Southampton County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Watkins, Major R.E.L., 1935 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ ROBERT EDWARD LEE WATKINS MAJOR WATKINS DIED YESTERDAY Southampton Attorney's Funeral Tomorrow (News-Herald Special) FRANKLIN, Aug. 6 - Major Robert Edward Lee Watkins, 66, commonwealth's attorney for Southampton county for the past 20 years, died at his home here yesterday after an illness of two years. FUNERAL TOMORROW. Funeral services will be held from the Watkins home on North High street at 11 a.m. Wednesday, with the Rev. R.D. Stephenson conducting the rites, assisted by the Rev. Sparkes W. Melton, of Norfolk. The Southampton bar, of which he was dean, Vaughan-Causey Camp, Spanish War Veterans of Suffolk, and officials of the Franklin Baptist church will serve as honorary pall-bearers. Major Watkins was the son of the late D.J. Watkins, for many years a leading merchant at Franklin and veteran of the Southampton Calvary [sic; Cavalry] troop in the War Between the States. Educated at the College of William and Mary and the University of North Carolina law school, Major Watkins served in many official capacities before being elected commonwealth's attorney in 1915. FORMER MAYOR. Returning from the Spanish-American war, where he rose from lieutenant of Company "I," of Franklin to major on the staff of the judge advocate general, Major Watkins was elected mayor in 1900 and served until 1906. In 1908 he founded the Bruner Bible class at the Baptist church and has been its only teacher since. Major Watkins was forced to relinquish his office as commonwealth's attorney last year on account of declining health. Surviving Major Watkins are a brother, George Watkins, of Franklin; three sisters, Mrs. Eley Darden, New York; Mrs. R.E. Darden, Franklin; and Mrs. J.D. Kase, of Raleigh, N.C.; also two nephews and four nieces. ****************************************************************************** DEATH OF R.E.L. WATKINS LOSS TO TOWN, COUNTY Passing at 66 Following a Long Illness, Major Watkins Had Served Franklin as Mayor and Councilman, and Was Commonwealth’s Attorney of Southampton County For Twenty Years. WAS LONG PROMINENT IN CHURCH ACTIVITIES Major R.E.L. Watkins died at his home in North High Street Monday, August 5, after an illness which had kept him confined to his room since last October. He was born in Southampton County December 27, 1868, the son of the late D.W. [sic; D.J.] and Mrs. Rebecca Moore Watkins. His father, a gallant soldier of the Confederacy in the Southampton Cavalry, was one of the first merchants to be established in the town of Franklin. Major Watkins, or "Judge" as he was known by his host of friends, was an alumnus of the College of William and Mary and studied law at the University of North Carolina. During his life he had filled many positions of honor and trust. Enlisting in the Spanish-American War as Second Lieutenant in Company "I," of the old Fourth Virginia Regiment, he was retired at the close of that conflict in Cuba with the rank of Major of the staff of the Judge Advocate General. He was Mayor of the town of Franklin from 1900 to 1906, and served on the Town Council for a number of years. Being elected Commonwealth’s Attorney of Southampton County in 1914, he held that office for nearly 20 years until ill-health caused his resignation last Summer. He had served on the Democratic Executive Committee of this county for a long period, and had been generally active in civic and political affairs. He was a particularly useful figure in the life of his church and its organizations. A deacon of the Franklin Baptist Church for about 20 years, he was a charter member of and the only teacher of the Bruner Bible Class of that church since its organization in 1908. Serving as Moderator of the Blackwater Baptist Association in 1913 and 1914, he had held important positions in the organized work of the associational gatherings of his church in this section. Judge Watkins was a kindly man, making and holding friends with a rare aptitude. He was genial in his bearing, affable in demeanor, practicing in his daily walk the life of a kindly, courteous gentleman. He filled a worth- while place in his town, county and State, serving in all capacities to the best of his ability and always with unquestioned loyalty. He is survived by a brother, George Watkins, and a sister, Mrs. Robert E. Darden of this town; by two other sisters, Mrs. Eley Darden of New York City and Mrs. J.D. Kase of Raleigh, N.C.; by two nephews, Robert E. Darden, Jr., of Orangeburg, S.C., and L.E. Darden, Jr., of New York; by four nieces, Mrs. George Stone of Suffern, N.Y., Mrs. D.F. Worth, Jr., of San Diego, California, Miss Elizabeth Darden of New York and Miss Mary Darden of Franklin, besides a large and prominent family connection. Funeral rites were conducted from his late residence Wednesday morning at 11 o’clock by his Pastor, Rev. R.D. Stephenson, assisted by Dr. Sparks W. Melton of Norfolk, Dr. Elwood W. Jones of the Franklin Christian Church and Rev. L.F. Paulette of Smithfield. The church choir sang "Lead Kindly Light" and "How Firm a Foundation," and burial was made in Poplar Spring Cemetery in the family plot, the active pallbearers being: W.H. Lankford, Joe Bynum Gay, W.O. Bristow, Cecil Vaughan, 3rd, Roger I. Beale, Dr. J.C. Rawls, Junius W. Pulley and Paul Scarborough. Honorary pallbearers included county officials, members of the Southampton Bar Association, deacons of the Franklin Baptist Church, member of the Bruner Bible Class and Sunday school officers, and comrades of the Vaughan-Causey Camp Spanish-American War Veterans. An unusually large assemblage, including many out-of-town friends, was in attendance. "Judge" Robert Edward Lee WATKINS, Spanish-American War veteran, former Franklin town councilman & Mayor and Commonwealth's Attorney, b. 27 Dec 1868, Southampton Co., d. 5 Aug 1935, at home, Franklin, interred in Poplar Spring Cemetery (Section 1, Plot 33*), Franklin, 7 Aug 1935, "Suffolk (VA) News-Herald," Vol. 13, No. 117, Tues., Aug. 6, 1935, p. 1; "Tidewater News" (Franklin, VA), Aug. 9, 1935, p. 1 Additional information: Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project, Poplar Spring list: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/cemeteries/poplar1.txt A photo of his gravestone - added by Cyndi Harrison - is posted with Find a Grave Memorial #230803213, which gives 1869 - 1939. His parents are buried in the same plot. D.Cert. 20302 (Franklin #49) His father transferred from the Southampton Cavalry - Co. A, 13th VA Cav. - to Co. F, 61st VA Infantry. Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Mrs. Bruce Saunders (bs4403@verizon.net), and re-formatted by File Manager Matt Harris. file at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/w325r2ob.txt