Beech Settlement in Rush County, Ind. was established by African Americans from North Carolina and Virginia in the 1830s. Among the first families were the Roberts, the Jeffries, and the Watkins. The Watkins family purchased land, cleared it, planted crops, and built houses, churches and schools. Sterling Watkins migrated to Beech Settlement from Greenville County, Virginia. The Watkins family became one of the most prosperous of the Beech settlers. Along with Sterling Watkins, other Watkins family landowners were Daniel, James, David, and John. Sterling married Rebecca Roberts in 1833. They had at least nine children. Their son John married a woman named Ethalinda. They had three children including Goldie May. She graduated from Terre Haute State Teacher's College, and taught in Kokomo, Indiana. She married Harry Blaine Madry in 1917 and died in an auto accident in 1961.
From the description of Sterling Watkins family papers, 1825-1987, bulk 1825-1931. (Indiana Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 223388385
