John Watkins was born on September 24, 1842, in Athens County, Ohio, to Columbus C. Watkins and Margaret Robinett. His father was a farmer who owned $800 of real estate and $100 of personal property. The family moved to Unionville, Missouri, around 1848, and his father was elected sheriff as a member of the Whig Party two years later. Watkins grew up and attended school in Putnam County, Missouri, before beginning work as a farmer. He enlisted in the Union army on June 17, 1861, and mustered in as a private in Company B of the 18^th Missouri Infantry. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 11¾ inches tall, with dark hair and black eyes.

 

The regiment took part in the Battle of Shiloh, the Siege of Corinth, the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, the Atlanta Campaign, the March to the Sea, and the Carolinas Campaign. He was wounded in the right hip at Shiloh and “severely” wounded in the head on July 22, 1864, during the Atlanta Campaign. As one friend recalled, however, he “soon recovered from his injuries, and throughout the entire period of the war manifested a spirit of unfaltering loyalty and bravery.” He joined the Republican Party during the war and supported the party for the rest of his life. He ultimately earned a promotion to sergeant, and he mustered out on July 18, 1865.

 

Watkins enlisted in the Regular Army soon afterward, and he spent the next three years stationed in the American West and fighting against Native Americans. He finally returned home to Missouri around 1868. He married Nancy Elizabeth Roush a year later, and they had at least four children: Missouri, Alice, Annie, and Dora. In 1870, they were living in Jackson, Missouri, and they owned $100 of personal property. The family moved to Jackson County, Oregon in 1876, and Watkins operated a cattle ranch there. He sold his land in 1904 and purchased the Eagle Point Hotel, which he operated for the next four years. Watkins joined the Grand Army of the Republic, and he served at least three terms of justice of the peace. As one friend noted, he was “as true and loyal to his country in days of peace as when he followed the old flag on southern battle fields.” He died in Eagle Point, Oregon, on December 31, 1913.

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