Edgar Watson (1855 - 1910)

It's amazing how much, and how little, is known of the life and death of Edgar Artemas Watson.  His father was Elijah  Daniel ("Ring-Eye Lige") Watson, and his mother was Ellen Catherine Addison.  He was born on 4 November, 1855 at Clouds Creek, Edgefield, South Carolina.  He was killed on Monday, 24 October 1910 at the water's edge of Chokoloskee, Collier, Florida.  Thirty-three bullets were removed from his body, but about 15 loads of buckshot were not.  He was known as Edgar A. Watson until his return from the West, when he changed his middle initial to J; one of his common-law wives called him Jack.  He was married three times, had two common-law wives, and was the father of ten acknowledged children.
   Here are two short renditions of his story; the first is from Wikipedia under the topic of Chokoloskee, Florida; the second is from Ed's "Findagrave" spot.
   "Edgar Watson   -   The Ten Thousand Islands Country, including Chokoloskee, had a reputation as being a refuge for outlaws.  The Ed Watson story, as related by Ted Smallwood, is the best known example of that.  Edgar Watson, a native of Ridge Springs, in the Saluda Division of Edgefield District, South Carolina, showed up in the Chokoloskee Bay country in the early 1880s.  He had supposedly gotten into trouble in Columbia county, in northern Florida, to which his parents had migrated sometime after 1870, and had then gone out to the Indian Territory (later known as the Oklahoma Territory) where he allegedly killed Belle Starr,herself allegedly an outlaw.  He then returned to Florida and killed a man in Arcadia, apparently in self-defense.  After that Ed Watson moved to the Ten Thousand Islands area, then a part of Monroe County, where he bought a claim on the Chatham Bend River and began raising vegetables.
  On a trip to Key West, Watson got into an argument with Adolphus Santini and tried to cut his throat. Santini survived, but the incident cost Watson $900.  After that, Watson bought a claim on Lost Man's River, also in Monroe County.  A man named Tucker squatted on the claim and would not leave.  Eventually Tucker and his nephew were found murdered, and suspicion fell on Watson.  After that Watson went back to Fort White in Columbia County.  While there he again became involved with bad company and came under suspicion in the deaths of two men.
  Watson returned to the Chatham Bend area and began making syrup from sugar cane.  Soon Watson had several people living at his place, including a man named Dutchy Melvin, who is said to have "killed a policeman and burned a factory or two."  While Watson and Melvin were in Chokoloskee, a man named Cox and someone identified only as "the Nigger" alledgedly killed an old woman named Hannah Smith and a man named Walker at the Watson place.  When Watson and Melvin returned, Cox and the other man allegedly killed Melvin as well.  Hannah Smith's body was later found in the Chatham Bend River by some settlers and given a burial.
  About this time, on October 17, 1910, a major hurricane struck the area.  Ed Watson went to Fort Myers during the hurricane and tried to bring the sheriff back afterwards to arrest Cox, but the Lee County sheriff would not go out of his jurisdiction past Marco.  Watson then bought some shells at Ted Smallwood's store and said he was going back to his place to kill Cox.  When Watson returned to Chokoloskee a few days later a crowd met him at the landing and, after a brief standoff, killed him.  The sheriff did come down to Chokoloskee after that, and took a number of Chokoloskee residents back to Fort Myers for a court session, but nothing came of it." - Wikipedia

On the FindAGrave website (www.findagrave.com): "Western Outlaw.  Born in South Carolina, he owned a sugar plantation in southwest Florida during the lawless years of the late 19th and early 20th century.  In his youth he got into a knife fight, killed a man and fled to the Oklahoma territories, where he left a trail of murders.  In 1889, he was suspected of killing the notorious female outlaw Belle Starr, was put on trial, but nothing came of it and he was acquitted.  Returning to Florida 1891, he killed a man in Arcadia, over a land dispute allegedly in self-defense.  In 1892, he bought a 40 acre parcel at Chatham Bend and became a successful sugar cane farmer.  Noted for being ruthless to his help, he had several fugitives living on his property, which would keep order and strong arm other land owners into selling their parcels.  He would hire workers for his plantation, then on payday, would gun down his entire crew and dump their bodies in the bay.  After yeras of living in fear of Watson, the local residents of Chokoloskee gunned him down at the Smallwood Store.  He was also the subject of writer Peter Matthiessen's books, "Lost Man's River" and "Killing Mister Watson."  "

  Peter Matthiessen actually ended up writing four books about Edgar Watson.  The first was Killing Mister Watson; the second was Lost Man's River; the third was Bone by Bone; and the fourth was a compiled, edited edition of all three, titled Shadow Country.  I am a little more than half-way through the 897 pages of small print in the last book.  The first part is told through the eyes of twelve people who knew Edgar Watson; the second part is one of his son's search for the truth about his father and family; and the third part is the story of Edgar's life, told by himself.  It begins, and ends with his death - going full circle.  So far, it has been enthralling and amazing.  However, if you don't like reading in the vernacular, or if you take offense at nasty and derogatory words that were in common use at that time and place, the books are not for you. 
   Having visited the Ten Thousand Islands area many times, and Fort White, Olustee, Lake City, and "the Alachua Plains" being near my old home, I can easily take myself back to those times....  It's a very good read!