Regarding Samuel #26 Watson

The following article is a proposed correction to the published WATSON genealogy The American Family of John Watson of the Narragansett Country, Rhode Island. It offers evidence that John Watson has Samuel #26 WATSON married to the wrong woman (Nancy PRATT); names the woman Samuel #26 really married (Abiah YOUNG); provides the names for eight of Samuel and Abiah Watson’s nine children; and suggests which other Samuel Watson most likely married Nancy Pratt.

Samuel Watson, a Revolutionary War soldier, was a farmer from West Greenwich in Kent County, Rhode Island. He could not write his own name, but he had friends and neighbors who were willing to sign their names to sworn testimony on behalf of Samuel’s claim for a soldier’s pension.

Samuel Watson’s pension application file contains unique and valuable information about his family.[1] Preserved on microfilm and available to the public through the National Archives, these pension documents detail Watson’s efforts in his old age to qualify for a pension, and his widow’s subsequent struggle to prove she married Samuel before the end of his Revolutionary War service.

An item of genealogical interest from this pension file is a reference to Samuel’s brother. In a deposition dated October 1836 in support of Abiah (Young) Watson’s claim for a widow’s pension, Elisha Sweet of West Greenwich testified that in 1777 Samuel Watson performed one month of military service for his brother Freeborn Watson.

Below is a transcription of the deposition made by Elisha Sweet. (To view image copies of the handwritten deposition, click here.)

I Elisha Sweet of West Greenwich in the County of Kent in the State of Rhode Island aged seventy three years do testify and say that in the year 1776 I was at a Justice Court in said West Greenwich at which place was Samuel Watson and also Capt. Thomas Gorton who it was then said was enlisting men for a Company of Continental soldiers and it was said enlisted among others Samuel Watson of said West Greenwich – and I further say that I was a neighbor of said Samuel Watson and as I then knew and understood that he the said Samuel Watson went into the service and remained one year before he came home and was said to be in the service at Providence and Newport, at the White Plains and at the taking of nine hundred and nineteen Hessians in New Jersey – that after the said service the said Samuel Watson returned to West Greenwich and was married to Abiah Young with whom he lived as his wife till some time in December 1834 – that after the said Samuel Watson and his wife were married which was in 1778 the said Samuel Watson enlisted for six months in a Company of State troops in Colonel Christopher Green’s regiment and was absent for six months and was said to be in the service in the State troops of Rhode Island and though I was not with him I have no doubt he served the said six months as his family lived within one hundred rods of my house and his wife was very often at my house and it was then a matter talked of that he was out six months and very soon after he came home he called at my house – that all the said service of six months was in 1780 – that he enlisted in the early part of [illegible] and returned in the early part of the Winter 1780, that said Samuel Watson when at home [illegible] his said services was one of the Militia of the State of Rhode Island and was drafted from said West Greenwich and marched and said to have served on the shores of Rhode Island and besides his own tours of duty he served one month for Jared Bailey and one month for his brother Freeborn Watson – that the month of service for his brother was in 1777 the month for Jared Bailey 1781 – that Abiah Watson is now the widow of the said Samuel Watson and has been since December 1834 – that I do not recollect the name of the Captain of the Company for the six months service – that Joseph Draper was Captain of the Militia of said West Greenwich – and further the deponent saith not.

(signed) Elisha Sweet

Freeborn Watson is mentioned as Samuel’s brother and one of the sons of Samuel #7 and Hannah (Hazard) Watson on page 18 of the Watson genealogy, The American Family of John Watson of the Narragansett Country, Rhode Island.[2] But John Watson states on pages 18 and 30 that Freeborn Watson’s brother Samuel (#26) married Nancy Pratt, not Abiah Young.

Any proposed correction to a published genealogy is, by definition, a challenge to the old data and must prove its case through evidence. Might there have been another Freeborn Watson with a brother named Samuel?

The name Samuel Watson was a common one, particularly in Rhode Island, but the name Freeborn Watson was not. John Watson mentions only one Freeborn Watson, the son of Samuel #7 and the brother of Samuel #26. A search of census and vital records reveals no Freeborn Watson (or any variant spelling thereof) of the appropriate age and time, other than the son of Samuel #7 and Hannah (Hazard) Watson. Indeed, Freeborn Watson did remove “to Bennington County” as John Watson states. He appears as “Freburn Watson” in the 1790 US federal census for Pownal township, Bennington County, Vermont.[3] When the 1800 federal census was taken, he was enumerated again in Pownal, this time with his name spelled “Freeborn.”[4]

Onomastic evidence linking pensioner Samuel with the family of Samuel #7 and Hannah (Hazard) Watson appears in testimony given by Samuel and Abiah Watson’s daughter Alice Watson in December 1836. In her deposition Alice mentions her deceased oldest brother, Hazzard Watson. The use of Hannah’s maiden name also recalls her son Hazard, Samuel’s and Freeborn’s brother who died in 1762.

Elisha Sweet testified that Samuel Watson performed a month’s military service for Jared Bailey, whose name appears in the 1790 federal census for West Greenwich immediately before that of Samuel Watson, Jr.[5] A second Samuel Watson household, listed eight lines later, includes only two people, most likely Samuel and Hannah.

The numbers given for Samuel Jr.’s household in the 1790 census do not agree with the numbers given in John Watson, which states on page 30 that Samuel Watson “is listed in the 1790 census of West Greenwich as having in his household 1 male between 2 and 16 and 3 females.” The federal census for 1790 does not have an age category for males “between 2 and 16.” In 1790 Samuel Watson, Jr. had in his household 1 “male of 16 years and upward, including heads of families,” 4 “males under 16 years,” and 3 females.

There is another discrepancy to be found in the paragraph about Samuel #26. John Watson states that Samuel “died in Exeter in 1820,” yet his youngest child is listed as having been born between 1825-30. While it is tempting to consider the virility of a Watson from beyond the grave, we find a simpler answer to this problem in probate and census records.

Nancy Pratt and her husband were mentioned in wills dated 1825 and 1840 in West Greenwich:

WATSON, Mr. AND Nancy PRATT, of Amasa & Freelove mwsd 1825 & 1840 (WGW 6:116- 118; 9:42-44) [6]

We may assume, then, that Nancy (Pratt) Watson’s husband was alive during this time frame.

John Watson mentions that “Nancy appears in the 1850 census aged 71 years.” When Nancy (Pratt) Watson was enumerated on August 2, 1850 in the town of Exeter, Washington County, Rhode Island, her name was written on line 39 of page 224, and she was 71 years old.[7] Samuel Watson, apparently alive at age 73, was enumerated as the head of household on the line before Nancy.

The basis for the assumption that Nancy’s husband Samuel died in 1820 may be the listing of another Nancy Watson in the 1830 and 1840 federal censuses.[8] The 1830 census lists a widowed Nancy Watson as the head of a household in the town of Barrington, Bristol county, Rhode Island. In 1840 Nancy Watson was enumerated there again, living alone, listed in the age category for females of “50 and under 60” years of age. This Nancy Watson may have been associated with a different, unrelated Watson family from Barrington which produced a son named Samuel a year or two before the birth of Samuel #26 Watson.

Nancy Pratt, daughter of Amasa and Freelove Pratt, did marry Samuel Watson – but which one?

The potential for confusion among the various Samuel Watsons is considerable, because there were about ten Samuel Watsons – all descended from John #1 – whose life spans overlapped with that of Samuel #26.[9] Most of them lived in Rhode Island, in Washington and Kent counties.

The lineage of the Watson family living in Barrington, Rhode Island, has been chronicled in the book Genealogy and history of the Watson family from Irish emigrants to Mayflower descendants : descendants of Matthew Watson and Mary Orr from Ireland and Leicester, MA, 1664-1988.[10] Interestingly, the author/publisher of this genealogy is named Samuel (E.) Watson. There is no evidence to suggest that Samuel Watson, son of Matthew and Bethiah (Reed) Watson of Barrington, RI, married either Nancy Pratt or Abiah Young.

An examination of the data for the various Samuel Watsons alive and “available” suggests that Samuel⁵ #56, son of Robert⁴ #23 Watson and Rebecca Richmond, and nephew of Samuel #26, is the Samuel Watson most likely to have married Nancy Pratt.

Robert and Rebecca Watson lived a fair portion of their lives in West Greenwich, where the Pratt family moved sometime between 1790 and 1800. The household of Amasa Pratt was enumerated in 1790 in Foster, Providence County, RI.[11] By 1800 this family was living in West Greenwich and was enumerated there in that year’s federal census.[12] The physical proximity of the two families lends credence to the case for Nancy Pratt having wed Samuel #56. Robert’s son Samuel, born in 1778, would have been about the right age to be the Samuel enumerated with Nancy (Pratt) Watson in Exeter in 1850.

In the 1800 census for West Greenwich, the name Samuel Watson again appears twice. The use of “Jr.” after either Samuel Watson’s name disappears as of this census, along with any likely listing of Samuel and Hannah (Hazard) Watson’s household. The whereabouts of Samuel and Hannah in 1800 are discussed in the Appendix, below.

The numbers for the Samuel Watson household listed immediately after that of Robert Watson describe that of a young couple with a child – one male under the age of ten, one male aged 16 to under 26, and one female aged 16 to under 26.[13] In 1800, Samuel #56 would have celebrated his 22nd birthday. Nancy (Pratt) Watson’s age also agrees with this census data.

By contrast, the numbers for the “other” Samuel Watson household listed in the same West Greenwich census reflect a larger, well-established family – one male aged 10 to under 16 years, 3 males aged 16 to under 26, 1 male aged 45 and up; two females under age 10, one female aged 10 to under 16 years, and one female aged 45 and up.[14] This would be the household of Samuel and Abiah Watson.

Samuel and Abiah had at least nine children, most of whom married and had children of their own. We have traced the names of all but one of these sons and daughters through documents preserved in Samuel’s pension file, a few surviving vital records, information submitted by Watson descendants to the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, county histories, census data, and family lore confirmed by census data.

Therefore, in the interest of restoring eight lost branches to John Watson’s family tree, we respectfully submit a corrected entry for Samuel #26 Watson in The American Family of John Watson of the Narragansett Country, Rhode Island:

#26 SAMUEL⁴ WATSON (Samuel^3-2, John¹) was one of the six brothers, sons of Samuel³ #7 and Hannah (Hazard) Watson, of North Kingstown. He was born circa 1753 in Exeter and died December 19, 1834, in West Greenwich. He married ABIAH YOUNG on January 3, 1778 in Exeter. Samuel is listed in the 1790 census of West Greenwich as having in his household one male of 16 years and over, four males under 16 years, and three females.

Samuel Watson was a soldier during the Revolutionary War. He served in the Continental army between January 20, 1776 and January 18, 1777 in Capt. Thomas Gorton’s company, in the regiment commanded by Col. Christopher Lippett. Afterwards, he served in the Rhode Island state militia at various times until 1781, under Capt. Joseph Draper and Col. Christopher Greene, and under Capt. George Willcox and Col. Charles Dyre. Samuel served one month for his brother Freeborn Watson and one month for Jared Bailey. He engaged in battles at White Plains, NY; Trenton and Princeton, NJ; and in Sullivan’s Rhode Island Expedition.

Federal pension and other records indicate that Samuel Watson moved out of West Greenwich some time after 1812. Samuel was a resident of Voluntown, then in Windham County, Connecticut, on April 14, 1818, when he made his first application for a pension. By 1820, Samuel was again residing in West Greenwich, which is where he died.

Abiah Watson is of record in the 1840 federal census and in that year’s Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services.[15] She was 84 years old and living in West Greenwich. The last payment of her widow’s pension was recorded in September 1843.

The place of burial of Samuel and Abiah Watson has not been determined.

Issue:

HAZZARD⁵ born in autumn of 1778; married AMY (-----); died August 1822 [16]

DANIEL born circa 1780; married ELIZABETH WILCOX; removed to NY; died 24 April 1872; buried Clear Creek Cemetery, Ellington, Chautauqua co., NY [17]

DAUGHTER, born between 1781-1783 [31]

BENJAMIN born before 1785; married MARY YOUNG; died circa 1824, probably in CT [18]

ALICE born circa 1785; died 7 May 1855; unmarried; buried in “lost” Watson lot, Exeter, RI Historical Cemetery #EX169 [19]

JEFFREY born circa 1786; married JOANNA GALLUP; died 6 Jan 1864, Voluntown, CT; buried Gallup Cemetery, Sterling, CT [20]

ESTHER born circa 1792; married CRANDALL LEWIS; died 30 Apr 1863; buried Allen James Lot, RI Historical Cemetery #WG050, Hazard Road, West Greenwich, RI [21]

SARAH born 24 Jan 1796; married JOSEPH RICHMOND; died after 1870 [22]

SAMUEL born 1799 in West Greenwich; married PENELOPE COREY; died 13 Oct 1875 in West Greenwich [23]

Appendix

1. John Watson states on pages 17-18 that Samuel #7, father of Robert #23 and Samuel #26, died in December 1801; his second wife, Hannah (Hazard) Watson died 17 December 1801. It notes that “the place of burial of Samuel and his wives has not been determined.”

An entry in The Descendants of Robert Moone of Boston and Newport provides information regarding the elder Samuel’s whereabouts, both in terms of the census record and where he is buried.[24] In family sheet data for Peleg Moon, husband of Mary Watson (Samuel and Hannah’s daughter ), it is noted that both Samuel and Hannah are buried in Pownal, Bennington County, Vermont. Two of Samuel’s sons, Freeborn and Silas #24, removed to Pownal. It is entirely conceivable that the elder Watsons removed there also after 1790. Silas Watson was enumerated immediately following Freeborn in the 1800 census, and the numbers for Silas’ household support the notion that Samuel and Hannah may have lived with Silas.[25] Robert Moone concurs with John Watson regarding Hannah’s date of death. Samuel #7’s date of death is given in Robert Moone as June 28, 1806.

Samuel and Hannah Watson are buried near the Bennington-Pownal town line in the Carpenter lot, a small family graveyard now surrounded by an orchard.[26] Their twin headstone reads:

In Memory of M^rs. HANNAH WATSON, wife of Cap^t. SAMUEL WATSON, who departed this Life December 17^th AD 1801, in the 86^th Year of her age.

In Memory of Cap^t. SAMUEL WATSON, who departed this Life June the 28^th AD 1806, in the 90^th Year of his age.

The source for Robert Moone’s death and burial data on Samuel and Hannah Watson was likely an unpublished typescript of a list originally created in 1910 or 1911. This list, transcribed by Theodore M. Atkinson in 1991 and titled Pownal Gravestones in 1910, was described by Atkinson in his introduction as “three composition books, ...[which] listed in the same hand most Pownal, Vermont gravestones. .... No Pownal gravestone lists of this early vintage are found today either at the Town Clerk’s office or at the Bennington Museum Library.” [27]

The Descendants of Robert Moone of Boston and Newport inaccurately reports Samuel and Hannah Watson’s gravesites as being in the Pownal Center Cemetery, where Samuel’s son Silas is buried next to his wife, Sarah (Bowdich) Watson. Samuel and Hannah Watson’s gravestones, as transcribed by Mr. Atkinson from “The Second Copybook,” are located in the Carpenter Lot, “near the Bennington-Pownal line on the east side of Carpenter Hill Rd. about 300 yards into an orchard. Strictly speaking, it is in Bennington not in Pownal.”

In a telephone conversation on October 24, 2002, Mr. Atkinson said that the Carpenter family (part of Mr. Atkinson’s own family tree) moved to Pownal, VT, from West Greenwich, RI. He thought that Samuel and Hannah Watson were buried in the Carpenter lot because they likely were friends with the Carpenters.

Mr. Atkinson also thinks the elder Watsons probably lived with son Silas. He told us that Samuel Watson’s name appears on no deeds for Pownal, so he was not a landowner there.

The use of “Capt.” with Samuel Watson’s name probably is associated with his military service. As noted by William D. Metz, Ph.D., in his preface to The American Family of John Watson of the Narragansett Country, Rhode Island, “Samuel³ (No. 7) served in the French and Indian War.”

2. Three Watson biographies from county histories:

Elias Willoughby Watson moved to Illinois as a young man, as mentioned in a History of Bureau County, Illinois, below. His brother Benjamin Perry, described in a following biography, also moved to Illinois and ended up in Iowa.

“E. W. Watson, Berlin, was born in Voluntown, Conn., March 25, 1823. He is the son of Benjamin and Mary (Young) Watson. His father died when our subject was an infant, but his mother lived to the age of ninety-three years, and died March 25, 1877. E. W. Watson was the youngest of eight children, five of whom are now living. He was married June 4, 1850, to Fidelia L. Fisk, in Tolland County, Conn., who was born in the same county April 7, 1830. Her parents, William A. and Selyma (Whittemore) Fisk, were both natives of Connecticut. In 1855 they [William & Selyma Fisk] came to Bureau County, and settled in Malden, where he was engaged in business until his death, October 13, 1871, at the age of seventy years. He was one of the successful business men of Malden, and always ready to assist in any public enterprise. His wife died in Connecticut, within two miles of her birth-place, April 16, 1884, at the age of eighty-three. Of their family four are still living. Mr. Watson came from Tolland County Conn., in 1854, and settled on his present farm, which was then but slightly improved. Before coming to this State he had been a mechanic, and had but little money, but by industry has accumulated a competency. His farm contains 195 acres of well-improved land. Mr. and Mrs. Watson have five children, viz.: Ida L., born August 11, 1857, wife of F. M. Johnson, an attorney in Grundy Centre, Iowa; Carrie F., born May 26, 1860; Charles A., born April 30, 1863; William T. S., born March 7, 1866; Jennie M., born April 5, 1868.”[28]

In this biography of Benjamin Perry Watson, taken from a History of Johnson County, Iowa, the reference to Samuel Watson’s service in the War of 1812 is almost certainly erroneous, as Samuel would have been about 63 years old by that time; no mention of service in that war is to be found in his pension file.

“B. P. Watson, farmer, Post Office, River Junction, was born on June 3, 1816. His grandfather Samuel Watson was a soldier of the Revolution from the first until its close and also in the War of 1812. At an early age the subject was left fatherless, and was fifth of seven children, and when a little over five years of age he commenced work in a cotton factory, and only got three months of schooling afterwards. He worked there the greater part of the time for thirty years. In 1857 he immigrated to Illinois, LaSalle county, and followed farming and in 1865 came to Johnson County, and bought the farm he now lives on of 200 acres and has it well-improved. He was married at Plainfield, Connecticut, September 4, 1843, to Miss Hannah Cole, a native of that state. They have one son Chauncey L. who is still at home and has charge of the farm. He raises some fine horses and cattle.”[29]

Alice Watson’s 1836 deposition mentions an older brother living in the state of New York; the words “in Stephentown” were crossed out but still quite legible. The 1830 census for Stephentown, Rensselaer county, NY, lists only one Watson household, that of Daniel. Daniel Watson’s last appearance in the census record was in 1870, in Ellington, Chautauqua county, NY; his birthplace was given as Rhode Island. We suspect that John A. Watson, whose biography appears below, quite likely was born in or near Stephentown.

“John A. WATSON, son of Daniel and Elizabeth (WILCOX) WATSON, early settlers in Ellington, Chautauqua county, was born in Rensselaer county, Oct. 29, 1831, came to Conewango from Ellington in 1879, and is now a wood mechanic and farmer residing in Rutledge. He married, Oct. 13, 1856, Fidelia WOODMANSEE, by whom he has had children as follows: John S., Daniel, Permelia, and Mattie M. Daniel WATSON married Kate F., daughter of Chauncey and Eliza (ELLSWORTH) HALL. They conduct a millinery store in Conewango.”[30]

Endnotes

1 Samuel Watson file, no. W18249, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, micropublication M804, roll 2508 (Washington: National Archives); NARA, Frederick C. Murphy Federal Center, 380 Trapelo Road, Waltham, MA, cabinet 32, drawer 1.

2 George C. Davis, compiler, Jean Adams Bradley, editor, The American Family of John Watson of the Narragansett Country, Rhode Island (Kingston, Rhode Island: The Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, 1983). Also cited as: John Watson.

3 Bureau of the Census, Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790: Vermont (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1908), 19.

4 Freeborn Watson household, 1800 U.S. census, Bennington County, Vermont, page 137, line 5; National Archives micropublication M32, roll 51.

5 Bureau of the Census, Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790: Rhode Island (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1908), 16. Jared Bailey’s own pension application does in fact mention that he was “drafted in the State of Rhode Island for one month but could not go, but hired a Substitute for which he paid him fifteen dollars & equipped him.” To view a transcription of Jared Bailey’s pension application at “The Family History of Jared Bailey of Connecticut” website, click here.

6 Alden Gamaliel Beaman, Ph.D., compiler and publisher, Rhode Island Vital Records, New Series, 9 volumes (Princeton, MA: 1980) 7:398. Hereinafter cited as: Rhode Island VR (published).

7 Samuel Watson household, 1850 U.S. census, Exeter, Washington County, Rhode Island; National Archives micropublication M432, roll 847, page 224, dwelling #73, family #70.

8 Household of Nancy Watson, widow: 1830 U.S. census, Barrington, Bristol County, Rhode Island; National Archives micropublication M19, roll 167, page 393, line 22; 1840 U.S. census, Barrington, Bristol County, Rhode Island; National Archives micropublication M704, roll 504, page 3, line 21.

9 Samuel² (#3); Samuel³ (#7); Samuel⁴ (#27); Samuel⁴ (#32); Samuel⁴ (no #, p. 21); Samuel⁵ (no #, p. 31); Samuel⁵ (#56); Samuel⁵ (#68); Samuel⁶ (no #, p. 108); and Samuel⁴ #26’s youngest son, Samuel, born 1794.

10 Samuel E. Watson and Ann Watson Stevens Lively, Genealogy and history of the Watson family from Irish emigrants to Mayflower descendants : descendants of Matthew Watson and Mary Orr from Ireland and Leicester, MA, 1664-1988 (Santa Rosa, CA: 1988).

11 Bureau of the Census, Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790: Rhode Island (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1908), 29.

12 Ammesa [sic] Pratt household, 1800 U.S. census, Kent County, Rhode Island, page 146, line 6; National Archives micropublication M32, roll 45.

13 Samuel Watson household, 1800 U.S. census, Kent County, Rhode Island, page 142, line 9; National Archives micropublication M32, roll 45.

14 Samuel Watson household, 1800 U.S. census, Kent County, Rhode Island, page 144, line 13; National Archives micropublication M32, roll 45.

15 Abiah Watson household, 1840 U.S. census, Kent County, Rhode Island, page 103, line 23; National Archives micropublication M704, roll 504; Abiah Watson, 1840 Index to Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary War Military Services, West Greenwich, Kent County, Rhode Island; National Archives micropublication Z3.

16 Rhode Island Vital Records, 6:313. Application #528841 for membership to the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Washington, D.C., submitted 29 June 1967 by Gertrude Moore. This application describes Miss Moore’s descent from Samuel Watson through his daughter Esther, and names (with omissions and some errors) Samuel Watson’s other children and their spouses. Miss Moore offers the name of Abby Wilcox as Hazzard Watson’s wife; this apparently confuses Hazzard Watson, son of Samuel, with Hazard C. Lewis, son of Crandall and Esther (Watson) Lewis. Hazard C. Lewis, Samuel Watson’s grandson through his daughter Esther, married Abby A. Wilcox circa 1843.

17 Census records for 1782, 1790, 1810, 1830-60; Samuel Watson, Revolutionary War pension file, no. W18249, NARA M804, roll 2508; Burials of Daniel Watson and his wife Elizabeth were noted at a now‐defunct USGenWeb Archives web page; “History of the Town of Conewango,” chap. XXII, p. 523, The Historical Gazetteer and Biographical Memorial of Cattaraugus Co. NY, William Adams, editor (Syracuse, NY: Lyman, Horton & Co., Limited, 1893); The biography of John A. Watson in this county history, quoted in the Appendix, may be found on this web page and again on this other web page.

18 Census records for 1782, 1790, 1810, 1820; Samuel Watson, Revolutionary War pension file, no. W18249, NARA M804, roll 2508; H. C. Bradsby, editor, History of Bureau County, Illinois H. C. Bradsby, editor (Chicago: World Publishing Company, 1885), 686; family records and research of a living descendant of Benjamin and Mary (Young) Watson.

19 Samuel Watson, Revolutionary War pension file, no. W18249, NARA M804, roll 2508; John E. Sterling and James E. Good, Exeter, Rhode Island, Historical Cemeteries, (Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, Inc., 1994), unpaginated “Appendix – Lost Exeter Cemeteries,” no. A24. The designation of Alice Watson’s final resting place has been updated to EX169 by the Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Commission.

20 The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Book 21:284; Lineage applications of Ellen L. Watson Gardner, national no. 20810, and Nellie M. P. Gardner Leonard, national no. 20811, National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, approved 1897; Jeffrey Watson death record, Arnold Copy Index, Town Clerk’s Office, Voluntown, CT; Barbour Collection Connecticut Vital Records -- Voluntown; Charles R. Hale Collection of Connecticut Cemetery Inscriptions; Jeffrey Watson headstone, Gallup Cemetery, Sterling, Windham County, CT, photographed April 21, 2001 by Elaine Schenot.

21 The DAR application of Gertrude Moore (see endnote #16, above) names some of Samuel Watson’s children and their spouses. Though this data contains errors, it provided clues leading to more accurate information that correlates with census records and family group data available online at www.familysearch.org.

22 The DAR application of Gertrude Moore (see endnote #16, above) names some of Samuel Watson’s children and their spouses. Though this data contains errors, it provided clues leading to more accurate information that correlates with census records, family group data available online at www.familysearch.org, and related information in the Civil War pension file of Nehemiah Watson.

23 Rhode Island VR, 6:314. Also, General Assembly – Petitions Failed / Withdrawn, 1811-1874, 01/13/C#0869 and C#1179 (Rhode Island State Archives, 337 Westminster St., Providence, RI 02903), in which petition Samuel Watson Jr. says he was 21 years old at the time he set fire to Edward Richmond’s barn in November 1820. This evidence being more primary in nature than Samuel Jr.’s death record, along with the fact that a birth year of 1799 is more in keeping with the census record overall, give us occasion to note a more accurate year of birth for him.

24 Doris L. Moon, compiler and publisher, The Descendants of Robert Moone of Boston and Newport, 4 volumes (West Lebanon, NH: 2000) 2:479. Also cited as: Robert Moone.

25 Silas Watson household, 1800 U.S. census, Bennington County, Vermont, page 137, line 6; National Archives micropublication M32, roll 51.

26 Inscription, Samuel & Hannah Watson headstone, Carpenter lot, Bennington, Bennington co., VT; photographed May 10, 2003 by Elaine Schenot.

27 Pownal Gravestones in 1910, transcribed by Theodore M. Atkinson (New Marlborough, MA: 1991). This unpublished typescript [call number LH 974.39 P87.2] is held by the Local History Department of the Berkshire Athenaeum, 1 Wendell Avenue, Pittsfield, MA 01201.

28 History of Bureau County, Illinois, H. C. Bradsby, editor (Chicago: World Publishing Company, 1885), p. 686.

29 History of Johnson County, Iowa (1883; reprint, LaCrosse, WI: Brookhaven Press, 2000), p. 946.

30 Historical Gazetteer and Biographical Memorial of Cattaraugus Co. NY, Chapter 22, page 523, History of the Town of Conewango.

31 Household of Samuel Watson Jr. in 1790; Census Place: West Greenwich, Kent, Rhode Island; Series: M637; Roll: 10; Page: 64; Image: 47; Family History Library Film: 0568150; Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1790 United States Federal Census [database on‐line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: First Census of the United States, 1790 (NARA microfilm publication M637, 12 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, DC.

Click on this link to see Images for Samuel #26 Watson

Click on this link to read Where’s Alice? The Location of the “Lost Watson Lot”

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