Jerome Anthony Watrous

Jerome Anthony Watrous was an Adjutant of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry.

Antebellum

• Born September 6, 1840 in Conklin, New York
• Moved with his parents to Wisconsin in 1844
• Returned to New York from 1850 until 1857
• 1857 moved back to Wisconsin and settled in Calumet County
• Taught school for two years
• Attended Lawrence College (now Lawrence University) for one semester before the outbreak of the war
  • Briefly worked on the editorial staff of the Menasha Conservator and the Appleton Crescent (a forerunner of the Appleton Post-Crescent)

War Career

• May 24, 1861 - Enlisted in the 6th Wisconsin Infantry / Company E
• Enlisted from Appleton, Wisconsin
• Veteran
• August 20, 1864 - Promoted to Sergeant Major of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry
• October 19, 1864 - Promoted to Adjutant of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry
• April 1, 1865 - Promoted to Brevet Captain of United States Volunteers
• May 16, 1865 - Mustered out of military service

Postwar Career

• 1865 - Worked as the editor of the Black River Falls Jackson County Banner when he returned to Wisconsin
• 1867 - Served in the Wisconsin State Assembly as a Republican
• 1869 - Editor of the Fond du Lac Commonwealth
• 1877 - Editor of the Milwaukee Sunday Telegraph
• 1887-1889 - State pension agent
• 1890-1892 - Milwaukee Customs Collector
• 1898 - Outbreak of the Spanish-American War
  • Commissioned as a Major in the United States Army
  • Served as Paymaster of the Department of Columbia headquartered in Portland, Oregon
• 1900 - Sent to Manila, Phillipines
  • 1901 - Made Chief Paymaster of the Department of the Southern Philippines
  • 1904 - Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
• ? - Retired from the military and returned to Wisconsin - began writing military and historical works

Published Works

• Memoirs of Milwaukee County: From the Earliest Historical Times Down to the Present, including a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families in Milwaukee County (1909)
  • Archive.org : Part 1 and Part 2
  • Google Books : Part 1 and Part 2

Death and Burial

• Died on June 5, 1922 at 81 years in Whitewater, Wisconsin
• Buried at Forest Home Cemetery

Family

• Parents
  • Father: Orrin Joseph Watrous (1815–1850)
  • Mother: Jane E. (Smith) Watrous (1814–1899)
• Siblings
  • Ansel Watrous (1835–1927)
  • Henry O. Watrous (1838–1863)
  • Demis Watrous Vincent (1843–1928)
  • Eliza J. (Watrous) Axtell (1847–1927)
  • Kate M. (Watrous) McMullen (1849–1885)
• (1) Wife: Lucy Ann (Lashway) Watrous (1843–1865)
• (2) Wife: Mary Ellen (Benedict) Watrous (1843–1917) (married 1866)
  • Children
  • Richard Benedict Watrous (1869–1945)
  • Margaret (Watrous) Betts (1872–1910)
  • Amy (Watrous) Derry (1874–1906)
  • Grace Lillian (Watrous) Washburn (1878–1958)
  • Paul Jerome Watrous (1880–1949)
  • Maude Evangeline (Watrous) Betts (1882–1955)

Sources

• Find a Grave #61127870
• Wikipedia: Jerome Anthony Watrous
• Wisconsin. Adjutant-General's Office. Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865. Volume 1. (Madison, 1886). (Pages 494, 495, 516)

Other Sources

• IBiCWaM 47 quote