Elkanah Watson (January 22, 1758 – December 5, 1842) was an American agriculturist, writer, banker, and businessman. He was born in

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth ( ; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklor ...

and died at

Port Kent, New York Port Kent is a Hamlet (place)#New York, hamlet within the town of Chesterfield, New York, Chesterfield, Essex County, New York, United States, on the western shore of Lake Champlain. Its population was last recorded as 217 (141 households). Its ...

. He worked in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

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. 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 in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. 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 religions from ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The social, economic, and legal positions o ...

. 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 List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, Watson carried Brown's dispatches overseas to statesman

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

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

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

in France during the war, and went into business in

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

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

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

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

Edenton, North Carolina The town of Edenton is located on the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. It is the county seat of Chowan County. The population was 4,397 at the 2020 census. Edenton served as the second official capital of North Carol ...

, joined by Cossoul who had immigrated. They were successful in business until undone by a financial recession. 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 navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

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 Naturalism (philosophy), naturalist. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the sixth governor of New York. ...

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, United States. The population was 4,605 at the time of the 2020 census, which is the second-smallest city population in the state, ahead of only the city of Sherrill. The city is built on bo ...

, 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 most populous 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. Pittsfi ...

to raise

Merino sheep The Merino is a list of sheep breeds, 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 monop ...

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 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 The Elkanah Watson House is a historic house at Lake and South Streets in Port Kent, New York. Built in 1828, it was the home of Elkanah Watson (1758–1842), a businessman and diplomat best known for founding and promoting the idea of agricultu ...

has been designated as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

Early life and education

Marriage and family

Legacy

References

Further reading