John T. Watkins

John Thomas Watkins (January 15, 1854 -- April 25, 1925) was a Democratic U.S. representative from northwestern Louisiana who served from 1905-1921. A lawyer in his hometown of Minden, the seat of Webster Parish, Watkins was a state district judge prior to entering Congress.

Watkins attended the public schools of Minden and graduated from the Minden Male Academy, a forerunner to Minden High School. The then studied for three years at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee. He studied law privately and was admitted to the bar in 1878. He opened his practice in Minden. He was elected judge in 1892 and served in that capacity until 1904. He resumed his law practice briefly prior to his election to Congress. He defeated incumbent Democrat Phanor Breazeale of Natchitoches for renomination in 1904 and was seated with the incoming 59th Congress on March 4, 1905. In his fourth term, he became the chairman of the House Committee on Revision of the Laws.

Watkins rarely faced serious opposition in his reelection bids until he was defeated for a ninth term in 1920 by John N. Sandlin, also a Minden attorney. In 1908, for instance, Watkins defeated two opponents in the general election by a lopsided margin. He polled 88.2 percent of the ballots compared to 5.5 percent for Republican John F. Slattery. The Socialist Party of America candidate, W. S. Emmons, outpolled Slattery and finished with 6.3 percent of the vote.

After Watkins surrendered his congressional seat to Sandlin, he practiced law in Washington, D.C., until his death. Like Watkins, Sandlin would also hold the Fourth District House seat for eight terms.

Watkins, like Sandlin, is interred in the Minden Cemetery.

References

[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/watkins-watrous.html The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Watkins to Watrous ] at politicalgraveyard.com

"Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections", U.S. House of Representatives, 1904-1920