Grover P. Watkins, engaged in the practice of law at Fort Gibson, was born at Carrollton, Arkansas, August 23, 1886, and is a son of Paschal T. and Eliza (Holt) Watkins, who were also natives of Arkansas. The father was a druggist and also a farmer, devoting his attention to the two lines of business at Carrollton. He served as a soldier throughout the Civil war with the Confederate forces and became an officer of the army. He died November 11, 1905, and is still survived by his wife, who makes her home in Green Forest, Arkansas.
Grover P. Watkins was reared and educated in Carrollton and at the age of seventeen years began teaching school. He followed that profession for eight or nine years and during that time he devoted the hours which are usually termed leisure to the study of law. It was his desire to become an active practitioner at the bar and to this end he matriculated in the Chicago Law school, from which he was graduated with the class of 1903. He afterward went to Harrison, Arkansas, where he practiced for four years, and in 1917 he went to Muskogee. Here he was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court in 1918 and before the United States federal court in 1919. He formed a partnership with his uncle, John Watkins, who conducts the Muskogee office of the firm, while in June, 1920, Grover P. Watkins removed to Fort Gibson and opened an office, although he is still a member of the firm of Watkins & Watkins.
On the 1st of June, 1920, Grover P. Watkins was united in marriage to Miss Mary D. Brown, a daughter of William and Bell Brown, members of the Cherokee tribe and pioneer residents of Muskogee County. They now reside about three miles from Fort Gibson, where her father conducts a farm.
Mr. Watkins belongs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he has taken the degrees of the lodge and chapter. He is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with the Daughters of Rebekah and with the Eastern Star. He has always voted with the Democratic Party, believing firmly in its principles as factors in good government. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian Church. He is now serving as city attorney of Fort Gibson, and in addition to his law practice he represents several insurance companies. His course has been marked by steady progress since he qualified for law practice, his ability resulting from thorough study and careful analysis of his cases.