Cornelius Clarkson Watts (1848–1930), or C. C. Watts, was an American lawyer and politician. He served as United States Attorney for the District of West Virginia and Attorney General of West Virginia. In 1896, Watts was the Democratic party candidate for

Governor of West Virginia A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

Early and family life

He was born April 23, 1848, at

Amherst, Virginia Amherst (formerly Dearborn) is a town in Amherst County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,231 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Amherst County. Amherst is part of the Lynchburg metropolitan area. History Amherst was fo ...

. His parents, James D. and Lucy A. (Simms) Watts, lived in Amherst until the beginning of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, when they removed to

Albemarle County, Virginia Albemarle County is a United States county (United States), county located in the Piedmont region of Virginia, Piedmont region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, Virginia, Charlottes ...

. Sixteen year old C.C. Watts joined the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

and served as a private soldier in Mosby's Command. After the war, he studied law and was educated 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 ...

Career

In 1870, Watts moved to West Virginia and began the practice of his profession at Oceana, West Virginia. He was elected prosecuting attorney for

Wyoming County, West Virginia Wyoming County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,382. Its county seat is Pineville. The county was created in 1850 from Logan County and named for the Lenape word meaning "large pl ...

, in 1872, and held the office until 1875. In that year he moved to Charleston and became a member of the law firm of Kenna & Watts. He was nominated and elected by the Democratic party, in 1880, as Attorney General for West Virginia, and served his term of four years. While attorney general, he argued many important cases for the State, and with Maj. 0. D. Cook, his faithful assistant, got out nine volumes of Supreme Court reports. He argued the tax case of ''Chesapeake & Ohio Ry. Co. v. Miller'', 114 U.S. 176 (1885) on March 22, 1885, in the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

. In that case, he served as Attorney for the State under the employment and appointment of Governor Jacob B. Jackson, after his term of office as Attorney General had expired. In this litigation the State was successful, and besides gaining for itself and the counties through which the road runs, some $200,000, it established the right to forever tax, not only this railway, but all railroads now or hereafter to be built in West Virginia. In August 1886, President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

sent his name to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

to be Attorney of the United States for the District of West Virginia. The appointment was confirmed on August 3, 1886, for the term of four years. However, after the election of 1888, which resulted in Mr. Cleveland's defeat, Watts began such a vigorous prosecution of the " Election Fraud Cases," that on March 9, 1889, Attorney General William H. H. Miller, by direction of President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

, telegraphed U.S.Attorney Watts requesting his resignation. Whereupon he immediately replied by telegram:

Your telegram of this date, by direction of the President, requesting my resignation of the office of United States Attorney for the District of West Virginia, has been received. I know of no act of mine, either official or otherwise, which, in the absence of cause being assigned, would, under existing circumstances, justify me in tendering my resignation. I therefore respectfully decline to make such resignation. If the President wants me to vacate the office of United States Attorney, without cause being assigned therefore, let him assert his prerogative.

On April 4, 1889, he was notified by the President of his removal. In 1891-1894 Watts served as a member of West Virginia State Senate from the 9th District. He was the Democratic party candidate for Governor of West Virginia in 1896, defeated by Republican party candidate George W. Atkinson.

Death and legacy

He died in Charleston on May 28, 1930, and was interred at Spring Hill Cemetery, Charleston. His home, Breezemont, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1982.

Sources

Google books reference
George Wesley Atkinson and Alvaro Franklin Gibbens, ''Prominent Men of West Virginia'' (Wheeling, W. Va.: W. L. Callin, 1890) p. 812-813.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Cornelius Clarkson 1848 births 1930 deaths Burials at Spring Hill Cemetery (Charleston, West Virginia) Confederate States Army soldiers County prosecuting attorneys in West Virginia People from Albemarle County, Virginia People from Amherst, Virginia Lawyers from Charleston, West Virginia People from Oceana, West Virginia People of Virginia in the American Civil War United States attorneys for the District of West Virginia University of Virginia alumni West Virginia attorneys general West Virginia lawyers Democratic Party West Virginia state senators Politicians from Charleston, West Virginia 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the West Virginia Legislature