Early life The sixth of eleven children, John Watterson was born on May 27, 1844, in
Blairsville, Pennsylvania, to John Sylvester and Sarah Salome (née McAfee) Watterson. His father's family came to the United States from the
Isle of Man in the
British Isles in 1762; originally
Episcopalians, his grandfather was orphaned in 1781 and subsequently raised by a Catholic family in
York County, Pennsylvania. In 1861, he entered
Mount St. Mary's Seminary at Emmitsburg, Maryland, where he earned a
Bachelor of Arts degree with high honors. Watterson then served as professor of
moral theology and
Scripture at Mount St. Mary's, where he became vice president in 1877 and later president in 1879. In 1887, Watterson purchased the former home of the financier
William G. Deshler, which adjoined the cathedral, to serve as a
rectory. This building housed the bishops of the diocese until 1949
Death John Watterson died in Columbus unexpectedly on April 17, 1899, at age 54. ==References==