Jesse Watts 1790c - 1825 My Great x3 Grandfather

[mjwatts1960]

What I know:
Jesse Watts married Sarah Ludby 27 June 1810 in Petworth Sussex and was buried 22 July 1825 in Petworth Sussex. Jesse and Sarah had 8 children. My Great x2 Grandfather Henry christened 26 June 1811 was the oldest child.
What I don´t know:
I don´t know the exact date of birth or christening of Jesse or where this took place. Many years ago back in about the year 2000 an expert on this site told me that a Jesse Watts born in Colerne Wiltshire to a Daniel and Jane Watts (as stated by someone on Family Search) could not have been the same Jesse Watts who was married to Sarah Ludby as he was still alive after 1825 and living in Wiltshire. There is also a probable connection to a Thomas and Anne Watts living in Funtington Sussex. Can anyone help me?

[maddys52]

Hello mjwatts1960 and welcome to rootschat.

Can't help with the baptism of Jesse, but just to add the marriage record has Grafham as his parish, although doesn't mean he was born there, just that he had been living there the required time. Witnesses were William and Anne Ludby.

(Also found this: dissolving the partnership with William Putlick of Tillington, waggoners and common carriers, in 1816, if you haven't seen it before 
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01jy1/  )

[mjwatts1960]

Thank you. Yes I have a copy of the marriage certificate with the information you gave me but I didn´t know about the business relationship with William Putlick of Tillington.
If you find any other information on Jesse Watts in Petworth between 1810 and 1825 it would help. He was according to another family history researcher in my family a yeoman farmer which according to Herbener meant he owned and farmed his own land. Any information on Thomas and Ann Skinner in Funtington Sussex and their children would be appreciated as Funtington, Graffham and Petworth are all close together there COULD be a connection.

[mjwatts1960]

Thomas Watts was a husbandman which meant according to Herbener he rented land which he farmed. Are there any records to say what Jesse Watts´cause of death was?  He was 35 when he died which is extremely young. Were there any epidemics in Sussex or England at that time? Could it have been accidental death or medical?

[mjwatts1960]

There are a lot of Watts´living in West Sussex. South of Petworth there are Watts´in Chichester, Funtington, Westbourne, Boxgrove, Singleton. I feel there is a high probability of a connection between some of these Watts´and Jesse Watts in Graffham, Petworth? Wouldn´t you say?

[maddys52]

Unfortunately there is no cause of death noted for Jesse that I can see. 35 does seem young, but sadly not uncommon, as you say could be medical or accidental.

I note again that Jesse's occupation on his children's baptisms varies: butcher and victualler.

As you say there are a number of Watts in the area, so could be all related but could go back many generations. I note that around the time Jesse's children are baptised there are these burials at Petworth:
Robert (aged 70) 24 Dec 1819
William (aged 79) 16 Mar 1818
so there must have been a few Watts families just in Petworth.

[maddys52]

Any information on Thomas and Ann Skinner in Funtington Sussex and their children would be appreciated as Funtington, Graffham and Petworth are all close together there COULD be a connection.

Do you mean Thomas WATTS and Ann SKINNER? I can't see any records at the moment - do you have any more information about them - dates and what the possible connection might be? 

[mjwatts1960]

In searching for births marriages and deaths on any Watts´in Sussex close to Petworth there are multiple entries for Watts´in Chichester and the neighbouring smaller villages of Funtington, Sidlesham, Singleton, and Boxgrove (see Google Maps) These towns and villages are only about ten to twenty miles to the south of Graffham and Petworth. I just feel that one of these could be connected to Jesse.
From reading Herbener´s book on Ancestral Trails he also talks about the problems of misspelling of names due to the widespread illiteracy and the possibility that the name Jesse that appears on the marriage and burial records may not be the name he was christened with. What might the variations of Jesse have been possibly in the early 1800s? There may be a good reason why I haven´t been able to find a christening for a Jesse Watts. We need to think outside the box I feel on this one.

[mjwatts1960]

The connection to Thomas and Ann Skinner is only a theory which was popular in my family due to Funtington and Graffham being very close. Thomas and Ann had several children including John George and William in the 1740s in Funtington. Also Thomas was a husbandman (a man who rented land that he farmed) and Jesse was a Yeoman (a man who owned land that he farmed)