethes 63(2010): 94-107.
- ^ American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
- ^ Lydia Pyne, "Yvette Borup Andrews: Photographing Central Asia", The Public Domain Review (January 10, 2018).
Further reading
- Men and the Times of the Revolution; or Memoirs of Elkanah Watson, 1777-1842, edited by Winslow C. (Cossoul) Watson, New York: Dana and Co, 1856, full text online at Internet Archive.
- Bangs, Jeremy D. "The Travels of Elkanah Watson" (McFarland & Company, 2015).
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- C.F. William Maurer, "Elkanah Watson: A Tale of Freemasonry and Revolution." Philalethes 63(2010): 94-107.