JAMES P. WATSON
In 1877 Mr. Watson took up his abode in what is now Garfield county and the following spring filed on a homestead, which he continued to own throughout his remaining days and on which his widow still lives. He was a man of energy and was ambitious to succeed. Indolence and idleness were utterly foreign to his nature. Every hour was utilized to the best advantage and as the years passed he prospered, so that from time to time he was able to add to his homestead by additional purchase until prior to his death he had become the owner of about a thousand acres of valuable pasture and wheat land in Garfield county. Mr. Watson had come to this country as a youth without money and without friends, but he employed every moment of his time to good advantage, realizing the eternal principle that industry wins. He also carefully saved his earnings and invested the money thus gained wisely and well, so that in the course of years he acquired a snug little fortune. Moreover, he was a broad reader and deep thinker and became well informed on public affairs. When he crossed the Atlantic it was to become an American citizen, not to remain a subject of Great Britain, although he never lost his love for his native land. He ever felt that his allegiance should be given to the land of his adoption, under whose laws he lived and found protection, and he ever stood for those plans and measures which sought to upbuild the community in which he resided, to advance the welfare of the commonwealth and of the country.
In 1880 Mr. Watson was united in marriage to Miss Emma I. Perkins, a native of Oregon and a daughter of John N. Perkins, who was a physician and philanthropist. Her father was a native of Ohio and crossed the plains in 1851, settling in Oregon. In 1878 he came to what is now Garfield county, establishing his home on the present site of Pomeroy. His grandfather, Thomas Perkins, was a soldier of the Revolutionary war. The mother of Mrs. Watson bore the maiden name of Derisa A. Matsler and was a native of Ohio, where her marriage to Mr. Perkins occurred. She afterward made the journey across the plains with her husband to the northwest. She had three brothers—George, David and John, who served throughout the Civil war in defense of the Union. To Mr. and Mrs. Watson were born thirteen children, of whom two died in infancy, and Inez D., who married J. C. Kimble died leaving two sons, Vergel L. and Cecyl L. Those still living are as follows: Charles E., Alva N., Elsie I., James A., William C., Edna E., John P., Joseph F., Iva N. and Alma M. Most of the children are married and with their families they are all residing in Garfield county, with the exception of James A., who is now a resident of Whitman county. Mrs. Watson now has seventeen grandchildren. She is a woman of pronounced ability who has capably managed her property interests since the death of her husband, which occurred on the 5th of September, 1915.
Mr. Watson was a man of sterling character, was a devoted husband and kind and loving father. He was also an obliging and charitable neighbor and his many sterling traits of character gained for him the esteem and confidence of all with whom he came in contact. In politics he was a democrat until the free silver plank was inserted in the party platform, after which he became a supporter of republican principles. He never failed to earnestly espouse any cause in which he believed and his position was never an equivocal one. He expressed his opinions honestly and fearlessly and men came to know that his word was thoroughly reliable. He never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the new world, for on this side of the Atlantic he found the opportunities which he sought and in their utilization won a substantial measure of success. Moreover, America gained a valued citizen and southeastern Washington profited much by his efforts.
JOHN M. ROBINSON.
Among the representative business men of Garfield county is John M. Robinson, a well known farmer and grain dealer of Pomeroy. He comes from the middle west, being born in Missouri, September 6, 1859, and is a son of Thomas W. and Pauline (Forshey) Robinson, the former also a native of Missouri and the latter of Ohio. It was in 1874 that the family came to the Pacific coast and after spending three years and a half in California became residents of Walla Walla county, Washington, in 1877. About a year later the father took up a homestead in what was then Columbia county but is now Garfield county, locating on a farm fifteen miles southeast of Pomeroy. There the mother passed away in 1878 and he died in Pomeroy in February, 1892. Of their nine children four have also departed this life.