Watkinson, Rev. Mark Richards (1824-1877), born October 24, 1824 in Camden, New Jersey. He married Sarah E. Griffith (1832-) and they had a son Mark W. Watkinson (1863-).His seminary training was at the University of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, later named Bucknell University, and then at the Columbian College, now George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. In October 1850 he first served at the First Particular Baptist Church in Ridley or Ridleyville, Pennsylvania. On June 10, 1852 he was ordained a Baptist minister at Ridley, Pennsylvania.

The Rev. Watkinson left the church in 1853 to take up service as the pastor of the Schuylkill Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1861 to serve as pastor at the First Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia, but soon left at the outbreak of the Civil War returning to Ridleyville in June 1861 where he remained until 1864. At last he was elected as pastor of the Bethany Baptist Church (Maryland) built in 1873 by Mrs. Mary A. Dodge. He died on September 26, 1877, at the age of 52, and is buried in the Pemberton Baptist Cemetery, Pemberton, Burlington County, New Jersey.

On November 13, 1861 he wrote to Secretary of the Treasury, Samuel P. Chase the following :

As a result of Rev. Watkins' letter we find that in the following week Secretary Chase instructed James Pollock, then the Director of the Mint at Philadelphia, to prepare a motto, in a letter dated November 20, 1861:

To read the complete article, see:
WATKINSON, MARK RICHARDS(https://sites.google.com/site/numismaticmallcom/encyclopedic-dictionary-of-numismatic-biographies/watkinson-mark-richards)

To read an earlier E-Sylum article, see:
1890 LEACH "IN GOD WE TRUST" LETTER SCANNED(https://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n45a11.html)