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PAGE 4. William Russell Watts and Jane Schooling had eight children. 2. James Marion Watts was born 25 March 1829 in Washington Co. KY. James Marion moved to MO where he married Janders Trimble on 13 March 1855 in Gentryville, Gentry Co. MO. They had seven children – John William Watts, Sarah Belle Watts, Victoria Kaye Watts, Jefferson Davis Watts, Eugene Marion Watts, Robert Lee Watts, and Charles Thomas Watts. James Marion Watts served in the Missouri State Military Cavalry Co M, 1st Regiment, Union Army from 13 June 1861 to 12 July 1865 and was discharged at Benton Barracks MO. ( I found a picture of an unnamed man in my grandmother’s trunk. The photograph was labeled Springfield MO on the front and on the back was a penciled note to my grandfather James Thomas Watts which said –You wanted a picture of me, Jimmy, and here it is JMW. I am trying my hand at carpentering now). I looked in the Missouri census for the relevant years and contacted Marian Franklin. She told me that this was James Marion Watts, the son of William Russell Watts and Jane Schooling. This meant that he was the brother of William Russell Watts Jr. and the uncle of William Jr.’s son James Thomas Watts my grandfather. The picture strongly resembles Lee Watts the brother of James Thomas Watts and Emma Watts a descendant of William Russell Watts Sr. and his second wife. James Marion Watts died 2 December 1909 at age 81 of gangrene. He had been living in Southwest City, MO just prior to returning to Webb City. He injured his foot in a small accident in the cornfield in Southwest City and thought nothing of it. After his return to Webb City the sore refused to heal and grew worse. He was finally sent to the Salvation Army Hospital where he died from gangrene. He was survived by six children-two daughters and four sons. (Information from Marian Franklin). 3. Letitia Frances Watts was born in 1832 married William Henry Best 4. Martha Jane Watts was born 30 April 1833. She married (1) William K. Bottom (2) Elijah Gabbart. 5. Sarah Watts was born 1834 married Thomas Powell. 6. William Russell Watts Jr. was born 2 January 1836 and married Zerilda Ellen Williams,the daughter of Dr. John Miller Williams and Elizabeth Sweeney, on 9 July 1861. William Russell Watts Jr. died 7 December 1925 at age 89. Zerilda Watts was born 21 May 1838 and died 17 March 1914 at age 75. They are both buried in Bruner’s Chapel Cemetery in Mercer County KY just west of Rosehill KY on the road to Springfield KY. 7. Mary Catherine Watts was born 2 July 1838 and died 1 June 1915 age 76. Married Pleasant William Bottom 8. Elizabeth Ann Watts married John Cornish 1849. William Russell Watts Sr. married second Martha Ann Burns on 2 October 1856 at age 67. He and Martha Ann Wilham Burns, the widow of Smith Burns had the following children: Emma Watts married Henry Gabbart, John Wayne Watts married Luvena Matherly, George W. Watts married Margaret Black. Martha Ann Watts, the second wife of William Russell Watts, died on 28 February 1905 and is buried in the Deep Creek Baptist Church cemetery. On 04 January 1859 William R. Watts and his wife Martha of Washington Co. Ky sold to William H. Best 33 1⁄4 acres on Deep Creek in Washington Co. KY for $332.00. Recorded 19 May 1859 Deed Book V 1858-1860 p.449 Washington Co. KY William H. Best was in all probability the son in law of William R. Watts and the deceased Jane Schooling, and married to their daughter Letitia Frances. This is probably a good place to discuss the Watts-Hays letters. This is a collection of letters written by the John Stubblefield Watts family to each other-mostly however by Margaret Watts Hays, the daughter of John S. Watts by his second wife. These letters were written between 1849 and 1876 and had been handed down through the generations relatively intact. They have been preserved and placed online with notes and comments to place them in a historical context and explain the references contained in the letters. They are extremely interesting and give a wonderful insight into the life and times of our family. This website was created and is maintained by our cousin Marian Franklin, a descendant of John Stubblefield Watts. This site contains much information of interest and value, and is well worth exploring. I will only comment on a few of the letters which refer to William Russell Watts Sr. and Jr. and also the eye and skin color which will become relevant later in our discussion of our Watts family. In Letter 1. 18 July 1849, John S. Watts writes his family from Albuquerque, N.M. and asks someone to write his brother William R. Watts and let him know “how we are”. In Letter 7, Nov. 1856, Margaret Watts Hays writes to her parents that Uncle Bill Watts is married to a young widow. In Letter 15 22 November 1858, Margaret writes to her Parents that Uncle Bill’s children has all married off excepting one. In 1859, Margaret writes to her brother John S. Watts Jr. that Uncle Bill Watts’ youngest son William is out near Pleasant Hill (Cass Co. MO). He has been there all summer but have not been to see me yet. In May of 1859 Margaret wrote that two sons of William R. Watts were in Missouri (Thomas Jefferson Watts and William Russell Watts Jr.). She also said that Uncle Bill’s first wife’s children has all left him. In her letters Margaret Watts Hays states that her first born child, John Nathan Hays (named for her father and a family friend) had dark skin and looked like her father (John S. Watts). She later talked about all three of her children and said all of them (Betty. John and Elfreda) had black eyes. Betty and John’s were blacker than their mothers’ and Elfreda had black hair and eyes. William Russell Watts Sr. was said to have had black eyes and fair skin as stated by his second wife in her petition for a pension. We can see from these letters that the Watts families in Missouri and California not only kept in touch with one another by mail but visited back and forth as difficult as travel must have been in those days. My mother has often told me that her father, James Thomas Watts, talked frequently about wanting to move to Missouri. I wondered why but never knew until I read these letters and did the research for this book. My grandfather had two uncles (James Marion Watts and Thomas Jefferson Watts) and a father (William Russell Watts Jr.) who had been to Missouri as well as a great uncle (John Schooling Watts). However unfortunately for him, by the time my grandmother agreed to leave Kentucky after the death of her mother, he moved to Mississippi and then to Louisiana probably because more land was available or he thought the land was capable of helping him make more money. I think this would be a good place to discuss what can now be said about the story told by William Russell Watts Jr. to his grandson Emery Willis Watts that he rode in the pony express as described in the family stories. The Pony Express was started by a William H. Russell and two business associates in Missouri to deliver the mail from the town of St. Joseph Missouri to Sacramento California. The Pony Express operated from 3 April 1860 until late October 1861. William H. Russell also had another pony express type operation that operated between St. Joseph Missouri and Denver Colorado briefly starting in May 1859. Although William Russell Watts Jr. does not appear on any pony express list (they are admittedly incomplete and records often lacking) in the Watts Hays Letters it is stated that he was in Missouri in May 1859 and in a letter dated just 1859 to have been in Cass County MO. In June 1860 Margaret Watts says that he stayed with her “last night”. St. Jo Missouri in Buchanan Co., Jackson County Mo where Margaret Watts Hayes lived and Cass County where W. R. Watts Jr. was in 1859 are all close together and on the Kansas border. Although we cannot prove that William Jr. rode for the Pony Express, it seems that he was in the vicinity of the pony express businesses at the appropriate time and that his participation in this exciting activity is quite likely-just the kind of thing a young male in the Watts family would do. After all this was the time of wagon trains going westward, the gold rush, fights between Indians and people moving westward to displace them, the developing turmoil of people with slaves and those without trying to keep the West like the land they came from, and above all people trying to make money. We had left William R. Watts Sr. and his wife Martha in 1859 when they had sold property to William’s daughter and son-in-law. Roselyne Watts Jones, the descendant of Thomas Jefferson Watts wrote to me many years ago about some of her findings in the records of Washington Co. KY and what she had concluded. I will present these and add some information we now have. Roselynne could find no will for William R. Watts Sr. but she did find that his land had been sold at auction by the Sheriff presumably for nonpayment of taxes. The land was bought by William R. Watts Jr. and his wife Zerilda Williams Watts. On 14 November 1865, while William R. Sr. was still alive, William R. Watts Jr. and wife sold the house and 6 acres of land back to Martha Watts, William Sr.’s wife and children-Emmaline, John and George. They kept the rest of the property that had been attached to the house when they originally bought it at the auction. Roselynne concluded that William Sr. was unable to deal with business affairs at this time and I would agree. In 1865 William Sr. was 76 years old. There had been some mention also much earlier that he was having problems with his eyes. Trachoma was a widespread problem and major cause of blindness in Kentucky according to Marion Franklin (John S. Watts descendant) and so blindness was another possibility. William R. Watts Sr. died on 26 December, 1876 at age 86. As stated earlier in her widow’s application for a pension, his wife Martha said that he and his first wife both lived in Washington Co. KY until they died. However she states further down in the application that he died in Mercer Co. KY at his son’s home. William R. Watts Sr.’s death certificate states that he died 26 December 1874 in Mercer Co. KY, was 86 years old, a widower, born in VA and was the son of Richard and Sally Watts both born in VA. This information is confirmed in the Mortality Schedules for Washington, Mercer and Anderson Counties, Kentucky for 1850-1860-1870-1880. He was said in these documents to have died from old age. William R. Watts Sr. is buried in the Gillespie Cemetery next to his first wife Jane Schooling Watts. A descendant, Hazel Watts Swartz, said that she saw both tombstones. However at two different times, Roselynne Jones and I both visited the cemetery and could see only the tombstone of Jane Watts. The stone of William R. Watts Sr. has disappeared. It has either been broken, removed or has sunk into the ground. We know then that William R. Watts Sr., his wife Jane Schooling Watts, their son Thomas Jefferson Watts, his wife and child (a son) are all buried in the Gillespie Cemetery. As stated earlier, William R. Watts Sr.’s second wife, Martha Ann Burns Wilham, was buried in the Deep Creek Baptist Church Cemetery. Her tombstone states that she was the wife of William Russell Watts Sr. William Russell Watts Jr. must have been a very caring person. He bought his father’s land when his father could no longer keep up his financial obligations or take care of his financial affairs, he sold back (for an unnamed price) the same house with some land to his stepmother and half siblings so that the family would have a home. He and his wife Zerilda apparently took care of his father when he became old and ill until his father’s death. We have seen William R. Watts Jr. (Billy) through the Watts Hays Letters as a young man who appears to be adventuresome, daring and energetic but who kept in touch with his family. Upon his return from Missouri, he married Zerilda Ellen Williams, the daughter of Dr. John Miller Williams and Elizabeth Sweeney on 9 July 1861 in Mercer Co KY. John M. Williams was the son of Beverly Williams from Halifax Co. VA and Keziah Martin Williams who was said to have been born in KY. Their farm was on the Williams Road in Dixville, Mercer Co KY. and the Williams Cemetery is on their property. It contains the graves of many of their descendants. Elizabeth Sweeney was the daughter of Edmund Sweeney and the granddaughter of Moses Sweeney a Revolutionary War veteran from Northern Ireland who moved from Virginia to Lincoln Co. KY. William R. Watts Jr. and Zerilda Williams Watts had the following children: 1. John Miller Watts born July 22 1862 died September 28 1863 age14 months. He is buried in the Williams Cemetery. William R. Watts Jr. and Zerilda lived in Mercer Co. KY after they moved from Washington Co. KY. They had a farm on the Chaplin River between Bruner’s Chapel Church and Cornishville, KY on Brewer’s Mill Road. They attended Bruner’s Chapel Baptist Church but apparently did some shopping in Cornishville – one of their photographs was taken there, and they also went into Harrodsburg to conduct business (the widow’s pension application of Martha Watts that they witnessed was filed in Harrodsburg). Their house was down a rather steep hill and was made of wood with cedar shakes on the roof (Emery Willis Watts). We can see from the births and deaths that William and Zerilda had a difficult time. The births and deaths of the first and third children were close together, with the birth of the second child, James Thomas in between. James Thomas was evidently premature, judging from his size – he was said to have been very small and was carried around in a basket on the head of one of the slaves of the Williams family when he was a newborn. His parents, apparently shocked by the death of two children, were said to have spoiled James Thomas. This was discussed by his brothers even in their adulthood. Also this was a fearful time with the Civil War and a battle (the Battle of Perryville) practically occurring on their doorstep and marauding, foraging soldiers from both sides roaming through the countryside stripping citizens of any goods they could take or use. After the Civil War the William R. Watts Jr. family grew and prospered. There were eight living and healthy children who survived. Zerilda’s father Dr. John Miller Williams had died 29 July 1859 at age 56 and was buried in the Williams Cemetery. Her mother Elizabeth Sweeney Williams died on 3 June 1870 at age 62. She is buried beside her husband in the Williams Cemetery. It was on 26 December 1876 that William R. Watts Sr. died in the home of William Jr. and his wife Zerilda. At that time they had seven children, the youngest one two months old. They were a caring, busy couple who appeared to do whatever they could to help others. Although Willliam Jr. and Zerilda had many grandchildren, I will list the marriages of their children and only elaborate on my own line which descends from their son James Thomas Watts. Mary Williams Watts married Douglas Matherly. Aunt Mary lost the sight in one eye and my grandfather felt very protective of her. I remember seeing her when she was in her nineties. She was small and lived with several of her daughters in the family home on the Perryville Road just outside the current city limits of Harrodsburg. My mother Beatrice Watts used to spend many nights with her female cousins in this family before her family moved to Mississippi in 1918. Mary and Douglas Matherly had a large family consisting mostly of girls. Elizabeth Katherine Watts married Henry White. I know very little about her except that after she became a widow she lived and kept house for several of her siblings somewhere between Bruner’s Chapel Church and Cornishville. She was said to be perky and energetic like all the Watts family. I do know that my mother visited her when we went to Kentucky in the summers and that the rest of the family that lived there visited her often. Martha Jane Watts married W. C. Matherly. I know very little about her. Henry Leon Watts married Bertha Lee White. He was called Uncle Lee and was the uncle who closely resembled his uncle James Marion Watts, the son of William Russell Watts Sr. and Jane Schooling. Naomi Frances Watts married William Horn. Aunt Naomi was a petite lady who was very sweet and kind. I also remember her daughter Frances who lived to be 101 years old. I also remember her sons John Will Horn and Bob Horn. Bob Horn was particularly close to his Watts cousins and knew lots of family stories. We often visited him and his wife Beulah when they lived in town in Harrodsburg. They were both delightful people and spent a lot of time doing kind deeds for others who needed help. John Hart Watts (Uncle Johnny) married Annie White. They lived for some time in the Perryville KY home once owned and lived in by James Thomas Watts and his family. Pleasant Williams Watts (Uncle Petty) remained a bachelor. It was said that he wanted to marry a girl that his parents disapproved of and when they refused permission for him to marry, he just refused to marry anyone. He lived with his father after his mother died and continued to take care of him until his father’s death. James Thomas Watts married Gillia Thomas Watts daughter of Emily Shackelford Huff and James Huff. Emily Shackelford and James Huff had two children, Sarah and Nickless who died in infancy and four surviving children – Tilford Marion Huff, Mary Ellen Huff, Nancy (Nan) Huff and Gillia later know as Gillie. Tilford Huff married twice and had eleven children, Mary Ellen Huff married a Jackson and had one child, a daughter named Maude who married a Graves. Mary Ellen died at a young age. Nan died apparently from a virus when she was about 16. Gillie married James Thomas Watts and they had 12 children, all of whom survived to adulthood. James Huff died when Gillie was 16 but her mother Emily played a very important part not only in her life but in the lives of Gillie’s husband and children. After Emily became a widow, she ran the family farm with the help of her children and hired hands. After her daughter married James Thomas Watts, he consulted her on many business deals and highly respected her opinion. Later she came to live with the Watts family and visited with her son Tilford’s family. She would sit beside the stove in the kitchen to keep warm in the Watts home in Perryville, KY. She smoked a small clay pipe on occasion. James Thomas Watts and Gillie Thomas Huff met at the Deep Creek Baptist Church in Mercer Co. KY. It is located on the border with Washington Co to the west of Mercer Co. Although Gillie and her mother were members of the Benton Baptist Church located on the New Dixville Road near where they lived at the bottom of Irish Ridge in Mercer Co. KY, they were visiting at Deep Creek Church. James Thomas Watts invited them to his home for supper and thus began the romance between the two. They were married at Gillie’s home on 26 March 1885 and the wedding was witnessed by S. H. Graves, Mike McCristal and other friends. go to Richard Watts Family of Virginia and Kentucky, pg. 5 back to Watts Hays Letters Home Page (NOTE: If you have stories to contribute from your branch of one of these families, please email Marian Franklin. mfranklin@wattshaysletters.com.)
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