These
are stories handed down in the Richard Watts (1752-1828) and
Sarah Stubblefield Family of Virginia and Kentucky. These stories
were
principally handed down through the line of Richard and Sally Stubblefield
Watts’ descendants William Russell Watts Sr., William Russell
Watts Jr., James Thomas Watts, James Marion Watts and their families.
Story 1. Three Watts brothers Peter, William, and Gideon came from
Virginia and brought William Russell Watts age 10 with them. (to
KY?)
Peter Watts, Gideon Watts and William Watts are listed on the tax list
of Mercer Co. Kentucky. in 1789. A Richard Watts appears in the Wilkes
Co. North Carolina census in 1790 and then Richard Watts appears in Mercer
Co., Kentucky in 1794. In the early 1800’s (1805-1810) William
Watts was excused from paying taxes because of old age. As it turns out
William Watts and Eliza were the parents of Peter, Richard and Gideon
Watts.
Story 2. The men of the Watts family were originally trappers and not
farmers when they came to Kentucky . That is why they passed up the lush,
flatter land of the Lexington, Kentucky. Area and came to the Mercer
Co. Ky. Area. This story was told to Emery Willis Watts, a son of James
Thomas Watts, by his grandfather William Russell Watts Jr.
In the circuit court records of Mercer Co. Kentucky in 1985 Roselyne
Watts Jones a descendant of Richard Watts found a lawsuit of Peter Watts
against a man (unnamed) for 40 weight of good clean Beaver fur. Also
she found a suit by Peter Watts against the estate of Simon Fisher with
whom he had a partnership to take produce down the Mississippi River.
When Simon died down river and did not return. Peter Watts tried to get
his part of the partnership money from Simon Fisher’s estate. Peter
Watts was also hired by a man in Mercer Co. Kentucky to be his lawyer
and conduct business in Natchez, Mississippi for him. There are lawsuits
for Peter Watts from 1786 to 1824. There are suits for Gideon Watts from
1793 until 1804. And for William Watts from 1796 until 1828 – these
may not all be the same William. These records were all in boxes and
had not been opened for many years if one could judge by the amount of
dust and dirt.
Story 3. Peter and Gideon Watts took William Russell Watts (Jr.?) to
Danville, Mercer Co., Kentucky to a tavern where a fight erupted between
the Whigs and the Tories. The brothers put their young nephew William
Russell Watts behind the counter so he would not get hurt. The brothers
wore knives strapped in a sheath to their upper backs so they could reach
back and pull them out quickly. After the fight Gideon placed 2 human
heads on the counter. This is a story told by Bob Horne, son of Naomi
Watts Horne, to Roselyne Watts Jones.
The Watts On-Line Issue # 64 July 1, 1999 lists the following for Gideon
Watts of Mercer Co. Kentucky. The Kentucky Gazette reported that ”Gideon
Watts was in jail in Danville for stabbing an unknown man to death”.
A court paper in the possession of Wade Watts of St. Louis, Missouri,
a descendant of Peter Watts, calls for the arrest of Gideon Watts for
assault and battery of various sorts including biting off the right ear
of Edward McKinney. In another case according to Wade Watts, Gideon Watts
was accused of blasphemy, etc. for exclaiming ‘Goddamn the rain!” and “ Goddamn
the cliffs of Kentucky and the mason that made them.” Roselyne
Watts Jones saw the suit about Gideon Watts biting off the ear of Edward
McKinney.
Story 4. A direct Watts ancestor participated in the French-Indian War.
I could find no documentation of a Watts ancestor of this branch of the
family participating in the French-Indian War. However the second wife
of William Russell Watts Sr. filed for a pension for his participation
in the War of 1812. In this petition he is said to have participated
in the Battle of The Thames in which he saw the American Indian Leader
Tecumseh dead. Could this have been what was referred to in the family
story? His brother, John S. Watts, also participated in the Battle of
the Thames.)
Story 5. The story went that this branch of the Watts family were of
English and Cherokee Indian descent. This story was known but not discussed
openly (unless they were asked). It was told by Mary Watts, daughter
of William Russell Watts(, Jr.?) and by several of James Thomas Watts
children. Oro Watts Ellis, granddaughter of James Marion Watts, also
told her children she had a Cherokee ancestor.
Beatrice Watts Vance, daughter of James Thomas Watts and Gillie Thomas
Huff had her DNA print done by FamilyTreeDNA in 2003 and her ancestry
profile is Indo-European 73%, Native American 27%. This is the company
also chosen to do the Y-DNA and Mitochondria DNA studies for the worldwide
National Geographic DNA Project. This of course does not show which tribe
or tribes she is descended from but certainly does give some credence
to the family story. A descendant of Frances Watts Murray and a descendant
of John S. Watts both claim to have inherited characteristics that suggest
Native American ancestors.
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I think my conclusion is that these are valuable family stories and also
very meaningful for our family. As we can see some of them are accurate
, some are
distorted by time and being passed from person to person and some can simply
not be substantiated. Never the less they are a record of a daring , courageous,
hard working family who lived in often difficult times and are to be
admired. Unfortunately the women of this family do not frequently occur
in official records
but they were there and are to be admired also for their behind the scenes courageous
lives.
- Marilyn Watts Vance McGaughey, Ph.D. May 17, 2006
Descendant of (William and Eliza Watts?)
Richard Watts-Sarah Stubblefield
William Russell Watts Sr.-Jane Schooling
William Russell Watts Jr.-Zerilda Emily Williams
Back to main Watts/Stubblefield Stories Section
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(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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