Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
WATSON, William
WATSON, William. (Yorkshire, England, May 14, 1826--Nov. 21, 1910). Watson and his parents emigrated to the United States in 1827 and he grew up in New York State. He left home to live in Ohio and Wisconsin. He entered Rush Medical School in Chicago and opened a practice in McGregor, Iowa in 1852. He graduated from medical school in 1854.
Watson came to Dubuque in 1854 and established his practice. During the CIVIL WAR he attended troops at the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, and Vicksburg. He was eventually posted to Rock Island, Illinois where he found 1,500 Confederate prisoners and 425 cases of SMALLPOX. He remained there the rest of the war.
Returning to Dubuque, Watson reopened his practice. He served as president of the Iowa State Medical Society in 1868.
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Source:
Portrait and Biographical Record of Dubuque, Jones and Clayton Counties, Iowa. Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1894, p. 124