Watkins, William (Wadkins)

Born: 1803-07-14 Kentucky

Died: 1876-09-30 Menard County, Illinois

Flourished: Menard County, Illinois

Alternate name: Wadkins

The assignee of a promissory note from Abraham Lincoln and his mercantile partner William F. Berry, Watkins sued Lincoln & Berry to recover the debt in 1834. In 1840, Watkins lived with his family in Menard County, where he was a farmer. By 1860, Watkins was still farming in Menard County, and owned $6,000 in real estate, with over $2,000 in personal property.

Promissory Note of Lincoln & Berry to Knapp & Pogue; Watkins v. Lincoln & Berry, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=140677; U.S. Census Office, Sixth Census of the United States (1840), Menard County, IL, 291; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Menard County, IL, 89; Gravestone, Hash Cemetery, Menard County, IL.