Asa Dickinson Watkins (June 1856 – April 14, 1938) was an American judge and politician who served as a member of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

and

Virginia Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

Early life

Asa Dickinson Watkins was born on June 5 (or 6), 1856, at "Ingleside" near

Farmville, Virginia Farmville is a town in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Prince Edward and Cumberland County, Virginia, Cumberland counties in the U.S. state, Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Prince Edward County, Virginia, Prince Edward County. ...

, to Martha Ann (née Scott) and Francis N. Watkins, a judge, banker, and churchman. His paternal grandfather Henry E. Watkins was a member of the

. His great-grandfather Francis Watkins was a county clerk. He attended private schools in Prince Edward County, including Farmville High School. He attended

Hampden-Sydney College Hampden Sydney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince Edward County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census. Hampden Sydney is the home of Hampden–Sydney College, a private all-male college that is the tenth ...

. In 1878, he left college in his senior year. He then studied law under his father and, in 1880, attended lectures at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1884.

Career

Watkins was a Democrat. He served as deputy clerk of the county court for seven years. He served as the sheriff of Prince Edward County from 1880 to 1881. He also worked in the cotton business in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, for a short time. After getting admitted to the bar, Watkins became the senior member of the law firm of Watkins and Brock. In 1886, he became judge of Prince Edward County but resigned that post in 1891 to become prosecuting attorney. Watkins represented Prince Edward County in the

for the session of 1897-1898. He was elected to the Virginia Senate in 1899, representing Prince Edward,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, and Amelia counties. Watkins served as town attorney for Farmville from 1898 to his death. Watkins served as the secretary-treasurer of the board of trustees of the State Female Normal School (later the State Teachers' College) in Farmville. He served as a trustee of Hampden-Sydney College from 1886 to 1932. He served as trustee of the Normal and Industrial Institute for Negroes (now

Virginia State University Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black land-grant university, land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia, United States. Founded on , Vi ...

) in Petersburg for 20 years. He was a member of the state inter-racial commission around 1922.

Personal life

On September 2, 1886, Watkins married Nannie E. Forbes, daughter of Colonel William W. Forbes and Amonette Cobb Forbes, of Buckingham County. They had eight children: William Forbes, Samuel W., Mrs. Maurice Miller, Frank Nathaniel Watkins, Asa D., Patsy, Nancy, and foster daughter Mrs. Joseph Powell. He was a deacon and elder of the Presbyterian Church in Farmville. Watkins died on April 14, 1938, at his home in Farmville. He is buried at Farmville Cemetery.

References

External links

* * 1856 births 1938 deaths Democratic Party Virginia state senators 19th-century American judges 20th-century American judges People from Farmville, Virginia 19th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly 20th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly {{Virginia-delegate-stub