Elton Watkins

Infobox Congressman
name= Elton Watkins


state= Oregon
district= 3rd
party= Democratic
term= March 4 1923 – March 3 1925
preceded= Clifton N. McArthur
succeeded= Maurice Edgar Crumpacker
date of birth= July 6, 1881
place of birth= Newton, Mississippi
date of death= June 24, 1956
place of death=
spouse= Daniela Ruth Sturgis
current occupation=

Elton Watkins (July 6, 1881 – June 24, 1956) was a Congressman representing Oregon's 3rd congressional district for one term. The son of a Confederate soldier, Watkins would also serve as an assistant U.S. Attorney.

Early life

Watkins was born in Newton, Mississippi on July 6 1881.Corning, Howard M. "Dictionary of Oregon History". Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.] His father was a veteran of the Confederate Army, and the younger Watkins was educated at the Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee before attending college at Washington and Lee University in Virginia, where he graduated in 1910 with a bachelors of arts. Watkins then went onto law school at Georgetown where he earned an LL.B.. Then in 1912, he graduated with a masters degree from George Washington University Law School. During part of his time in Washington, DC he worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.cite web | title = Biographical Directory of the United States Congress| publisher = U.S. Government Printing Office | url = http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000191| accessdate = 2007-04-30]

Oregon

Also in 1912 he moved to Oregon where he was admitted to the state bar. During World War I he returned to the FBI and in 1918, married Daniela Ruth Sturgis. The couple would have two children. In 1919, he became an assistant attorney for the United States District of Oregon. Then in 1922 he won election as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives from Oregon’s 3rd congressional district. He lost his re-election bid in 1924.

Later life

In 1930 Watkins was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, but lost to incumbent Charles L. McNary. Then in 1932, he ran again and lost in the primary. Also in 1932, he ran and lost a bid to be Portland’s mayor. He tried a second time for the mayors office in 1940 and lost. He then returned to the practice of law in Portland, where he died on June 24 1956. He was buried in Greenwood Hills Cemetery.

References

"This article incorporates material from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress."