Elkanah Watson 1782 John Singleton Copley

Elkanah Watson (January 22, 1758 – December 5, 1842) was a visionary traveler and writer, agriculturist and canal promoter, banker and businessman. He was born in

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth (; historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known as ...

and died at

Port Kent, New York Port Kent is a hamlet within the town of Chesterfield, Essex County, New York, United States, on the western shore of Lake Champlain. Its population was last recorded as 217 (141 households). Its ZIP code is 12975. Seasonal ferry service to Bu ...

. He worked in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

for several years, founding the State Bank of Albany. After retiring in 1807 to a farm in Massachusetts, he raised Merino sheep and founded the agricultural fair, first organizing one at

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

. Based on journals which he had kept since his 20s, Watson started writing his autobiography in 1821. It was completed, edited and published as ''Men and the Times of the Revolution; or Memoirs of Elkanah Watson'' (1856) by one of his sons, historian Winslow Cossoul Watson.

Early life and education

Elkanah Watson was born, raised and educated in

. In 1774 he was apprenticed to the mercantile firm of

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. His family business empire included interests in the

Triangle Trade Triangular trade or triangle trade is trade between three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region from which its major imports come. It has been used to offset t ...

, and Brown was a

slave trader The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and Slavery and religion, religions from Ancient history, ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The socia ...

. Watson was entrusted with increasingly responsible projects and in 1778 at the age of 20, he carried $50,000 sewn into his clothes, to deliver to Brown's southern agents in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. His 1200-mile journey took him 77 days. After delivering the money, Watson set off with two companions to explore Georgia and Florida, and during this journey started keeping a journal, a practice which he maintained for decades. After completing his indenture in 1779, Watson continued to work for the Browns. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Watson carried Brown's dispatches overseas to statesman

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

in France, who was working to secure French support. Watson became a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

in France during the war, and went into business in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

with a Frenchman, François Cossoul. They opened a branch in London before suffering reverses. Later they commissioned a

Masonic apron Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

for

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

. After his return to the United States, in 1785 Watson settled in

Edenton, North Carolina Edenton is a town in, and the county seat of, Chowan County, North Carolina, United States, on Albemarle Sound. The population was 4,397 at the 2020 census. Edenton is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. In recent years Edenton has be ...

, joined by Cossoul who had immigrated. They were successful in business until undone by the financial recession of 1789. Moving to

in 1789, Watson invested in upstate land and businesses. This territory was being plotted, sold and developed for the first time by European-American settlers, as the Iroquois League had been forced to cede most of their lands following their ally Britain's defeat in the American Revolution. In December 1791, he proposed to the New York State legislature that natural waterways could be used to create what later became the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

across New York State, connecting the Hudson River and New York City with the Great Lakes. Later he competed with

Dewitt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and naturalist. He served as a United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the seventh governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely res ...

for the credit for this concept. In 1792, with General Philip Schuyler, Watson formed a company to build locks and canals, starting with the canal at

Little Falls, New York Little Falls is a city in Herkimer County, New York. The population was 4,946 at the time of the 2010 census, which is the second-smallest city population in the state, ahead of only the city of Sherrill. The city is built on both sides of the ...

, about halfway through the Mohawk Valley where the river had rapids that prevented through traffic. Watson was on the board of the Bank of Albany, but was removed for his progressive ideas, including support of free schools, stage lines and turnpikes. He founded the State Bank of Albany in 1803, which proved highly profitable, so much so that he retired within a few years to pursue agricultural interests. In 1807 Watson moved to

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

to raise

Merino sheep The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the breed ...

at his farm. To promote better agricultural practices, he organized the first county fair in the United States, at Pittsfield in 1810, with the goal of stimulating competition and use of best practices. He developed the fair with activities for men, women and children, to involve all of the community. Watson was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

in 1815.

Marriage and family

He married and had two daughters and three sons, Emily Morisceau Watson, Mary Lucia Watson, George Elkanah Watson, Charles Marston Watson and Winslow Cossoul Watson, named after his good friend and business partner. Photographer

Yvette Borup Andrews Yvette Borup Andrews (February 28, 1891 – April 12, 1959) was an American photographer associated with the American Museum of Natural History. With the museum's director, Roy Chapman Andrews, she traveled to Central Asia twice during 1916-18 f ...

was Elkanah Watson's great-great granddaughter.Lydia Pyne
"Yvette Borup Andrews: Photographing Central Asia"
''The Public Domain Review'' (January 10, 2018).

Legacy

*His papers are held by the New York State Library.
SC13294 and SC12579, New York State Library, 2010 *His Elkanah Watson House in

has been designated as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

Early life and education

Marriage and family

Legacy

References

Further reading