596327

[marlow.FTW]

[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #6300, Date of Import: Sep 11, 1998]

Bancroft, May 12.-John A. Watson, a former sheriff of Shiawassee County and of late years in the general merchandise business in this village died at 7 o'clock Wednesday morning as the result of a stroke of paralysis sustained Monday afternoon. He failed to regain conciousness after being stricken and slowly sank to his death. Funeral services will be held Friday morning at 8 o'clock at his home with burial at Mt. Morris.
Mr. Watson had been in poor health since a year ago in January when he suffered his first stroke of paralysis. For weeks he lay in a critical condition and his recovery was despaired of. He fought bravely for life, however, and eventually regained his strength and was able to return to his business. He suffered several light strokes after that, however. The death of his wife, something over a year ago, while mentally unbalanced, was a terrible blow to Mr. Watson and he never was the same after that. His father, W.E. Watson, was killed by a freight train at Bancroft just four weeks ago Wednesday and this was a hard shock for Mr. Watson. While he had displayed hope and courage previous to that, he seemed to give up after his father's death and his relatives could see him gradually failing. Monday afternoon, however, he was feeling as well as usual, and returned to his store after dinner. He remained only a short time, however, returning to his home because of feeling poorly.
Mr. Watson was born in Unadilla, Livingston county, forty eight years ago. He remained there until his father moved to Bancroft in 1877 and established a general store.
Mr. Watson remained in Bancroft until January 1, 1907, when he assumed the office of sheriff, to which he had been elected the fall previous. He was re-elected two years later. It was during his administration that the big trainmen's strike on the Grand Trunk railroad occurred and Sheriff Watson asked the governor for state troops to prevent threatened riots. A regiment of National Guardsmen was mobilized at Durand and remained there for several days, while a big force of special deputies, worked under Mr. Watson during the strike.
At the expiration of his term on December 31, 1910, Mr. Watson accepted a position on the road but soon returned to Bancroft where he went into business with his brother, Mark Watson.
The deceased was a member of the Elks Lodge at Owosso, the Corunna commandery, Knights Templer, the Bancroft lodge, F & A.M. and of the Maccabees. He is survived by his daughter, Miss Harriet, six years old, now attending school at Kalamazoo; two brothers, Mark and W.O. Watson of Bancroft; and two sisters, Mrs. E.H. Martin of Bancroft and Mrs. A.A. Reeves of Rochester N.Y..

-The State Journal