Henry E. Watkins to Thomas Jefferson, 6 November 1818
From Henry E. Watkins
Prince Edward1 Nov 6th 1818
Sir,
You were good enough to say, when I had the pleasure of seeing you in Stanton, that you would send me some of the seed of the Succory, if I would remind you of it after your return home.—It is therefore; that I now take the liberty of requesting that you would foward me a parcel of the seed of this plant; And I do this with the less reluctance, from a confidence that you think highly of its usefulness, and would be gratified in giving aid to its more extensive cultivation. I am desirous of trying it under favourable circumstances, and would be glad to be informed, (if you have leisure) what kind of soil suits it best, what is the proper time and manner of sowing it, And how it should be worked.—A package directed to me, and sent to the care of Ellis & Allan of Richmond would probably be safely received.
Henry E Watkins
RC (DNAL: Thomas Jefferson Correspondence, Bixby Donation); at foot of text: “Thomas Jefferson Esquire”; endorsed by TJ as received 23 Nov. 1818 and so recorded in SJL.
Henry Edward Watkins (1782–1856), attorney and public official, was a native of Prince Edward County. He studied successively at Hampden-Sydney College in 1796, at what is now Washington and Lee University, and at the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University), from which he graduated in 1801 before studying law at the College of William and Mary. Watkins represented Prince Edward County in the House of Delegates, 1812–13, 1819–21, 1822–27, and 1832–33, and he sat in the Senate of Virginia, 1833–35. During a break in his service as a delegate, Watkins saw duty as a cavalry lieutenant in the Prince Edward County militia during the War of 1812. He was a trustee of Hampden-Sydney, 1807–31 and 1836–53, sat on the Rockfish Gap Commission in 1818 that, under TJ’s leadership, chose the site of the University of Virginia, and in 1827 became the treasurer of Union Theological Seminary, then a part of Hampden-Sydney. In the 1850 census Watkins is described as a farmer with real estate valued at $89,000. At the time of his death in Prince Edward County he owned $170,000 in slaves and real estate (Elizabeth Marshall Venable, Venables of Virginia [1925], 131–2; Catalogue of the Officers and Alumni of Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, 1749–1888 [1888], 55; , 113; , 42; General Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Hampden-Sidney College, 1776–1906 [1908], 16, 18; ; , 177; 7 [1899]: 34, 36–7; 23 [1915]: 320–1; DNA: RG 29, CS, Prince Edward Co., 1820–50; Richmond Enquirer, 24 Nov. 1835; Richmond Whig and Public Advertiser, 15 Aug. 1856; gravestone inscription in Watkins family cemetery, Prince Edward Co.; Prince Edward Co. Will Book, 10:275–9, 290–2).
1. Remainder of dateline beneath signature.