Southern-Style

1. WILLIAM¹ WATTS was born Abt. 1520 in Of Benenden, Kent, England, and died 1563 in Of Sandhurst, Kent, England. He married JOHAN KNOTT Abt. 1545.

Notes for WILLIAM WATTS:

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Notes for ROBERT HARRISON WATTS:

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Notes for ROBERT HARRISON WATTS:

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Notes for CORNELIUS WATTS:

The Will was published in the VA Magazine of History and Biographyv.13:5,June 190 6 , p 3 0 7 "Virginia Gleanings in England""CorneliusWates,of St.Cuthbert, in the city of Wel l s , i n the County ofSomersett,Vintener.Will 3 January 1640-1, proved 2 October 1640. T o b e bu ried intheChurchyard of St. Cuthberts. To John Davis of Shipton malletand hiswifeo n e A r risoe Coverlett and a blew Rugg and twoe silver winebolersand40s a piece to buy ea c h o f t hem a ring. To Margarett Davie,daughterofsaid John Davie, 40s. To William Watts, wh i c h i s inVirginia, myhousenext below the Ashe-in-the-well and 10 pounds. If hedothe not r e t urneagain, my son Edweard Watts to have the house but notthe money. TotheChurch of S t . C u thbertes 20s. To the people ofThaimeshouse ofPb.Bubwith's and Bp. Stil their foundat i o n s 10s. Allthe rest to mywifeAnne Watts and Edward Watts, my son and Anne Watts mydau g h t er whomImake Executors. Witnesses: Richard Deane, Clarke, WillmSherman,JohnOldford , C o v entry, 129"

Notes for EDWARD WATTS:

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Notes for THOMAS WATTS I:

Relationship not proven

Notes for THOMAS WATTS II:

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Notes for FRANCIS WATTS:

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Notes for THOMAS WATTS SR:

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Children of THOMAS WATTS and LYDIA THORNTON are:

Notes for THOMAS WATTS JR:

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Notes for MARY WATTS:

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Notes for JEREMIAH RUST WATTS SR:

Jeremiah & Agnes had 10 boys and 6 girls.

Alabama Census Index, 1810-1890

1840 WATTS JEREMIAH Lowndes County AL 216 No TownshipListedFederalPopulation Schedu l e A L 1 840 Federal Census IndexALS4a2728915

Georgia Census Index, 1790-1890

1820 WATTS JEREMIAH Putnam County GA 077 No TownshipListedFederalPopulation Schedul e G A 1 8 20 Federal Census IndexGAS2a1325299

Notes for JOHN HUGHES WATTS SR:

John & Prudence had 7 boys and 7 girls.

1840 WATTS JOHN H. Butler County AL 136 No TownshipListedFederalPopulation Schedule A L 1 8 4 0 Federal Census IndexALS4a2729033

1810 WATTS JOHN Fauquier County VA 271 10301-00211-00FederalPopulationSchedule VA 181 0 F e d eral Census Index VAS1a3375511

1810 WATTS JOHN Fauquier County VA 271 10301-00211-00FederalPopulationSchedule VA 181 0 F e d eral Census Index VAS1a3375630

1820 WATTS JOHN Fauquier County VA 095 No TownshipListedFederalPopulation Schedule V A 1 8 2 0 Federal Census IndexVAS2a1325329

Alabama Land Records

JOHN WATTS CAHABA 22990 1837/04/15 ST STEPHENS 10N 12E 27 39.9500viewfullrecord

JOHN WATTS CAHABA 27726 1837/08/02 ST STEPHENS 10N 12E 21 79.7600viewfullrecord

JOHN WATTS CAHABA 30141 1837/08/12 ST STEPHENS 10N 12E 18 39.9750viewfullrecord

JOHN WATTS CAHABA 31907 1837/08/15 ST STEPHENS 10N 12E 7 79.8900viewfullrecord

JOHN WATTS CAHABA 22989 1837/04/15 ST STEPHENS 10N 12E 28160.0000viewfull record

JOHN WATTS CAHABA 19618 1835/10/01 ST STEPHENS 10N 12E 22 80.1500viewfullrecord

JOHN WATTS CAHABA 19617 1835/10/01 ST STEPHENS 10N 12E 22 40.0700viewfullrecord

JOHN WATTS CAHABA 607 1823/10/01 ST STEPHENS 10N 12E 17 79.8875viewfullrecord

JOHN WATTS CAHABA 2178 1826/05/01 ST STEPHENS 11N 11E 12 79.4600viewfullrecord

JOHN WATTS CAHABA 2262 1826/05/05 ST STEPHENS 11N 12E 19 80.0000viewfullrecord

JOHN WATTS CAHABA 2498 1826/05/12 ST STEPHENS 11N 12E 19 80.0000viewfullrecord

JOHN WATTS CAHABA 2691 1826/07/10 ST STEPHENS 11N 11E 12 79.4600viewfullrecord

It looks like John H. Watts started buying land in 1823 in the state ofAl.

Child of MARY MORRIS and GILBERT MASON is:

Notes for MARTHA COMER WATTS:

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Child of NANNIE MASON and HERMAN THOMPSON is:

Children of JENE KNIGHT and BETTY SCOTT are:

Notes for LEWIS JACKSON KNIGHT:

The History of Butler County, p. 123.

Among the other families most conspicuous inMonterey'searliesthistory,are the famil i e s o f Billy Powell, who wasthe fther ofJ. L.Powell, nowof Greenville, William Traweek a n d J ess eKnight.

There was a considerable amount of whisky sold at this placebeforethewar,and the vill a g e b ore the reputation of being one oftherowdiestplacesin the whole section of the count r y . Th is was causedfromthe factthat agreat many of the young men, then living in thevicin i t yof Monterey,would come over and get under the influence ofwhisky, andinthis state,the y o f te n had difficulties with persons inwhosecompanythey happenedto be. In those days, i t w a s n o uncommonthing fora manto be cut allto pieces in a fight at Monterey. However,th e r e were notmany liveslost compared to the number offights.Horse-racing,cockfighting, and a m usem ents of a similar nature,werefrequentlyindulged in, and many hundredswere spent in ga m b lin gandbetting. Allthis was done in the "flushtimes of Alabama," beforethecountry wasd r a in ed of its money by the warbetween the States.

The fight between Joe Yeldell and Dr. James Longmire threwadamperonrowdyism at Monter e y , w hich lasted for some time. JoeYeldellwaskilledby Dr. Longmire, and the latter was cl e a re d in thecourts forthedeed.

The murder of Richard Hartsfield, by two slaves in1862,createdmoreexcitement among th e p e o ple of the surrounding countrythananythingthatever happened at Monterey, before or si nce .

The following are the facts of the case: Richard Hartsfieldwasamechanic,and ranked h i g h a mong the people who knew him as a manofhonorandintegrity, and was a first-class contr a c tor . He was bornintheState ofGeorgi, April 28, 1830, and was killed on themorningofFeb r u ar y 10,1862. He purchased two slaves, Simon and Lewis,fromthePeaster Estate.These sl a v e s soon began to hate theirmaster,andaccordingly began tomake plots to kill him. Thei r p l a nswereexecutedon a bright, frostymorning in February, 1862. Their mastergaveorders t o h a ve some hogskilled, which had been fattened in somehogskilled,which had been fatten e d i n a pen near a spring, about twohundredyardsfrom the residence. Mr.Hartsfield came d o w n t o the springtoshoot thehogs for the Negroes, butfound that the water was notnoteno u g h to scald, and he began to stir upthe fire around thecattle.WhileHartsfield was stoopi n g d own , punchingthe fire, Lewisstruck himwith anax, crushing his skull. Simon struck hi m wi t h a fencerail,andterminated his life immediately. ONe of thenegrods then rantotheho u s e , asked their mistress for their master'shorse, tellingherthatthe hogs had broken o u t o f t he pen and the horsewas needed togethimback. The horse was saddled and brought t o t h e spring. Itwastheintention of Simon and Lewis to put their dead master onthewildhorse , f ix o ne of his feet tightly in one stirrup, and turnthehorseloose, andsay that he was thr o w n an d killed. The animal wasafine,ambitious bay,and had only been managed by his mast e r , andemphaticallyresisted allattempts to place the dead man upon him.Theheartlessmurde r e rs, failing in this part of their plot, smeared asmallstump withblood, anddragged their m a s te r from it some distance,andleft him lyingdead.They then turned loose the enraged hor s e , wh ichrammany miles,snortingand looking back as if pursued, and seeminglygreatlyfrigh t e ned. Theyimmediately informed their mistress of thedeatn oftheir master,tellingher th a t h e w as thrown from his horse, andhis footwas caught inonestirrup, and was dragged som e d ist anc e beforeit wasreleased.Thefrightened horse, with gloody saddle, stopping andsnort i n ga teveryhouse on the road, and instantly galloping on, showedthepeoplethatsomething ter r i bl e had happened, and every manthusinformedimmediatelyrepaired to the bloody scene. W h e n th eneighborssaw bloodon Simon'sshirt; that the hogs were never killed; thatthere wsb l o od o nthe sddle;they immediately saw through the whole plot,and hadthemurderersrrested . A f te r the burial of Mr. Hartsfield, atwhicheveryperson forten miles around was present , T.M . B . Traweek,Justice ofthePeace,called a preliminary trial of the cse, and, from theev iden c esbroughtforth, found the negroes guilty, and ordered them to becarriedtojail,at Green vi l l e, the next morning. Lewis Knight, aprominentintheneighborhood, made a touching spe e c h t o the excitedassembly,andendedby saying, that "all those in favor of burning these bl oo dthirstydevils,will step on the opposite side of the road."Everymanimmediatelystepp e d o n th e other side of the road, except theJusticeofthe Peaceand the four men who had be e n ap poin ted to carrytheprisonersto jil.Those in favor of burning the murders then resolv e dthemsel vesinto a moband adjourned, to meet next morning at thepost-officebeforesunrise.N e xt m orn ing long before the appointed timeof meeting,thelittlevillage was astir with excit e ment , a nd the streetswerethrongedwith theenraged mob, bent on the destruction of the help l ess prisoners.Aftersome delays, the mob marched up the Greenvilleroad,aboutthree-quarter s o f a m ile from the post-office and stopped onasmallhill. Here theywaited severl hour s f o r the v ictims of theirwrathtopass on their wayto Greenville. Finally they came. The y we r etakenfrom their guard, andlocked with chains to two pines,standingclosetogether. Pi n e k notsw ere collectedfrom every directionand piledroundthe trees. The mobhad, bu this ti m e , incre ased to overonethousandpersons. Everythingbeing ready, the torch was applied , a n dtheang ryflames soon licked thetops of the trees. It is said that afireneverburned mo r e energeti cally, and flames never leapedmoretriumphantly,than in theburning of these two m u r derers . Shortlybeforethe burning,Simonconfessed the deed, and related the details o f t hemurder , butLewisnever did confess it.

Among the other families most conspicuous in Monterey'searliesthistory,are the famili e s o f Billy Powell, who was the fther ofJ. L.Powell, nowof Greenville, William Traweek an d J ess e Knight.

There was a considerable amount of whisky sold at this placebeforethewar, and the villa g e b ore the reputation of being one oftherowdiestplaces in the whole section of the countr y . Th is was causedfromthe factthat a great many of the young men, then living in thevicini t yof Monterey, would come over and get under the influence ofwhisky, andinthis state, they o f te n had difficulties with persons inwhosecompanythey happened to be. In those days, it w a s n o uncommonthing fora manto be cut all to pieces in a fight at Monterey. However,the r e were notmany lives lost compared to the number offights.Horse-racing,cockfighting, and am u sem ents of a similar nature,werefrequentlyindulged in, and many hundreds were spent in gam b lin gandbetting. Allthis was done in the "flush times of Alabama," beforethecountry wasdr a in ed of its money by the war between the States.

The fight between Joe Yeldell and Dr. James Longmire threw adamperonrowdyism at Montere y , w hich lasted for some time. Joe Yeldellwaskilledby Dr. Longmire, and the latter was cle a re d in the courts forthedeed.

The murder of Richard Hartsfield, by two slaves in 1862,createdmoreexcitement among the p e o ple of the surrounding country thananythingthatever happened at Monterey, before or since .

The following are the facts of the case: Richard Hartsfieldwasamechanic, and ranked hi g h a mong the people who knew him as a manofhonorand integrity, and was a first-class contra c tor . He was bornintheState of Georgi, April 28, 1830, and was killed on themorningofFebr u ar y 10, 1862. He purchased two slaves, Simon and Lewis,fromthePeaster Estate. These sla v e s soon began to hate theirmaster,andaccordingly began to make plots to kill him. Their p l a nswereexecutedon a bright, frosty morning in February, 1862. Their mastergaveorderst o h a ve some hogs killed, which had been fattened in somehogskilled,which had been fatten e d i n a pen near a spring, about twohundredyardsfrom the residence. Mr. Hartsfield came do w n t o the springtoshoot thehogs for the Negroes, but found that the water was notnotenou g h to scald, and he began to stir up the fire around thecattle.WhileHartsfield was stoopin g d own , punching the fire, Lewisstruck himwith anax, crushing his skull. Simon struck hi m wi t h a fencerail,andterminated his life immediately. ONe of the negrods then rantothehou s e , asked their mistress for their master's horse, tellingherthatthe hogs had broken ou t o f t he pen and the horse was needed togethimback. The horse was saddled and brought to t h e spr ing. Itwastheintention of Simon and Lewis to put their dead master on thewildhorse, f ix o ne of his feet tightly in one stirrup, and turn thehorseloose, andsay that he was thro w n an d killed. The animal was afine,ambitious bay,and had only been managed by his maste r , an demphaticallyresisted allattempts to place the dead man upon him. Theheartlessmurder e rs, failing in this part of their plot, smeared a smallstump withblood, anddragged their ma s te r from it some distance, andleft him lyingdead.They then turned loose the enraged hors e , wh ich rammany miles,snortingand looking back as if pursued, and seemingly greatlyfright e ned. Theyimmediately informed their mistress of the deatn oftheir master,tellingher tha t h e w as thrown from his horse, and his footwas caught inonestirrup, and was dragged some d ist anc e before it wasreleased.Thefrightened horse, with gloody saddle, stopping and snorti n ga teveryhouse on the road, and instantly galloping on, showed thepeoplethatsomething terr i bl e had happened, and every man thusinformedimmediatelyrepaired to the bloody scene. Wh e n th e neighborssaw bloodon Simon'sshirt; that the hogs were never killed; that there wsbl o od o nthe sddle;they immediately saw through the whole plot, and hadthemurderersrrested. A f te r the burial of Mr. Hartsfield, at whicheveryperson forten miles around was present, T.M . B . Traweek, Justice ofthePeace,called a preliminary trial of the cse, and, from the eviden c esbroughtforth, found the negroes guilty, and ordered them to be carriedtojail,at Greenvi l l e, the next morning. Lewis Knight, a prominentintheneighborhood, made a touching spee c h t o the excited assembly,andendedby saying, that "all those in favor of burning these blo o dthirstydevils,will step on the opposite side of the road." Everymanimmediatelysteppe d o n th e other side of the road, except the Justiceofthe Peaceand the four men who had bee n ap poin ted to carry theprisonersto jil.Those in favor of burning the murders then resolve d themsel vesinto a moband adjourned, to meet next morning at the post-officebeforesunrise.Ne xt m orn ing long before the appointed time of meeting,thelittlevillage was astir with excite ment , a nd the streets werethrongedwith theenraged mob, bent on the destruction of the helpl es s prisoners.Aftersome delays, the mob marched up the Greenville road,aboutthree-quarters o f a m ile from the post-office and stopped on asmallhill. Here theywaited severl hours f o r the v ictims of their wrathtopass on their wayto Greenville. Finally they came. They we r e takenfrom their guard, andlocked with chains to two pines, standingclosetogether. Pin e k notsw ere collectedfrom every direction and piledroundthe trees. The mobhad, bu this tim e , incre ased to over onethousandpersons. Everythingbeing ready, the torch was applied, a n d theang ryflames soon licked thetops of the trees. It is said that a fireneverburned mor e energeti cally, and flames never leaped moretriumphantly,than in theburning of these two mu r derers . Shortly beforethe burning,Simonconfessed the deed, and related the details of t h emurder , butLewisnever did confess it.

Children of COMER KNIGHT and LAURA POSEY are: