Presidents of Georgetown College
Henry E. Watters 1931-1934
Watters
served as president of Georgetown College, 1931-34.
He was born in Graves County, Kentucky, on September 14, 1876, to
Theodore M. and Josephine (Ransom) Watters.
He was educated at Southern Normal University (B.S., 1899) and Union
University (A.B., 1903; A.M., 1916).
He did graduate work at Brown University, 1905-07; at Chicago University,
1933-34; and at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1935. He received
honorary D.D. and LL.D. degrees from Hall-Moody Institute, 1906, and Union
University, 1921, respectively.
He was principal of public schools in Kentucky and Tennessee for seven
years. Watters
taught history at Union University.
He was president of Hall-Moody Institute, 1905-15; of the College of
Marshall (later East Texas Baptist College), 1916-18; of Union University,
1918-31; and Jonesboro Baptist College (Arkansas), 1935-37.
He pastored many churches.
He first married Annette Routon on August 28, 1899, and then Ethen Reed,
July 22, 1931. He fathered four children: Lillian, Evelyn, Everette, and Marden.
He died, April 15, 1938, Jackson, Tennessee.
Watters authored BIBLE OF SUPER-HUMAN ORIGIN (1908); PHYSICS SIMPLIFIED (1905);
PLANNING A LIFE (1935); YOUTH MAKE THE CHOICE (1938).
When Watters became president of Georgetown College, the college was on the verge of closing permanently. Declining student enrollment had created heavy deficits. Because of ill health, Watters was ineffective in reversing the trends, and eventually had to resign when the college was nearly insolvent. One notable event occurred the appointment of the first woman trustee, Mrs. Emil Peters.
