Watson Family
2 Linear Ft
A1997-037; A2004-026; A2011-021
1890-1945 (unknown)
Oliver S. Watson was born January 30, 1850, Ella Watson whose maiden name was Miss Ella Byington, was born in Goliad on April 3, 1857. Ella's mother was Rachel Smith and her father was Samuel T. Byington who married October 26, 1848 at Ottawa, Illinois. Ella Byington and Oliver S. Watson were married in 1882. In 1903 they came to Kingsville with the work trains when the railroad was built and lived in a tent for the first few months. In tents pitched between the tracks and Fifth Street, Kingsville's first main street, Ella Watson, cooked and fed the railway workers. Mr. Watson was the first Justice-of-the-Peace for the new settlement which was then part of Nueces County.
Eventually they built a large three story boarding house with stones that were quarried with sand from Riviera Beach. They subsequently built four other stone houses for individual family living. Mrs. Watson was a lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church. The Watsons had three children: Olive Lynn Watson; William Alfred Watson; and Linton Wells Watson. Linton married Mabel Watson and had a daughter Dora E. Watson who married Choice James Bohanan. They had two sons and a daughter: Linton Choice Bohanan, James Wells Bohanan and Dodie Amenda Bohanan. Linton Wells Watson fought in the First World War, ran the diesel locomotive on the MoPac Passenger run between Houston and Kingsville until 1959.
On December 31, 1908 Oliver S. Watson died and was laid to rest at Chamberlain Cemetery the first year it was established. He was remembered as a good Justice of the Peace, great fiddler and astute poker player. Ella Watson died November 30, 1934 in Houston where she had lived with her son and his family since 1932. She was laid to rest beside Oliver Watson in the Chamberlain Cemetery.
The Watson Family Collection contains personal correspondence, financial papers, photographs, Kingsville newspapers, school textbooks, railroad manuals, maps and personal books. The materials date from the early 1900's to the 1960's. The black and white photographs depict a time in South Texas of growth, adventure, and hard work.
The materials are arranged by format into folders: letters, financial documents, maps, and railroad memorabilia. The photographs are arranged as given in each accession.
South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Open for Research
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Watson Family Collection, A2011-021.xxxx South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
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A1997-037 – Gift of Larrie and Martha Sells,A2004-026 – Gift of Linton C. Bohanan,A2011-021 – Gift of Gina R. Bohanan
A1997-037 and A2004-026 were processed by Cecilia Aros Hunter; A2011-021 was processed by Lori Atkins; Finding Aid was created by Lori Atkins and the EAD document was created by Lori Atkins and Daniel Thacker.