Blann-Watts Genealogy

Welcome to The Watts Family Page, which furnishes historical detail beyond the site index, exploring eight generations of Watts in the line of James Watts of Iredell Co, North Carolina.
 

2. Sylvia Marie Watts Blann -- First of four children of Sylvanus Dorris Watts and Lois Marie Linville (Watts) , Sylvia was born in Nashville, TN, March 6, 1953. She married Gregory Boone Blann on August 12, 1973. They have one child, Claire Anura Lillah Blann, born September 12, 198, and married Travis Wells in 2023.
 

3. Sylvanus Dorris Watts --Born Jan. 19, 1929, in Coopertown, Robertson Co., TN and died Feb. 12, 2011 in Mt. Juliet, TN. The son of George and Maggie Watts, Sylvanus grew up in a large family in Robertson Co. TN, the youngest of 13 siblings. Late in his teen years, Sylvanus moved to Nashville with his parents, where he found work as an automobile painter at Hippodrome Motor Company. One day around 1945, he walked into a drugstore on Wilburn Street, where he met his future wife, Lois, a slightly older blonde, who was sitting at the soda fountain counter with her sister, Dixie. According to Lois, one of them winked at the other, and a conversation ensued. On June 30, 1946, Sylvanus married Lois Marie Linville. Six months later, 18 year old Sylvanus was drafted into the army, and left for basic training at Fort Picket. VA. His draft card, dated Jan.20, 1947 shows him at 5’9” and 164 lbs, ruddy with black hair and brown eyes, and employed at the Seventh Ave. Garage (U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 on Ancestry.com)
     Lois was born May 6, 1925, in Macon Co., TN, and died April 23, 1994 in Nashville, TN. She was the daughter of Jolly Mitchell Linville (1904-1973) and Dora Lee Jones (1902-1982) of Macon Co. TN, the oldest of five daughters. During her childhood, Lois lived in various communities in Macon County, among them, Willard, Hillsdale, Meadorville and Old Bottom. To better her financial lot and to escape the hardships of life in the hollows of Macon County, she moved to Nashville at the age of 17 and boarded with the family of one of her best friends, Helen Ballou, immediately finding employment at Carter Shoe Factory. The Ballou family had moved several years earlier to the Old Bottom community from Nashville, became friends with the Linvilles, then moved back to Nashville, telling Lois that if she ever wanted to move to Nashville, she could live with them. After she married Sylvanus Watts in1946, she worked at Carter Shoe Factory until 1957, when her second daughter, Taryon, was born. After that, when living in Nashville, she styled hair in her home until a few months before she died of cancer in 1994. She moved her family to several army posts with Sylvanus over the years: to Vine Grove, KY (near Fort Knox) October, 1958-February, 1959, Fort Knox, KY, from March, 1963 - June, 1966; Kaiserslautern, Germany, from December, 1966 - February, 1969; and Fort Huachuca, AZ, from June, 1972 - August, 1973. In the times between, they lived in Nashville. She made much of the children’s clothing through the years, and enjoyed cooking, flower gardening, and Country music.
    Sylvanus and Lois had four children: 1) Sylvia Marie Watts Blann (b. March 6, 1953, m. 8/12/1973 - Gregory Boone Blann, b. 10/14/1952, one child, Claire Anura Lillah Cobb; m. James Cobb 2008 and Travis Wells in 2023); 2) Taryon Fawn Watts Carney (b. August 17, 1957, m. 1982 - Timothy Wayne Carney, b. 1958, one child, Magan Fawn Carney, b. February 13, 1983); 3) Burton Dale Watts (b. December 7, 1962, m. 1986 - Barbara Ann Ethridge, b. 1962, two children, Tyler Mitchell Watts (b. September 13, 1987; m. Jennifer Rice 2009), Clayton Thomas Watts, b. August 29, 1989); 4) Lisa Carol Watts Russell (b. February 7, 1964, m. Sept. 12, 1986 - Michael Eugene Russell, b. 1963, two children, Chelsea Cates Russell, b. April 9, 1990, Cayman Michael Russell, b. November 20, 1992). Sylvanus was also the father of three daughters outside of his marriage to Lois: 1. Donna (married name Carson) of Clarksville, 2. Cheryl Ann Griswold (born ca. 1956; married Robert Smith), who has two children: Garan and Lacy, and 3. Cheryl Ann Keller (born ca. 1958.)
     Sylvanus married his second wife and childhood sweetheart, Barbara Rediker Powell of Robertson Co., TN, on April 26, 1994. Barbara’s husband had died not long before Lois’ death, and as both of them were now single, they married and lived in Mt. Juliet, TN until his death 17 years later. Sylvanus had dark brown eyes, blue-black hair, and a mustache. He was 5'9" and was known to some as “Blackjack” and “Blackie” Watts.  He served in the United States Army for 20 years from 1953 -1973, was stationed in Camp Pickett, VA, Germany (twice), Fort Knox, KY, Viet Nam (twice), Fort Huachuca, AZ, and Fort Campbell, KY. He enjoyed fishing, vegetable gardening, country music and watching sports events on television. He died of cancer at age 82 and is buried next to Lois at Martin's Chapel in Joelton, TN.
 

 4. George Cates Watts -- Born Sept. 28, 1885, in Coopertown, Robertson Co., TN, and died on Sept. 27, 1985, just hours before his 100th birthday. He married Magdeline (Maggie) Laura Horton in 1905. Maggie Horton was born Feb.2, 1887 in Robertson Co. TN and died Feb. 22, 1971 in Nashville, TN. She was the daughter of William Henry Horton (1855-1908) and Anna Elizabeth Binkley (1857-1930) of Robertson Co. TN. George and Maggie raised a large family of 10 sons and 4 daughters in Coopertown. George was a farmer most of his life, but moved what family was still living at home to North Nashville in the 1940's or 50's, living on St. Louis Street and working at Werthan Bag until he retired to Pleasant View, TN, sometime in the 1950's. He loved to fish, hunt, chew tobacco, tend his vegetable garden every year (until he was about 95), and dig ginseng root to sell.
      George and Maggie Watts had 15 children, 14 of whom survived to adulthood, 10 boys and 4 girls. Children are: 1) Shelley Clarence Watts b. September 24, 1907, d, June 3, 1996, m. Maureen, Neal); 2) Clara Anora Watts Drake (b. June 12, 1909, m. William Drake); 3) Burton Edward Watts (b. December 15, 1911, d. October, 1998, m. Lucille Drake); 4) Adrian Bernard Watts (b. May 25, 1913, d. Sept. 29, 1997, m. Elizabeth); 5) Bessie Virginia Watts Drake (b. July 3, 1915, m. James Harvey Drake, brother of William and Lucille); 6) Earnest Cates Watts (b. March 13, 1917, d. April 4, 1968, m. Ruth); 7) Quentin Theodore Watts (b. October 9, 1918, m. Lucille, Ellen); 8) Taylor Ewel Watts (b. January 27, 1920, m. Mary Ella Phelps); 9) Billie Reeves Watts (b. September 16, 1921, d. October 5, 1921); 10) Betty Ray Watts Hooper (b. November 28, 1922, m. James Hooper); 11) Otto Dowlen Watts (b. February 6, 1925, d. August 19, 1986, m. Olean); 12) Hugo Dowlen Watts (b. February 6, 1925, m. Sue); 13) Glenn Cecil Watts (b. February 6, 1927, m. Daisy); 14) Sylvanus Dorris Watts (b. January 19, 1929, m. Lois Marie Linville, Barbara Rediker Powell); 15) Mildred Imogene Watts (b. April 11, 1932, m. Robert Bratcher, Wallace Overby).
     George and Maggie’s daughter, Betty Watts Hooper, divorced since early 1960’s, along with her two daughters, JoAnne and Janice, lived with her parents for many years. Betty and her daughters continued to live with George in his two-story white farm house in Pleasant View after Maggie’s passing in 1971. George Watts lived to be 100 years old, passing away of natural causes at 8:30 p.m. on September 27th, 1985, the evening before his 100th birthday. He is buried next to Maggie at Martin's Chapel in Robertson County.

5. Joseph E. Watts -- Born September 1, 1854; died September 23, 1922, and is buried at Martin's Chapel. Joseph was the 7th of 10 children born to John W. Watts and Elenor Taylor Watts. Joseph married Susan Catherine Milliken on August 10, 1879 in Robertson County, Tennessee. Susan was born in Robertson Co. TN on Nov.24, 1852 and died on Dec.18, 1927. She was the daughter of Elias Milliken and Sarah Ann Reding. Elias was born on Jan. 31, 1831 in Manchester, Coffee Co., TN and died in Robertson Co. TN on July 14, 1909. He married his first wife, Sarah Ann “Sally” Reding (Redden), on Oct. 11, 1849 and the marriage produced six children. Sally Reding, who was born in 1824, died on Oct. 9, 1865, after which Elias remarried Sally Morris in 1866.
    Land records show that on Jan 15, 1913, Joseph and Susan Watts sold 11.9 acres of their land in Robertson Co. TN to W.L. Wilson, land they had purchased previously from R.A. Glover in 1898 and which bordered property that had belonged to Susan’s deceased father, Elias Milliken. (Deeds: Robertson. Deeds 1917–1919 on FamilySearch) On Aug.21, 1922, just a month before Joseph’s death, Joseph and Susan Watts entered into a legal life-long support agreement and transfer of their land (10 acres beginning at Pleasant View Road) to their son, Milton Oscar Watts, in exchange for his obligation to take care of his parents for the rest of their lives. Oscar’s mother lived another 5 years.
    Joseph and Susan Watts had six children: 1) Milton Oscar (ca.1889-Oct. 11, 1979; m. Jessie Clinard); 2) Arthur (twin to Oscar; m. Minnie Clinard); 3) Harvey; 4) George Cates (Sept. 28, 1885-Sept. 27, 198; m. Maggie Laura Horton, Sept. 28, 1905); 5) Ida Watts Truelove Grizzard (d. age 61); 6) Mary Ann Watts Wilson (1883-1966).
 

6. John Watts -- John W. Watts. The son of Thomas and Elizabeth "Betsy" Jones Watts, and father of Joseph E. Watts and nine other children. John was born June 11, 1818 in Davidson Co., TN and died on Oct.1, 1900. He was raised in Davidson Co. until his father, Thomas Watts, moved the family to Robertson Co. TN shortly before his death in 1837. Records suggest that he may have moved to Kentucky or spent time there during the 1840s and 1850s. John married Elenor Ann Taylor on March 1, 1838. Her name is most often listed in the records as Ellender. (A marriage record from Shelby, Kentucky, gives Sept. 13,1841 as the marriage date of J.[G?] W. Watts and Ellender Taylor. (Kentucky, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1783-1965 on Ancestry.com) Birth records from Anderson, KY show J.W. Watt and Ellender Taylor as giving birth to son John W. Watts (Jr.) in 1856. However the 1850 census shows 31 year old John Watts, 30 year old Elenor and five children in Robertson Co. TN. They remain in Robertson Co. on every census through the 1900 census, which states that John, but not Elenor, can read and write. Elenor (Ann) Taylor was born in 1820 and died Sept.30, 1901 (John and Elenor’s dates are taken from their gravestone in Coopertown, Robertson Co. TN). Elenor’s parents are not known; she states that they were both born in Tennessee in the 1880 census, but on the 1900 census she says that she and her parents were all born in North Carolina.
    Civil War military records show John W. Watts as a private in the Confederate Army. John enlisted (or was mustered in) on Oct. 9, 1861 at Coffer, Tennessee and served in Captain William C. Trousdale's Company, which was part of the 28th Regiment Tennessee Infantry (also known as the 2nd Mountain Regiment Tennessee Volunteers). This company was later designated as Company G of that regiment. Pvt. Watts continued serving after the March 8, 1863 consolidation of the 28th and 84th Tennessee Infantry regiments. His unit later became part of the 1st Consolidated Regiment Tennessee Infantry around April 9, 1865—which is the same date as General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. He was likely discharged when the Confederate forces surrendered. (28th (Consolidated) Infantry Tennessee. Military Records 1863–1864 on FamilySearch)
  After the war, land records from Jan.15, 1873 show the sale of a 100-acre tract of land in Robertson and Cheatham Counties, Tennessee from a group of heirs from the Soyers family to John Watts. (Deeds: Robertson. Deeds 1872–1874 on FamilySearch) In 1884 he purchased further land bordering his property on Sycamore Creek. On March 2, 1898, John Watts and his wife Ellender sold 46 acres of this land to son, Isaac Watts, and 50 acres to their son, Joe Watts (Deeds: Robertson. Deeds 1898–1899 on FamilySearch). After the death of John W. and Elenor Watts in 1900 and 1901, respectively, the remaining portion of their land in Robertson and Cheatham Counties bordering Sycamore Creek and Battle Creek was inherited by W. W. Neighbors and his wife, Belle Neighbors, who sold the land to R.L.Watts (Robert Lee Watts) on February 14, 1902. (Deeds: Robertson. Deeds 1902–1903 on FamilySearch).
    The children of John and Elenor Watts are: 1) Thomas S. (b. ca. 1839), possibly died during Civil War? Served in Company A of the Confederate Army?; 2) Levi (b. ca 1845, d. ca 1900/1904, m. Virginia Tennie Green); Levi's son, Charles, moved to Kentucky ca. 1893; 3) Martha (b. ca 1846, d. ?, m. Henry P. Williams Nov. 29, 1868 in Robertson Co., TN); 4) Mary ( n.m.); Charles (b. April 6, 1850, d. June 16, 1932, m. 1) H.F. Williams and 2) Emma Williams - one of them on June 28, 1868, buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Nashville, TN); Betsey (no info); Joseph (b. Sept. 1, 1854, d. Sept. 23, 1922, m. Susan Catherine Milliken August 10, 1879); Isaac (b. August 15, 1856, d. March 1, 1935, m. Willie Hinkle (b.1870, d. 1956) Oct. 6, 1895, Isaac is buried at Battle Creek Baptist Church cemetery in Robertson Co., TN); Tennessee (female - n.m.); Robert Lee (b. June 6, 1863, d. Feb. 6, 1954, m. Sarah Ada Walker on April 24, 1900, and was buried at Elmwood, Robertson Co., TN)
 
7. Thomas Watts – the father of John W. Watts. Per the Watts Family Bible, Thomas was born March 23, 1779 and died September 19, 1837. Born and raised in Statesville, Iredell Co. NC and he came to Davidson Co. TN before 1805 and is listed in the 1805 and 1811 tax records of Davidson Co. TN. He is thought to have served in the military during the War of 1812 (but does not appear in the 1812 War list of Tennessee soldiers). He married Elizabeth "Betsy" Jones on November 17, 1807 in Davidson Co.,TN and appears with his wife and children in the Davidson Co. TN census of 1820 and 1830. Thomas Watts is a witness and commissioner on an 1823 will of Ezekial Smith of Davidson Co., along with two other commissioners: Sevier Drake and Jonathan Drake. Land records from 1825 and 1826 show Thomas as the recipient of two state-issued land grants on Sycamore Creek in Davidson County, Tennessee, land granted to him under the Tennessee Land Grant system. (North Carolina and Tennessee, U.S., Early Land Records, 1753-1931 on Ancestry.com) In 1828 Thomas sold off 50 acres of this land to Isham B. Felts, and the sale was witnessed by his son, James Watts, along with Henry Felts and Blackston Binkley. (Davidson. Deed Books January 1829–April 1831, February 1829 on FamilySearch) By 1837, the year of his death, Thomas had moved with his family to Robertson Co. TN where he appears in the 1837 tax records (Tennessee, U.S., Early Tax List Records, 1783-1895). Records show that Thomas purchased 225 acres of land on Moore’s Branch of Sangamon Creek in Robertson Co. TN from John and Catherine Williams on Aug.3, 1837 (Deeds: Robertson. Deeds 1835–1838 on FamilySearch). Thomas died a month later on Sept.19, 1837. Probate records for Thomas Watts, administered by Dr. James Watts in Robertson County, TN give the date of Dec.6, 1837 as the date of the estate sale of Thomas Watts, deceased. (Robertson. Probate Records 1835–1843 on FamilySearch)
   Thomas’s wife, Elizabeth, was born ca. 1785-1791, and died June 10, 1863. (The date of death is taken from the Watts family Bible.) According to the 1850 Tennessee census, she was from North Carolina and lived with her children in Robertson Co. after Thomas' death. The 1850 census states that she doesn’t read or write and was age 65 (b.1785). The censuses from 1830 and 1850 state that she was born between 1785-1791, however the 1840 census shows her as a widow of 60-70 years of age, which would place her birth between 1770-1780. Other than her marriage record and census records there is little known about Betsy and no certain identification of her parents.
    Oral family traditional (as recounted by Naomi Watts Ragland) has it that Betsy's family was nearly captured by the "Indians" (Cherokee?) and Betsy herself was separated from her family. An online researcher has posted additional details that seem to refer to the same event.  (https://sherrysharp.com/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I15169&tree=Roots) Originally posted on a gedcom on worldconnect about Abraham Jones (ca. 1743-1780), who some researchers believe was Betsy Jones Watts’ father. The post reads:  
  “Jan 1780 Battle Creek Massacre, Robertson Co, TN. Records of the Red River Settlement (Renfro Station) indicate that Abraham Jones was killed along with his mother and father and his brother was taken prisoner by the Indians. Accounts say that he and Mary "Polly" Renfro had three children almost grown when he was killed and she escaped with Shadrack and Betsy. However the date of Betsy's birth would make her an infant at the time of the Indian attack.” A response to this post mentions a deed dated Feb.15, 1798 in Davidson Co., TN with Shadrack Jones and Betsy Jones as the witnesses, adding that this would seem to imply that Betsy was at least 21 in 1798, and thus born ca. 1770. Other court records are cited that suggest that Betsy’s mother was named Keziah. It is further related that there is a historic marker in Robertson Co, Tennessee marking the Battle Creek Massacre, TN 49, at Coopertown Road. The marker reads: “2 miles S.E., along Battle Creek in Jan. 1780, settlers fleeing from Renfro's Station on Red River about 17 miles away, were caught by Indians and massacred. The sole survivor was a widow named Jones who made her way 4 days later into a Settlements station.”
     Thomas and Betsy had 7 children: 1) James Watts (a farmer and cooper, b. August 22, 1808, m. Courtney Howell or Lovell on November 30, 1828, m. Elizabeth J. Miles in Davidson Co., TN, June 11, 1854); 2) Eliza (b. March 29, 1810, d. July 28, 1812); 3) Mary Polly (b. January 15, 1812, d. March 1, 1885,  buried on John Lee Watts' farm in Robertson Co., TN); 4) Elizabeth (b. March 2, 1814, d. May 16, 1876 Robertson Co., TN); 5) Melinda (b. May 2, 1816, d. December 25, 1863, n.m.); 6) John W. (b. June 11, 1818, d. October 1, 1900, m. Elenor Taylor March 1, 1838); 7) Thomas R. (b. December 6, 1820, d. December 7, 1820). These dates are drawn from the Watts Family Bible, currently in the possession of Roger Watts.
 

8.  William Fuller Watts – The father of Thomas Watts, William was known as “Fuller Watts” due to his profession as a fuller or clothier. Born on Sept. 27, 1754, either in Lancaster, PA, or in Rowan Co., NC, he married Rachel Davidson (1755-1858) in 1778 and had 12 children with her. He died in Iredell Co. NC on April 29, 1819. The line of George Cates Watts shows 46 autosomal DNA matches to the children of James Watts, William’s father, and 16 DNA matches to the children of Joseph Davidson, Rachel’s father.
    An account recorded in a book called The History of Steele Creek Church (a church in Iredell, NC), chronicles the pastorate of Rev. Albertus Leander Watts (b.1801), who is one of twelve children (8 sons and 4 daughters) of William and Rachel Watts. The account specifies that all of the children except one became members of the church “and of him little is known—he removed to the west.” Most likely this is a reference to William’s eldest son, Thomas Watts who moved west to Nashville, TN sometime before 1807, when Davidson Co. TN records his marriage to Betsy Jones. The church account tells us further that “the ancestors of Rev. A. L. Watts were Scotch-Irish and came from Pennsylvania at some point earlier than 1758. [His grandfather, James Watt,] settled some four miles west of where Statesville now stands. He had three sons, all of whom were active members of the Concord church, and William, the younger, was one of the original elders in the church. William was born on September 27, 1754 [according to the Watts Family Bible]. When not more than a year old his parents emigrated to North Carolina and settled in what is now called Iredell County. On the 11th of June 1778, William Watts was married to Rachel Davidson…. He served as a ruling elder in Concord church till his death, which occurred in 1818 … His mother lived to the extraordinary age of one hundred and four [or 102] years, and is buried in the same graveyard as her husband.”
    The 1850 North Carolina census shows 95 year old Rachel, the widow of William Watts. She was born Rachel Davidson on March 23, 1756, the daughter of Joseph Davidson (1725-1795) and Sarah Dodson Lambert (1723-1795). Joseph may have been born in Ulster, Ireland and Sarah in Lancaster Co. PA. Joseph and Sarah married in Pennsylvania and moved to the Third Creek area of Rowan County six miles from Fort Dobbs. Rachel was born in the Fort during a period when the family had sought refuge from Indians by staying in the fort. Revolutionary War Rolls show that Joseph served in the Carolina Battalion in 1778. Three of his sons and three sons-in-law also served as Revolutionary soldiers and Joseph furnished shoes for the entire company under the command of his son, Capt. Alexander Davidson. Rachel’s husband, William Watts, was also a Revolutionary War soldier. Rachel outlived her husband by 40 years but didn’t remarry. She died on June 27, 1858 at age 102 and is buried in the cemetery at Concord Presbyterian Church, Loray.
 

9. James Watt(s) – The father of William Watts, James was born in the 1720-30s and may have immigrated from Scotland, although records of his early years are lacking. James first appears in the records in Rowan Co. NC when he was granted 696 acres of land on Third Creek by Lord Granville on December 21, 1761. (Rowan. Deeds 1750–1764, Land Records 1826–1834, Marriage Registers 1851–1870 on FamilySearch) In the early 1760s, North Carolina was still a frontier region. John Earl Granville owned one-eighth of North Carolina, a claim granted by the British Crown in 1744. The grants were part of Granville’s effort to populate North Carolina with productive settlers who would clear and improve the land and pay taxes. Having 696 acres meant James could farm cash crops (tobacco, corn, wheat) or raise livestock, building long-term wealth.
      It is believed that James may have lived on this land several years before the grant. The grant to James Watt bears his signature without the 's' on the Watt name. James Watt appears in the Rowan County Court Minutes twenty-one times as constable, overseer of roads, tax collector and jury duty and always without the 's.' It is thought that either he or his son William later added the s to make it “Watts.” On Dec. 20, 1770 James is mentioned in the will of William Bartholomew (1700-1770) of Rowan Co. NC. who leaves his estate to “William Watts, James Watts’ oldest son” of his same county (Rowan). This reference appears to be to William Fuller Watts and identifies his father as James Watt(s). Records show that James’ wife was named Mary (d.1790), and many researchers think this will implies that she was William Batholomew’s daughter and William his grandson. This is certainly the most likely interpretation of the record, however Mary is not mentioned in the will. James and Mary probably married ca. 1753, as their first born, William, was born in 1754. If he was 21 when William was born he would have been born in 1733. James Watts wrote his will on Feb.22, 1793 in Iredell, Co. NC. In the will he names nine children, including William, 2 grandaughters, and his wife, Mary.
   James’ parents are unknown, but he is widely believed to have had an older brother named William who lived in Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania before moving south to Rowan Co. NC. Some researchers speculate that James also lived in Lancaster before following his brother to Rowan Co. If he did live in Lancaster, his residence there isn’t evident in the records, perhaps because he was not an adult at the time. William Watt was born in 1721/22 and died on Jan.8, 1791 in Iredell Co. NC (per his tombstone). The first mention of William Watt is as a witness on the 1744 will of Henry Bealy in Lancaster Co., PA. The only earlier record of a Watt in Lancaster, PA is a land survey of 400 acres on May 3, 1738 for a John Watt. John could be a relative, even a father, but there is no further mention of him in the Lancaster records.
  William’s first wife was named Jean (or Janat) Allison, daughter of James Allison. They married in Lancaster in the 1740s and subsequently moved to Rowan Co. where she died in 1763. The 1776 will of Jean’s brother reads: “[I] James Allison of the Township of Donegall and County of Lancaster… [leave proceeds from sales of my estate to be] equally divided amongst the sons and daughters of my sisters, Janat [Jean] Watt and Margaret Bowman, in North Carolina …” (Lancaster. Will Books 1771–1784 on FamilySearch) Jean gave birth to several children including her first son, William Watt Jr. (known as “the distiller”), and a second son named James, who was born ca.1756 (and should not be confused with James Watt, the father of William Fuller Watts). William and Jean’s son, James, was a Revolutionary War soldier serving in the Rowan County Regiment from 1776 – 1781, dying in 1834. After Jean’s death in 1763, William subsequently married a wife named Jane (Reid?), who is mentioned in his will of 1791 and in a land record on Dec. 7, 1789 in which William Watt Sr. and his wife, Jane, sell a tract of land for 50 pounds to James Watt (son or brother?) in Iredell County, North Carolina. (Iredell Co.was formed from Rowan Co. in 1788). Around 1749-50 William and Jean moved south to the Fourth Creek area of Rowan Co. NC. around the same time as several members of the Allison family, who were probably Jean’s brothers.
   In 1753, a 598 acre royal land grant was issued “from John Earl Granville to William Watt, a planter in Rowan County, North Carolina, located near a path from Watt’s house to John Oliphant’s land.” (Iredell. Deeds 1788–1796 on FamilySearch). His land grant preceded James’ by eight years, and both are in the same Third and Fourth Creek area. A 1779 Rowan Co. land record documents a “survey for William Stephenson, (a) parcel of land containing Six hundred acres lying in the County aforesaid , in the waters of fourth & third Creek, Joining to himself William Watts’ deeded land, on the West by James Watts deeded land on the north by the old Wagon Road.” (Rowan. Land Warrants 1735–1957 (Salisbury, Jan.5,1779 on FamilySearch.) A December 7, 1789 record also documents a land transaction between William Watts Sr. and James Watts, both of Iredell County, North Carolina. William Watts became the third Constable in Captain Allison’s District after Rowan County was formed in 1753 and was appointed in 1755. Fort Dobbs was built in 1756 to protect the settlers. The fort was near Sherrill’s Path and William Watts lived nearer to the fort than any other settler. Some researchers conjecture that he probably furnished oxen and helped construct Fort Dobbs. William died and left a will in 1791.
 

Who were the parents of William and James Watt?
     Some researchers point to Alexander Watt as a possible father of William and James Watts and the first Watt to immigrate to America from Scotland. Alexander Watt was born Aug. 21,1687 in Scotland and married Janet Marion Mitchell (1694-1769), according to Scottish records. Records from UK suggest that his parents may have been Alexander Sr. and Elizabeth—possibly Elizabeth Sword (1676-1725) and Ancestry entries suggest that Alexander Sr.'s parents were Thomas Watts (b.1637) and Janet Johnston (1649-1685) and that both Thomas' father and his grandfather were named Thomas. Records from Scotland, Birth and Baptisms, 1564-1950 on FamilySearch show a James Watt christened on Oct.27, 1729 by parents Alexander Watt and Marion Mitchell in Bothkennar, Stirlingshire, Scotland. They also show another James Watt christened on Sept.16, 1729 to parents Robert Watt and Issobel Low in Keith, Banffshire, Scotland. Since James Watt is a common Scottish name there is no way of knowing if either of these James Watt christenings or other James that are listed refer to James Watt of North Carolina, or even if James was born in Scotland.
     There is a record showing a list of Scottish Jacobite prisoners who were banished to American plantations in 1716, and the list includes an Alexander Watt, who was captured at Preston and transferred as an indentured servant to Liverpool, then on to York, VA on the Elizabeth and Anne. Some speculate that this Alexander, the Jacobite prisoner, might be the father of William and James Watt of Iredell Co. NC. While the record of the 1716 crossing furnishes the circumstances of an early Watt immigration to Virginia, there is no further record of this Alexander Watt, either in Virginia, Lancaster, PA or North Carolina. As a deported prisoner, he wouldn’t have been able to return to Scotland. Furthermore, William and James were born after 1716, which means that they were not born in Scotland if this Alexander was their father, nor is there evidence of a wife of Alexander in America who could be the mother of William and James.
      In Cumberland Co. Pennsylvania, there are land records of three Watt males who are selling and sharing land with each other from the 1760s to the 1780s. These three, Alexander, James and Archibald are of about the same generation as William and James Watt and are possibly related in some way. For example, East and West side applications: Pennsylvania. Land Records 1765–1769 on FamilySearch records the ownership in 1766 of 300 acres for Archibald Watt “on Conegochergue Hill… Southward of Alexander Watt in Sherman’s Valley, Cumberland County.” Another entry transfers the 300 acres of land on Conegochergue Hill to Alexander Watt. Alexander Watt transferred land to James Watt on November 10, 1779. Then a 1784 deed shows James Watt selling this large parcel of land, some of which was originally surveyed for Alexander Watt.
     Records further show that Archibald was buried in 1786 and James Watt wrote his last will and testament in 1794 in Pennsylvania, which clearly demonstrates that he is a separate individual from James Watt who died in 1792 in Iredell Co. NC. If by some chance this Alexander was the immigrant of 1716 he would be quite old, perhaps in his late 80s or 90s. Most likely, Alexander, James and Archibald Watt of Cumberland Co. PA are brothers (one might be the father of the other two) who immigrated to Pennsylvania around 1760. They may well be cousins of some kind to William and James Watt of Iredell Co. NC. Due to lack of records for Alexander Watt who immigrated to Virginia in 1716 for many decades after his arrival, the case for Alexander as the father of William and James is quite weak. The two most likely possibilities are that William and James immigrated to Pennsylvania from Scotland around 1740, or else their unknown parents immigrated to America before 1721 and William and James were born in America. 

 

Further notes on the Watts family: According to Chad Watts, Watts is a patronymic form of the English and Scottish name Watt, which came from the extremely popular Middle English given name Wat or Watt. This was a pet form of the name Walter. The Watts ancestry encompasses Scottish descent, and Welsh descent and possibly includes the ethic groups: Gaels, Normans, and Celts. Watts is part of Clan Forbes in Scotland; Watts is also listed as part of the Buchanan clan. Most Americans with the surname are of Melungeon descent, meaning mixed ancestry. The Watts surname can be found around Loch Ness in Scotland and as well the rest of UK. The Watts family played an important role in the Confederate States government and army. Watts ancestry is also known to have come through Cherokee Indian and Louisiana Redbone Tribes.  One such early and prominent Tennessee Watts, possibly a relative, was Chief John Watts, a half-blooded Cherokee (Chickamauga) Indian who was born in Cumberland, Stewart Co. TN Dec.1741 and married Mary Johnson of VA. in 1768. He replaced Dragging Canoe as war chief and led raids against the white settlers for two years in Middle TN, before signing a peace treaty in the Nashville area. Ancestry.com also lists a John Watts, born in TN in 1818, as being on the Cherokee rolls. Watts family lore has it that a young Cherokee girl (possibly of the Redden line), who was orphaned at the Battle of Watts Creek, married into the family to become a direct ancestor of George C. Watts. So far, however, any identification of such a person remains elusive.