Notizen zu dieser Person
From Kruger's Jonathan Watson (1998): William probably spent his childhood in Epping, from his birth in 1756to about 1768. After the death of is father about 1759, his mother,with the help of his uncle Winthrop Watson, probably raised him.Although later pension records state that he was raised in Nottingham,it is likely that this was mistaken for the Red Oak Hill area ofEpping on land owned by his uncle Dudley Watson, abutting theNottingham line. He may have moved with the family to Dover about1768, when his mother remarried. By 1779 he had removed to Barrington,probably living with or near his older brother Stephen, marryingthere, where his first two children were born. In 1782 he settledpermanently in Pittsfield, raising nine more children born there, andliving there to his death in 1827. Sarah continued to live on thehomestead as his widow to her death in 1855. J. M. Moses gives an account of William and his family that isgenerally accurate, but which adds to the confusion of William?sparentage by adding ?said to be son of Solomon, [and] was of Dover.?He goes on to say that William ?settled in Pittsfield, near [the]Northwood line .... There are probably no buildings now on the placewhere they lived. (Farm of George B. Johnson in 1913.)? William appears in many original records: pension documents relatingto his Revolutionary War service provide much family history; he wasparty to more than 40 real estate transactions over 45 years; townrecords document more than 30 years? service in various offices and oncommittees; tax records indicate his success as a farmer; he is foundin all censuses 1790-1820, and his widow to 1850; and his will andassociated probate records follow his family into succeedinggenerations. On 17 September 1852 William?s widow Sarah, at almost 94, applied fora pension, based on his service more than 75 years before. Thesedocuments give a complete picture of this family, with all birth datesand places, their marriage information, and narrative on his earlylife; pages were torn from the family bible and submitted to thegovernment to support the pension claim; his mother?s identity isclear, but his father is unnamed (see his father Jonathan [No. 8] fora full discussion). His Revolutionary War service began with Benjamin Butler?s Companyfrom 5 November 1775 on Goat Island for the defense of PiscataquaHarbor [Portsmouth, New Hampshire]. He entered service again on 6September 1777 in Capt. Enoch Page?s Company, having been paid bountyon 4 September in Northwood; he was on the muster roll 20 September,and signed for travel money to Rhode Island on 25 September; Williamreceived his discharge on 7 January 1778, with service of four monthsand two days, and was paid for travel from Exeter, New Hampshire, toProvidence, Rhode Island, and 120 miles home from Warwick, RhodeIsland. He once again briefly served, for 17 days including traveltime, in Capt. Moses Yeaton?s Company, Col. Joshua Wingate?s Regiment,6-20 August 1778, receiving pay for 132 miles out to Rhode Island andthe return home; he received a £10 bounty from Dover on 8 August 1778for volunteering to join Gen. Sullivan?s Division in Rhode Island. William?s town service in Pittsfield began in 1786 as assessor, anoffice he again held 1791-1794, 1799, 1802, 1810, 1813-1814, 1817, and1820; he was constable in 1796. He served as surveyor of lumber everyyear 1792 through 1824; he was surveyor of highways 1797, 1801-1802,1812, 1816, 1821, and 1824; in addition, he was elected culler ofstaves 1810-1813, 1816-1819, 1822, and 1824. He was hog reeve 1816,1821, and 1824, and fence viewer in 1816. He was called as a petitjuror in Portsmouth, 1806, 1809, and 1813, and as a grand juror, alsoin Portsmouth, 1817 and 1822. Politically he was a Whig. He worked twodays on a bridge for tax abatement 21 November 1796. He came to anagreement with a town committee to be paid $1.50 and be given therange at the north end of Lot 111, next to his Lot 110, Range 5, inpayment for taking land for a road, on 26 March 1802. In anotheragreement with a town committee, he received $1.50 and 22 acres?lately occupied by Solomon Chase,? on 11 March 1805, mentioned inreal estate transactions above. He was paid $6.75 for serving asconstable and collector March 1807 and was a witness 15 April 1808.William was appointed to serve on the committees to watch for persons?spending their time at the Taverns and Grogshops? 13 March 1810, ?tosecure labor? of the poor, etc., 9 March 1813, and to advise on ?theidle, etc.? 10 March 1814; he was also in the Moral Society 23 January1815 and on the committee on ?licensed houses? 15 March 1821. He wasalso twice appointed a committeeman to lay out new roads, 20 May 1819and 1 September 1824. Tax records show a prosperous farm with ample acreage; William enjoyedthe help of his sons on the farm, with Andrew and John staying on thehomestead and becoming subject to poll tax as each reached 21. Andrewdied only two months after his father, and the property passed to Johnand to his line. Evidently William was in partnership with Josiah andJames Fogg running a mill in Northwood during 1811 and 1812; otherEpsom and Northwood taxes correspond well with recorded real estatetransactions. William?s appearance in the town records of Epsom(1809-1825) and Northwood (1811-1824) was solely as a non-residenttaxpayer for land he owned in each town, which bordered on his land inPittsfield; these tax records, along with the few years forPittsfield, are detailed above. William?s will was dated 12 June 1827, three months before his death,and proved 26 September 1827, with sons Stephen Watson and John Watsongranted administration. In it he provided: to his wife Sarah, the use,occupancy, and income of half his farm and buildings, to go to sonsAndrew and John at her death or remarriage; Sarah also to have all thefurniture and one cow, and the use of the chaise for her lifetime; todaughter Betsey Watson, $300, a cow, four sheep, and use of half thehouse with her mother as long as she is single; to son Stephen Watson,ten acres, on the north end of the Gilman Lot, Range 4, Division 2,Pittsfield, next to his other land; to son Daniel Watson, $1; to sonWilliam Watson, the Meredith farm bought from Andrew Woodman; toMehitable W. Blake and Dearborn Blake, children of ?my late daughterMehitable Blake deceased,? $1 each and $20 to the former if she livesto age 18; to Eliza Batchelder, Maria Batchelder, Albert Batchelder,and William Batchelder, children of ?my late daughter Batchelderdeceased,? $1 each; to daughter Sally Kaime, $100; and, to sons AndrewWatson and John Watson, half of the farm.
Karl-Heinz
Böttcher
