BIO: Frederick Watts, Cumberland County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judy Bookwalter Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/cumberland/ ______________________________________________________________________ History of Cumberland and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania. Containing History of the Counties, Their Townships, Towns, Villages, Schools, Churches, Industries, Etc.; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; Biographies; History of Pennsylvania; Statistical and Miscellaneous Matter, Etc., Etc. Illustrated. Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1886. http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/cumberland/beers/beers.htm ______________________________________________________________________ PART II. HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY. PENNSYLVANIA. CHAPTER XXXVIII. BOROUGH OF CARLISLE. 399 BOROUGH OF CARLISLE. HON. FREDERICK WATTS, retired lawyer, Carlisle. An eminent minister of the gospel once said: "The leading lawyer is always the most prominent member of the community in which he lives." Whether this is always the case in large cities and commercial centers, or not, it is, no doubt, generally so in agricultural communities. That Judge Watts was the most prominent member of the community in which he lived for more than a quarter of a century is not questioned. As early as October, 1827, he practiced in the supreme court of this State, and as late as the May term of 1869, and all through that period of forty-two years (except the three years he was on the bench), there is not a single volume of reports containing the cases from the middle district in which his name is not found; to which add the fact that for fifteen years he was reporter of the decisions of that court, and during that period, and before and after it, he was engaged in a large office business, and in the trial of nearly all the important cases in the courts below, in his own county and the county of Perry. But this did not satisfy his love for labor. He was, during this period, president of the Cumberland Valley Railroad, and continued in that office for twenty-six years. To his professional duties, and those connected with the railroad, he added constant activity in agricultural pursuits, not only in managing his farms, but as president of the Cumberland County Agricultural Society, and an active projector of the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania, furthering the general agricultural interests of his county and State. Judge Watts was born in Carlisle, this county, May 9, 1801, and is a son of David Watts, one of the most distinguished lawyers of his day, and whose practice extended through all the middle counties of the State. His mother was a daughter of Gen. Miller, of Revolutionary fame, who afterward commanded the United States troops at Baltimore during the war of 1812. His grandfather, Frederick Watts, was a member of the executive council of Pennsylvania before the Revolution, and was one of the prominent men of the province and subsequent State. Our subject, having been duly prepared, entered Dickinson College, from which he was graduated in 1819. He passed the two subsequent years with his uncle, William Miles, in Erie County, where he cultivated his taste for agricultural pursuits. In 1821 he returned to Carlisle, and entered the office of Andrew Carothers, as a law student; was admitted to the bar in August, 1824, and soon acquired a lucrative practice. In 1845 he became president of the Cumberland Valley Railroad. It is to his energy and able management that the people of the valley are indebted for a road which, when he took hold of it, was in debt, out of repair, unproductive, and in a dilapidated condition, but which, through his ener- 400 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: getic and economical management, has been brought up to a high state of prosperity, having paid all of its indebtedness and been made to yield handsome returns. March 9, 1849, Mr. Watts was commissioned by Gov. Johnston president judge of the Ninth Judicial District, composed of the counties of Cumberland, Perry and Juniata. He retained the office until 1852. In 1854 he was elected president of the board of trustees of the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania, in which capacity he still acts. During the year 1854 he projected the erection of gas and water works for Carlisle, and, having formed a company, was elected its president. He is a man of great force of character and abiding self- confidence. Whatever he has undertaken he has done with all his might, and whatever be his belief he believed implicitly. He never sat down at the counsel table to try a case that he did not impress the court and jury that he had perfect confidence that he would gain it. His temper was completely within his control; his equanimity was perfect, and he was ever ready to avail himself of any slip of his adversary. He had great powers of concentration, and always prepared his law points at the counsel table as soon as the evidence was closed. This he did with great facility, always directing them to the main points of the case. His power with the jury was very great. He was known by every man in the counties in which he practiced, and was regarded as a man of large intellect, sterling integrity, and unblemished honor. To these he added the impression of perfect belief in the justice of his cause, and this was effected by a manner that was always dignified, and in speech that was clear, strong, convincing, and never tedious. He despised quirks and quibbles; was a model of fairness in the trial of a cause, and always encouraged and treated kindly younger members of the bar that he saw struggling honorably for prominence, and when he closed his professional career he left the bar with the profound respect of all its members. In 1871 he was tendered the appointment of commissioner of agriculture, which he declined. The offer was renewed, and he finally accepted the appointment, and entered upon its duties August 1, 1871. An admirable system pervaded this department, and the three divisions were so arranged that the most detailed and accurate information could be obtained with the greatest facility. The country had not in its employ a more industrious, honest, faithful and large- hearted servant. He has ever since devoted himself assiduously to the practical development of the agricultural resources of the country.