Captain Daniel Watkins was born June 28, 1797 and married at the age of 24, Harriet Richards June 15, 1821 in the town of Hinsdale. 

Harriet was the daughter of William Richards who was a Colonel during the Revolution and marched for the relief of Boston at the Lexington Alarm April 1776.

When Col. William Richards retired from the Continental Army in 1784, he purchased 200 acres in the township of Partridgefield from agents to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

The 200 acre lot was one of 33 lots in Partridgefield confiscated from Elisha Jones who was an original proprietor of the township of Partridgefield. The lots were confiscated due to a conspiracy against the new and independent country. Jones was accused of keeping the King informed of movements of the Continental Army during the Revolution. 

This 200 acre lot was lot # 119 of the original survey and was eventually called the "Primrose Farm".

Monroe F. Watkins was born May 21, 1886 in the Dakota Territory, and at an early age he and his family returned to Hinsdale to work the farm. At about the age of twenty, Monroe had a team of horses that worked the farm and that he also hired out.

He work with his team in the spring for the town, but mostly he worked his team at the lumber mill of his father in law John Forward who came to Hinsdale from Bath, England.

John Forward lived on the corner of Middlefield Rd. and Smith Rd. and had a sawmill and cider press on the Tracy Brook.

I am unsure of the production of lumber, but the cider was a popular and sought after commodity in and around Hinsdale for the many years that John ran the mill.

Monroe and Ophelia had a son Franklin who married Lilly Martin of Middlefield Road who still lives at Primrose.

Andrew Watkins came to America in the mid 1600's and located in Roxbury Massachusetts. On September 3, 1686 on the westward hill of New Roxbury (now Woodstock Conn.), where he was granted 20 acres of land. No evidence of him taking his family there is certain.

His birth and his death records are not to be found, but his marriage to Elizabeth ______was January 7, 1686 at Roxbury.

Andrew Watkins was born about 1675 and married Mary Streeter Dec. 10, 1701 in Charlestown Massachusetts. Mary was from Cambridge.

On March 9, 1710/11 Andrew was deeded from his stepfather Edward Cook, all of Edward's land in Needham including his home. The land consisted of 10 acres at Maugus Hill and 6 acres in the Natick Dividend. Also Cook's common right as a proprietor of Dedham.

In 1720 Andrew, yeoman, and Mary sold the 10 acres at Maugus Hill, and also 4 acres near the dam in Rosemary Meadow for 40 pounds and removed from Needham to Hopkinton Massachusetts.

Samuel Watkins birth record was not found but he was baptized September 28, l746 at Hopkinton Massachusetts. He was married September 11, 1766 at Natick  to Susanna Travis.

Samuel and some of his brothers came to Partridgefield, (now Hinsdale and Peru ), about 1790. Samuel died in Hinsdale May 8, 1813 at the age of 66.

Elisha Watkins was born in Hopkinton about l768. He came to Partridgefield with his Family and relatives about 1790 and married Deliverance (Dilly) Curtis. The intentions were recorded December 28, 1795 in Peru. Elisha Died July 11, 1815 in Hinsdale. He was 47 years old.

When Elisha died his real estate consisted of 53 acres on the homestead in Hinsdale and 20 acres more in Peru that his father Samuel purchased of Oliver Watkins.