Author Topic: Trying to trace the Watson Family  (Read 3661 times)

Offline gaffy

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Re: Trying to trace the Watson Family
« Reply #18 on: Saturday 19 December 20 16:14 GMT (UK) »
Just to add as a speculative punt, I wondered about the following marriage of a David Sommerville in Limerick (city) in November 1856, the point being that his bride Margaret Watson (note: age = minor) was the daughter of 'Benjamin Ansley Watson':

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1856/09512/5447773.pdf


Offline gaffy

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Re: Trying to trace the Watson Family
« Reply #19 on: Sunday 20 December 20 08:17 GMT (UK) »

Just to add as a speculative punt, I wondered about the following marriage of a David Sommerville in Limerick (city) in November 1856, the point being that his bride Margaret Watson (note: age = minor) was the daughter of 'Benjamin Ansley Watson':

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1856/09512/5447773.pdf


Further to the above, this from  the Clare Journal of 10 November 1856:
At St. Michael's Church, Limerick, David Ashworth Somerville, Esq., of Ballincollig, to Margaret Everina, only daughter of the late Benjamin Annesley Watson, Esq., of Caherhurley.

Caherhurly: https://www.townlands.ie/clare/tulla-upper/kilnoe/caherhurley/caherhurly/
(The Tithe Applotment Books showed a Ben Watson in Caherhurley, the year was 1827.)

The NAI webiste shows a Prerogative Court Will index entry (the will was destroyed) for a Benjn A Watson of Mill Lodge, Co. Clare, the probate year was 1838:
http://census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/dw/IRE_DIOC_007246592_00310.pdf

Edited to add:  I couldn't help but notice that one of the witnesses to that 1856 Somerville-Watson marriage had the quite singular name of Margaret Everina Drew, the forenames matching those of the bride (as per the Clare Journal announcement) and the surname having cropped up in a previous post on this topic. Then I noticed the following death registration in March 1885 for a 75 year old Margaret Everina Drew of Drewscourt, widow of Francis Drew, daughter of Hugh 3rd Baron Massy, the informant was a son called Ringrose Drew of Drewscourt:
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1885/06282/4800006.pdf

There's a bit here about the Drew family, there may be other bits online:
http://landedestates.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/estate-show.jsp?id=2036

July 17, at Anne's Church, Francis Drew, Esq., only son of Ringrose Drew, Esq., of Drewsborough, co. of Clare, to the Hon. Margaret Everina, fourth daughter to the late and sister to the present Lord Massy. (published in Various Irish newspapers in late July 1833)

I haven't got my head round all this to know if any of it is relevant or not, hopefully fresh eyes will see / find something.


Offline gaffy

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Re: Trying to trace the Watson Family
« Reply #20 on: Sunday 20 December 20 09:47 GMT (UK) »
Just to add that the 'Ancestry' website shows several baptismal entries for children of David Ashworth  Sommerville and Margaret Everina Watson, one even has a middle name Ringrose.  With my usual health warning about potential inaccuracy, a tree on the website suggests that one of the children went on to become Sir Annesley Ashworth Somerville (1858-1942), conservative politician. 

So plenty to pursue on this line.


Offline gaffy

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Re: Trying to trace the Watson Family
« Reply #21 on: Sunday 20 December 20 16:41 GMT (UK) »
I've tried to remain open on how closely (if at all) the folk I've posted about from reply #18 are related to the OP's query and the query at reply #16, for it may be the case that names like 'Annesley' and 'Ringrose' have passed down various quite seperate lines (ie. cousins) over a very long time. 

Take the Benjamin Annesley Watson of Caherhurley cited as the father of Margaret Everina Watson who married David Ashworth Somerville in 1856... IF he is the same person as the father of Thomas Annesley Watson who married Honora Halloran in 1849 and emigrated to Queensland in 1863, then that raises the possibility that a Benjamin Annesley Watson married a Mary Ann Annesley (ie. that Benjamin came to that marriage already with an Annesley background - maybe his mother?)?  Or did the informant at the death of Thomas Annesley Watson in 1879 simply get his mother's details confused, as in conflated with older family history?

Anyhow, for what it's worth, here are two more mentions on the 'Annesley Watson' combo theme, I only mention them because the geography is in the ball park (Limerick/Clare).  The first mention appeared in various newspapers, it's a quite bizarre story carried in November/December 1830 about a Benjamin Annesley Watson whose (unnamed) uncle died on 13 September 1830 and who had an unpleasant interaction with a priest over the funeral mass for the uncle, resulting in the priest effectively inviting Benjamin to a duel and the priest then being suspended by the bishop. From the genealogy perspective, all it does is confirm that someone with that name combo was there at that time.

The second mention is of a Thomas Annesley Watson in newspapers of March 1848, described as being 'of most respectable appearance', a clerk who was aquitted of fraud at the Ennis assizes, there is mention of a brother John Watson and of the location 'Scarriff district' - is this the same Thomas Watson the 'farmer' who married Honora Halloran a year later?  Or a cousin? Or a pure unrelated coincidence of names?



Offline MezOz

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Re: Trying to trace the Watson Family
« Reply #22 on: Monday 21 December 20 01:04 GMT (UK) »
Thank you KG for the interesting links, and for the welcome  :)

Regards,
MezOz

Offline MezOz

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Re: Trying to trace the Watson Family
« Reply #23 on: Monday 21 December 20 01:16 GMT (UK) »
Hi Gaffy,

Thank you for your reply. I have noted that a Benjamin A Watson was the father of Thomas Annesley Watson, so I guess that fits. I also had a Mary Ann Ainslie or Annesley as Thomas's mother. I had thought that the Annesley came from her Ainslie, but I think that your idea about Benjamin already having that as a family name is correct.

Do you have any further information on John Watson, brother of Thomas Annesley, please?

Regards,
MezOz     

Offline Sue222

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Re: Trying to trace the Watson Family
« Reply #24 on: Saturday 06 March 21 13:54 GMT (UK) »
In the case of the Conservative MP, the family tree on Ancestry has it right. Annesley Somerville's entry in Alumni Cantab says:
Somerville, Annesley Ashworth. Adm. sizar at TRINITY, June 13, 1876. S. of David Ashworth, of Ballincollig, Co. Cork. B. there, Nov. 16, 1858

There is some information about Drew Watson Annesley families here https://nickreddan.net/trees/Drew.pdf

Offline MezOz

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Re: Trying to trace the Watson Family
« Reply #25 on: Tuesday 09 March 21 07:03 GMT (UK) »
Thank you, Sue, much appreciated

Offline jobohasch

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Re: Trying to trace the Watson Family
« Reply #26 on: Tuesday 05 March 24 05:27 GMT (UK) »
Hope this account sheds some light.
In the Napa Region of California, there lived four Watson boys: John (1830-1884), Ringrose (1833-1887), George (1822-1891) and Felthan (1827-1902). It turns out that George & Felthan were brothers, and John & Ringrose were brothers. John never married. When he died, he left most of his property to the children of George. John and Ringrose had a sister, Margaret Sommerville (1840-1925), who objected. She traveled to Napa, and sued the estate. The local newspapers covered the trial in detail. The implication was that George's wife convinced John through her wily ways to leave the property to her children. Here are some excerpts from the trial:

from "The Napa Register", 20 May 1887 (newspapers.com)
Mrs. Margaret E. Sommerville sworn - Was born in Ireland in the year 1837; my mother had ten children, and myself and Ring are the only ones living; I had eight brothers; John Watson whose will was admitted to probate was my brother; he came to this country from Ireland; think he was 19 then; I am married and my husband is now in Washington Territory; he has had no occupation since 1877; before that he was manager at the Royal Gun Powder Works in Ireland; he lost his position in '77; I have seven children living and four have died; I had seven children living with me in 1877; in January, 1880, all were living with me except my eldest son; when my husband lost his position we had no income; ....

From "Vallejo Evening News Chronicle", 20 May 1887 (newspapers.com)
[Margaret Sommerville testimony] After my mother's death in 1870 both John and Ring wrote to me sometimes...I had a brother Benjamin who died several years ago in Australia; think he died late in the seventies and he left a widow and several children; Thomas Watson, another brother, died either in Australia or New Zealand also some years ago and left a family.

from "Napa Register", 27 May 1887 (cdnc.ucr.edu)
Felton H. Watson. - Reside at Vallejo; have lived in Napa county since '55; Geo. Watson is my brother; John Watson's grandfather and my father were first cousins; I left Dublin in '52; Ring and John accompanied me and we three started to St. Louis, U.S. in a sailing vessel; John, George and myself then went to Soscol; I left sometime after for the mines but John remained in the employ of George; Geo. settled in Soscol in '55, and has lived there ever since; between John and George Watson and family there were very friendly relations;

from "Death certificates (Washington (State), 1907-1960" (familysearch.org) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HVWC-WWT2
Margaret Everina Sommerville, a housewife, born 26 Aug 1840 in County Clair, IRE to Henry Benjamin b. IRE & Mary Ann Annesley b. IRE died 20 Nov 1925 near Centralia, Lewis, WA of chronic nephritis. Burial in Centralia WA. Informant Robert Sommerville.

Assuming Margaret Somerville's grandfather is Benjamin A Watson (as stated in an earlier post), then he would be a nephew to Felthan's grandfather, Felthan Watson (1744-1790) who married Anastasia Drew.