Recently I posted questions about this man, and searched the BALTGEN archives. I found a good deal of information about John Watchman and the explosion of the steamboat "Medora", and it was suggested to me tht I contct the Enoch Pratt Free Library, which I did. Today I received the photocopies of newpapers of the time of the explosion, and found tht there was no biographical information, at all, on John Watchman. I know that: 1. He first appeared in Baltimore around 1820 2. He was a "prominent machinist and engineer" who designed the boiler for the Steam boat Medora that exploded with heavy loss of life 3. He operated "The Watchman Fire Department" in Baltimore in the mid 1800s. 4. He appeared on the 1850 Fed Cen thusly: Baltimore Maryland 15Th Ward, page 17 . Enumerated July 17, 1850. He is listed as aged 60 (w/m) born in England. Value of Real Estate 12,000., Occupation, Engineer. Also living in the household is Sarah Johnson, (w/f) age 59 who was born in Pennsylvania. I believe my best chance for finding biographical information on this well known Baltimore man of that period would be an obituary. Obviously, there was at least one very good newspaper operating in the Baltimore area, but the photocopies I was sent do not include the name of the newspaper. What are the chances of finding an obituary on this John Watchman, without a date of death to go on? Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed, or know where records of this type may be indexed? Many thanks, Sharilyn Whitaker