Rufus, a native of Rhode Island, married Alabama born Fannie in Monroe County, Mississippi in April 1851; he was 37, she was 19. They had 6 known children (3 of whom I discovered when they contested the 1924 NYC will of Emily Watson) and 15 grandchildren.
Rufus was born in 1814 to Captain John Wheeler Watson and Mary A Watson (his wife & 1st cousin); he was the 10th of their dozen. Both parents died when he was 15 and his uncle Elisha was named guardian. He and his older brothers John and Asa moved to Mississippi before the Civil War.
Fannie was the middle child of 5 born to Greenville Burnitt and Eliza Gillespie. They moved to Mississippi when she was a young child.
Rufus and Fannie are buried at Hawkins Cemetery, West Point, MS. He died in 1865, she lived for another 24 years.
Their children and grandchildren:
1853 - ? John S married his 1st cousin Lydia, daughter of Asa, in 1878
she and their infant son died in 1879; buried at Hawkins
not sure if he remarried, single in 1900 census
1854-1912 Edwin Thomas married Mary Dominick (b Miss) in 1883
They are buried at Greenwood in West Point, MS
3 children: Ada, Edwin, Mary Gertrude
1856-1945 Fannie married Samuel Wells Carothers (b Tenn) in 1883
They are buried in Oklahoma
6 children: Rufus, Hattie, Fannie, Carrie, Hugh, Janie
1859-1860 Eliza died at age one, buried at Hawkins
1861-1928 Harriet "Hattie" married Joseph Hunt Sanders in1889
They are buried at Greenwood in West Point, MS.
2 children: Harriet and Rufie
1865-1936 Mary Rufus "Rufie" married William Bell Foster in 1887
They are buried in Alabama
3 children: Carrie, Frances and William
The name Rufus is used through the generations in the Watson family, but this is the only branch where I have found the name given to daughers, often shortened to "Rufie".
