Watson, William W.

Born: 1794-04-01 Sussex County, New Jersey

Died: 1874-11-02 Springfield, Illinois

Watson moved to Lexington, Kentucky in 1817 and the following year he married Maria Humerickhouse, with whom he had five children. The couple moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where Maria died in 1834. Watson then moved to Saint Louis, Missouri, where he ran a business before moving to Springfield, Illinois, in 1836. In September 1836, Watson opened a confectionary on the corner of Fourth and Main streets in Springfield, under the name W. W. Watson. Three years later, his son Benjamin joined the business, changing the name to W. W. Watson & Son. In 1842, he married Sarah Mottashed. In 1860, he was employed as a confectioner and owned $20,000 in real estate and $4,000 in personal property. Abraham Lincoln represented Watson in two cases and served against him in one. W. W. Watson & Son continued in business until January 1865, when the business was listed for sale.

John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 753-754; Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 17 September 1836, 2:7; 1 November 1839, 3:4; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Sangamon County, IL, 246; 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=138950, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=139180, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=140722; Illinois Daily State Journal (Springfield), 23 January 1865, 3:4.