Eugene Watrous 1861 Died After 1919
2010
Eugene was the sixth child born to William Watrous and Harriet Janet Rose. His sister Jane is also featured on this website. He was born in Peoria County, Illinois. In 1883 he married Hattie Mohler. Nothing else is known about her or whether they became the parents of any children. He later married for a second time so the assumption is that Hattie died or perhaps they were divorced.
The R&L Polk directory for the City of Guthrie, Oklahoma for the years 1907-1908 list Eugene Watrous of Enid as the Game Warden. Eugene also owned an ice cream factory and was a survivor of the Chatsworth Train Wreck in Livingston County, Illinois in 1887. He was sent to Enid, Oklahoma in 1893. He also served as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Enid Ice and Fuel Company. He was the Territorial Game Warden from 1900-1907, a member of the first legislature, first the house and then the senate until 1919.
He was the first cousin of direct ancestor Henry Reynolds Watrous whose father Jerome Timothy Watrous was a half- brother and first cousin to Eugene’s father William Watrous.
The keepsake photograph above is from the collection of Gilbert Jones who is a descendant of William Watrous and Harriet Janet Rose.
The preceding photograph shows Eugene later in life. This publication was for a centennial celebration of the Oklahoma Pharmaceutical Association.
The story which accompanies the photograph of the Watrous-Harley Drug Company is interesting. Apparently a David George went into the drug store and bought some strychnine to poison a troublesome dog. The clerk gave him the substance. He came back when Eugene Watrous, the owner of the store was the clerk in the pharmacy and bought more. Then he went to the Grand Avenue Hotel in Enid, Oklahoma and took the strychnine himself. This event occurred in 1903 and was carried in the local newspaper.
The migration of Eugene Watrous
Illinois to Oklahoma