Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

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courage and fortitude ascended the lad-
der on whose bottom rung he had set his
foot in the days of his youth. In con-
nection with a commendable ambition to
succeed in life he was fired with an earnest
desire to be of the best service possible
in him to his fellow men, and especially
to those organizations with which he was
associated first as an employee and later
as a holder of superior positions. It was
this quality of intelligent and unselfish
devotion to the cause at hand that con-
tributed in no little degree to the splendid
record he had made in the field of finance
and in military affairs and in religious cir-
cles. He was noted also for his almost
ceaseless activity throughout his long life
of seventy-two years, and by many of his
former associates in his different enter-
prises he is remembered alike for his remarkable
capacity for work, his celerity
of movement and clarity of judgment as
well as for his other personal character-
istics.
Son of Dr. William Lansdell and Jeanette
(Nichols) Watson, his father having
been a graduate of the University of Bal-
timore, Maryland, and his mother a descendant
of the well-known Nichols family
of Greenfield Hill, Thomas L. Watson
received his preliminary education in the
public schools of Bridgeport, and then
entered the Military Institute at Milford,
Connecticut. With a view to making life
in the army his profession, it was supposed
that he would fill a cadet's uniform
at West Point, but owing to a serious
accident he was obliged, much against
his will, to forego a federal soldier's career
and instead entered the business world,
where he was destined to make a brilliant
record. His first employment in the
sphere of business was in the position of
clerk at the Farmers' Bank of Bridgeport.
From that institution he advanced to a
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119
more lucrative and responsible position
at the City National Bank of Bridgeport.
He had now accumulated a valuable store
of knowledge of banks and banking, and
after a period of service at the City Na-
tional he resigned his position to become a
partner in the private banking and brokerage
business with Daniel Hatch. November
I, 1866, the firm of Hatch & Watson
began to do business in Bridgeport. Following
the death of Mr. Hatch, the busi-
ness was carried on by Mr. Watson, the
name being changed to T. L. Watson &
Company. General Watson had begun
to look further afield in his desire to
enlarge his business, and in 1879 he ex-
tended his interests to New York City,
at 55 Broadway, where he became head
of the brokerage firm of Watson & Gib-
son. This house continued in successful
operation over a period of years, and
through his association with important
business men and large affairs in New
York City and Bridgeport, General Watson
came to hold many positions of high
responsibility and trust in both cities.
He served the City National Bank as
one of its directors ; he was an auditor of
the City Savings Bank, treasurer of the
Board of Trade, and treasurer of the St.
John's Protestant Episcopal Church building
fund, and for many years was a mem-
ber of the vestry. All the foregoing of-
fices were held in the city of Bridgeport.
He was also a director of the American
Loan and Trust Company of New York,
a director for several years of the New
York Consolidated Stock and Petroleum
Exchange and of its predecessors, and has
served as chairman of its finance committee
and as a vice-president. He afterward
purchased a seat on the New York Stock
Exchange, and being elected to member-
ship, he became one of the most active
and esteemed operators of that organiza-