Wingfield W. Watson

Wingfield W. Watson (April 22, 1828 – October 29, 1922) was a religious leader of the Latter Day Saint Strangites. He was an Irish immigrant to the United States. He was baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) but was an advocate of the Strangite sect throughout his life.

Wingfield W. Watson was born April 22, 1828, in Ireland. He was the son of Elizabeth Leviston and Thomas Wingfield. His father was an arithmetician and a book keeper. Watson recorded that his father was a good flutist and that his mother was a "country girl." Watson was one of eleven children. His parents were Protestant.

Watson moved to the United States in 1848. He received money from his oldest brother, Thomas, to make the trip, and he left on February 16, 1848. He traveled from Liverpool to New Orleans, where he landed on April 21, 1848. He then traveled up to St. Louis. Watson found work chopping wood. He later worked in a brickyard. He also worked in coal pits.

In St. Louis, Watson heard of the LDS Church. He read a pamphlet called "River Guide" that told of the assassination of Joseph Smith and the expulsion of the Latter Day Saints from Nauvoo, Illinois. He also read Parley P. Pratt's book, Voice of Warning to All Nations. Watson moved to Clifton in Grant County, Wisconsin, on June 20, 1850. There he began working in lead mines.

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