W.H. Watkins Letter

William H. Watkins was born in Jefferson County, Mississippi, in 1815. His father, Asa Watkins (b.1777), originated from Jefferson County, Georgia, and moved to Mississippi in the early years of the nineteenth century. Asa Watkins became a successful planter and remained in Mississippi until his death in 1840.

William H. Watkins became a Methodist minister and moved from Mississippi in the mid-1830s to Jackson, Louisiana, where he held the position of President at Centenary College. Later, Watkins served in the New Orleans Methodist Conference. While living in New Orleans, he met and married Elizabeth Jones (b.1818), a native of Liverpool, England. Together, the couple reared eleven children -- six sons and five daughters. On leaving New Orleans sometime between 1840 and 1846, Watkins returned to Mississippi and settled in Natchez, where he became a distinguished and influential clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was a prominent member of the Mississippi Methodist Conference from 1846 onwards. Throughout his life, Watkins served as a Methodist minister in several Mississippi cities, including Jackson and Vicksburg. Watkins died in 1881.

Several of William Watkins' children became notable in later years. William H., John M., and Benjamin Drake became well-known doctors in the New Orleans and Natchez areas; Thomas H. became a successful planter; and Alex F. followed in his father's foot-steps, becoming a notable figure in the Methodist church.