Watson, Sanford

Born: 1801-01-28 Mason County, Kentucky

Died: 1870-07-06 Oregon

Flourished: 1825-1849 Sangamon County, Illinois

Alternate name: Sandford

In 1825, Watson moved from Kentucky with his parents and siblings to settle in Springfield, Illinois. In 1833, he married Betsy Ann Stevenson, with whom he had one child before her death in 1835. In 1842, Watson remarried to Maria Elder. In the 1840s, Watson twice retained Abraham Lincoln to collect debts. The Watsons moved to Polk County, Oregon in 1849.

John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 752; Watson & Lloyd for use of Watson v. Holsey et al., 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=135588; Watson & Lloyd v. Troxel et al., Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=135589; Gravestone, Salem Pioneer Cemetery, Salem, OR.