| 19 | Summer | 91 |
|---|---|---|
| PO Box 522 | PAMPA, TX | 79066-0522 |
| Volume 1 | of the family, by the family, for the family | Issue 1 | 806 669 6009 | Watts Meet ... | Descendant's ... Family Tree | Richard & Sallie |
puzzler1@uswestmail.net |
Watts Meet at Wheeler City Park"Fifty-five!" I heard someone cry and again I heard another verify "fifty five!" I later learned that that number represented an estimated head count of the turn out to the first "Watts Family Reunion" at the City Park in Wheeler, Texas on the 8th of June. All six of the surviving sons and daughters; Elmeda Bell Elder, Edwin (Ed) Watts, Virginia Dell Patterson, Garland Gene (Pete) Watts, Kenneth 'Dale' Watts and Monta Faye Boyd, all of the late Richard Albert Jr. and the late Anna Mae (Hart) Watts were present.The reunion was slow to getting started which is typical of the Watts family, however the better part of the afternoon was spent getting reacquainted and catching up on stories gone by. We had a tasty 'pot luck' dinner which we kept coming back for more for the rest of the day. The younger generation found activities to while away the hours which included swimming and a few innings of baseball. Before departing, a meeting was held and it has been decided to make this an annual event. The date set for the second go around is June 13, 1992 (second Saturday in June) to be held at the City Park in Wheeler, Texas. A family news letter to be put out quarterly was also decided during the meeting. After the meeting was adjourned, visiting and eating resumed. AAs the motto states above, "of, by and for," this letter can only be as interesting as the contributions made to it. Please send all contributions to: Roy A. Watts Roy A Watts Descendant's of Ludwell P. WattsOn the pages that follow I have put together an outline. Many people are missing from this outline however I don't know who they are. If anyone can give me additional information or addresses to descnedants along other lines, please, I would be grateful and I'm sure the rest of the family would be also.Along these lines I would like to thank Bill Watts who has contributed family listings and a story on Richard Albert Watts Sr and his wife Sallie Cates which I will include in this letter. Many thanks Bill! Roy A. Watts Family Tree
Richard Albert & Sallie (Cates) WattsOur Great Grandmother Sallie Watts (1858-1936) and Great Grandfather Richard Watts ( 1857-1907) originated in the Montgomery, Alabama area and born to them were nine children. In order and born in the Alabama area were Mary, J.W. (Bud), Fred, R.A. (Abe). Then they moved to Mt. Vernon, Texas which is about 100 miles east of Dallas, Texas and the following children were born in this area in this order, Emma Lou (Benton), Dollie (McCraw), Tom Lora (Green) and Callie (Carter).Some of the 9 children were married in or around the Mt. Vernon, Texas area including J.W. (Bud) Watts and Dollie Watts who married Will H. McCraw. In 1906 J.W. (Bud) and his wife Urmin (which were my grand parents) moved by covered wagon to Childress, Texas which was a 350 mile journey by today's highways. In the early part of 1907 Richard and Sallie Watts came to Childress moving some of their livestock by railroad and some of it by horseback and wagon. Abe and Tom Watts were grown men and unmarried and were of great assistance to them in their move. Prior to moving to Childress Great Grandfather, Richard Watts was visiting with his banker and told him that he had not been feeling well. He had been running wild hogs in open range in the damp weather and caught pneumonia. The banker sold him a life insurance policy for $2,000.00. Later that same year Richard Watts died and the proceeds from the $2,000.00 life insurance policy enable Great Grandmother Sallie Watts to make a downpayment on 160 acres of land within one mile of where they were living when Richard died in Childress County, Texas. The Deed of Trust states that Sallie Watts purchased this 160 acres of land in July of 1907. Shortly thereafter Sallie Watts got her family busy and built a house to live in on this 160 acres. That house is not at the same location today, but when I plow across the land I can tell exactly where it once stood. According to all information, she was a strong willed person and wanted everything to work out well with everyone. She lived from 1907 until her death as the widow of Richard Watts, caring for her family. In 1936 Great Grandmother Watts passed on and was laid to rest in the Tell Community,Cemetery along with Richard Watts, her husband and Dollie Watts McCraw, her daughter. The Tell Cemetery is located just 11 miles Southwest of Childress, Texas on the Farm to Market Road 94. Bill Watts |
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