Dr. R. L. WATSON, the only physician in the village of Florid, was born in Joliet, Illinois, April 9, 1880, and is a son of Joseph L. and Caroline M. WATSON. The father, a native of Pennsylvania, died in Joliet on the 9th of April, 1905. He followed the occupation of farming until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when he located in Joliet, where for years he was captain of the night watch, while subsequently he became a guard at the penitentiary. A few years ago he retired from business cares and duties, and he passed away at the age of seventy, being still survived by his widow, who yet resides in Joliet. In their family were eight children. The second brother of our subject, Robert Louis WATSON, was a master mechanic employed in the steel mills at Clairton, Pennsylvania, where he was killed in an explosion in March, 1906. Five of the children are still living, namely: Belle W., William and Elizabeth, all of whom are at home in Joliet; and Ralph, who is employed in the steel mills in Clairton, Pennsylvania.
Dr. WATSON, who is the youngest of the family, entered the public schools of Joliet at the usual age and passed through successive grades until he was graduated from the high school with the class of 1899. He afterward did three years' preparatory work in the University of Michigan, and then, having determined upon the practice of medicine and surgery as a life work, he matriculated in Rush Medical College of Chicago, from which he was graduated in 1904. In December of the same year he located in Florid, and has secured an excellent practice, which is constantly growing. Although a young man, he is considered an able physician, and his practice extends over a large territory. He is continually reading and studying along the line of his profession, thus broadening his knowledge and promoting his efficiency, and he has today a business which many an older practitioner might well envy.
Dr. WATSON was married .October 18, 1905, to Miss Clara M. CASE, who was born in Manistee, Michigan, and they now have a beautiful home in Florid.
Extracted July 2011 by Norma Hass from Past and Present of Marshall and Putnam Counties Illinois, 1907.
| Bureau | Putnam | |
| Stark |
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La Salle |
| Peoria | Woodford |
