Wingfield Scott Watson (April 22, 1828 – October 29, 1922) was a religious leader of the Latter Day Saint Strangites. He was an Irish

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He was baptized as a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) but was an advocate of the Strangite sect throughout his life.

Early life

Wingfield Scott Watson was born April 22, 1828, in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He was the son of Elizabeth Leviston and Thomas Wingfield. His father was an arithmetician and a book keeper. Watson recorded that his father was a good

flutist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

and that his mother was a "country girl." Watson was one of eleven children. His parents were

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

St. Louis

Watson moved to the

in 1848. He received money from his oldest brother, Thomas, to make the trip, and he left on February 16, 1848. He traveled from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, where he landed on April 21, 1848. He then traveled up to

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. Watson found work chopping wood. He later worked in a brickyard. He also worked in coal pits. In St. Louis, Watson heard of the LDS Church. He read a pamphlet called "River Guide" that told of the

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

and the expulsion of the Latter Day Saints from

Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its h ...

. He also read Parley P. Pratt's book, ''Voice of Warning to All Nations''. Watson moved to Clifton in

Grant County, Wisconsin Grant County is the most southwestern county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,938. Its county seat is Lancaster and its largest city is Platteville. The county is named after the Grant River, in t ...

, on June 20, 1850. There he began working in lead mines. Watson married Jane Thompson, who he met while working in the mines. At the time, Jane was widowed and had a young infant son named Robert, whom Watson adopted. He also read the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

and decided to travel to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

to join the Latter-day Saints. He returned to St. Louis and was baptized by a

Mormon missionary Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—often referred to as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and ...

named William Gibson. While returning to Wisconsin, Watson met Samuel Shaw, who was an elder of

James Strang James Jesse Strang (March 21, 1813 – July 9, 1856) was an American religious leader, politician and self-proclaimed monarch. He served as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from 1853 until his assassination. In 1844, he said he ...

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded dur ...

. Watson accompanied Shaw to

. He then went with Shaw to Beaver Island, Michigan. They arrived on June 23, 1852. Instead of traveling farther to Salt Lake, Watson decided to stay in Beaver with the Strang colony.

Leaving Beaver Island

Watson kept records for Strang and accompanied Strang until Strang was murdered on Beaver Island on June 18, 1856. This led to fear that other Strangite leaders would be killed, so they left the island. Watson left for

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, in July of that year, and the Strangite colony disintegrated. Watson then moved to

Livingston, Wisconsin Livingston is a village in Grant and Iowa Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 637 at the 2020 census. Of this, 657 were in Grant County, and only 12 were in Iowa County. The Iowa County portion of Livingston is part of ...

. After some time, however, he was approached by Lorenzo Dow Hickey, who was one of the Strangite church's

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

. Hickey convinced Watson to move to

Black River Falls, Wisconsin Black River Falls is a city in Jackson County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 3,523 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located along the Black River (Wisconsin), Black River and home to the h ...

, where several of the residents of Beaver Island were living. Six years later, Hickey convinced Watson to move again, but this time to

Boyne City, Michigan Boyne City () is a city in Charlevoix County, Michigan, Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,816 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the largest city in Charlevoix County. Boyne City is locat ...

. There Watson became a leader of the Strangites. He published pamphlets and preached to the people. He wrote letters from 1862 to 1883 to affirm Strang's authority. Watson lived in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

until 1891.

Contributions to the Strangite faith

The Strangites believed that James Strang was the rightful successor to Joseph Smith. The group formed after the death of Smith and is separate from the LDS Church, which teaches that

Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...

was Smith's successor. Watson contributed to the Strangite church for seventy-two years. He published thirteen pamphlets related to the church. They included "The Prophetic Controversy, A Letter from James J. Strang to Mrs. Corey" and "The Necessity of Baptism; and of Having Authority from God to Preach the Gospel". He later debated with Willard Blair of the

Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Community of Christ, known legally and from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement ...

from October 22 to October 26, 1891. This debate was published as "The Watson Blair Debate Which Took Place at East Jorday, Michigan Commencing Oct. 22 and Ending Oct. 26,1891". He converted Edward T. Couch to the Strangite faith as well. Couch later published other pamphlets defending the religion. In 1891, Watson also went to live in Wisconsin again, in Spring Prairie. On June 11, 1897, he became a Presiding High Priest of the church, which was led by Hickey.

Later life

In 1907, Watson moved to

Voree, Wisconsin Voree (/vɔːriː/) is an unincorporated community in the Town of Spring Prairie in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. It is best known as the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite), a denominati ...

. The Strangites believed that this area had been sanctified by God as a settling place of the Latter Day Saints. His wife, Jane, died in 1908. He died on October 29, 1922.

References

External links

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)Articles about Wingfield Watson and James Strang, Wisconsin State Historical SocietyWingfield Watson Papers, MSS 2268
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L. Tom Perry Special Collections

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

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Articles written by Wingfield Watson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Wingfield W. 1828 births 1922 deaths American Latter Day Saint leaders American Latter Day Saints Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) members Converts to Mormonism Irish Latter Day Saints Irish emigrants to the United States Latter Day Saint leaders People from Black River Falls, Wisconsin People from Boyne City, Michigan People from Grant County, Wisconsin People from Livingston, Wisconsin People from Spring Prairie, Wisconsin Religious leaders from Wisconsin Writers from Michigan Writers from Wisconsin