I went to school to be an archaeologist and realized digging in dirt wasn't as fun as it was when I was a kid. Now I dig in archives instead.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Watts in Steele Creek Cemetery

Back when I wrote up a short biography of my 4th-great grandfather, Rev. James Bell Watt, I had cited as one of my sources a history of the Steele Creek church where he was pastor.  What didn't make it into my earlier post was that along with a history of the church, the book also contains a full listing of the burials in the Steele Creek cemetery alongside the church, up to 1976.  The listing is actually very helpful, because the compilers provided a chart showing the layout of the cemetery and grave locations via a grid division of the chart.  The number and first letter correspond to the grid location, while the W or E that follow indicates whether the grave is on the west or east side of the cemetery.  I have broken up the listing of Watt burials located in Steele Creek and grouped them by their locations as provided in the book rather than by the straight alphabetical listing it provides.  In doing this I hope to give a clearer picture of the specific groupings within the family as a whole for reasons I will clarify below.

7FW - immediate family of Rev. J. B. Watt
Watt, Fannie - d. 12 Jun 1851 (aged 18 months) "Daughter of Rev. J. B. Watt"
Watt infants - "Two nameless babes, children of Rev. and Mrs. J. Bell Watt"
Watt, Reverend James Bell - 4 Apr 1820 - 16 Sep 1860 - "Pastor of Steele Creek"*
Watt, Louisa Angelina - 6 Dec 1835* - 8 May 1917 - "Wife of Rev. James Bell Watt"
Watt, Mary Caroline - d. 20 Aug 1838 (age 4 months) - "Daughter of J. B. Watt"
Watt, Mrs. Nancy M. - d. 10 Apr 1854 - "Wife of Reverend J. B. Watt"
Watt, William J. - d. 4 Feb 1857 (age 34 years)
(*I have corrected Louisa Watt's birth year from the book's printed date of 1865, which would be impossible as her husband died in 1860, to the correct year of 1835.  Rev. Watt appears in the full alphabetical list in 11DE, clear across the cemetery.  but a list of pastors buried at Steele Creek that precedes the full list places him in 7FW, with the rest of his family.  I have chosen to use that location for my list, but note the discrepancy.)

8GW - immediate family of Rev. Watt's youngest son, Walter
Watt, Elizabeth Reed - 4 Jun 1870 - 7 Jul 1937 "Wife of Walter W. Watt"
Watt, Walter W. - 27 Sep 1860 - 5 Nov 1941

11AE - family of William Franklin Watt, son of James Bell Watt Jr and grandson of Rev. Watt
Watt infant - 8 Jan 1917 - 8 Jan 1917 "Son of Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Watt"
Watt infant - 18 Dec 1918 - 15 Feb 1919 "Son of Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Watt"
Watt, William Franklin - 17 Jun 1886 - 23 Jun 1964
Watt, William Franklin Jr. - 13 Feb 1914 - 11 Jan 1973

11BE - family of James Bell Watt Jr
Watt, Emma Wilson 2 Jul 1859 - 25 Apr 1935
Watt, James Bell 25 Jan 1859 - 15 Apr 1925

The one burial in the list that really caught my attention was the one I couldn't immediately identify as a member of Rev. Watt's immediate family or as a descendant - William J. Watt, who was 34 years old when he died in 1857.  This would make him about two years younger than Rev. Watt, and born in either 1822 or 1823.  The biography of Rev. Watt's youngest son, Walter, that appears on page 25 of the History of North Carolina, vol VI, mentions that Rev. Watt was the elder of two brothers.  Might this William J. Watt be his younger brother?  I have as yet found no other biographical sources of Rev. Watt that mention a brother by name, but the age and grave location suggest that William J. Watt was a close member of the Reverend's family.

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