9/10/20

Lydia H Watson and her cousin John S Watson

In 1857 Lydia, youngest child of Asa Watson and Ede Tennessee Watson, was born in Mississippi. She was listed in their household in the 1860 census as Lydia age 2. She was found twice in the 1870 census, on two different dates and in two different households.  In June she was listed, along with her sisters Julia and Tennie, in the household of 65 year old Mary Hand. Wondering who Mary Hand was and how she was connected with this family. (No relationships were included in that census). A few months later, in September, she was again listed with her parents and siblings, but as Olivia.

In 1878 Lydia married her 1st cousin John S. Watson (son of her father's brother Rufus) and in the following year, at age 21, she died following the birth and loss of their unnamed son. John, born in Mississippi in 1853, was recorded in the 1880 and 1900 census as a widower and farmer.  He was not found again, nor have I found a death or burial record for him. What happened to John? I assumed he would have been buried in the Hawkins Cemetery of Clay County with Lydia and his parents.

9/7/20

Marriage of Elizabeth Tibbets Pratt in NYC 1881


A marriage announcement like the one published in the New York Times on 22 April 1881 can help unravel family relationships and perhaps reveal unspoken issues within the family. Several of those named below were not instantly recognized  as they were identified only as “spouse of “ and, in one case, the surname was misspelled.



Distinguished relatives of the bride:

                                    Grandmother
Mrs Tibbets of Albany
                                    Great Aunts
Mrs Nelson, of New Brunswick, NJ
Mrs Horatio Seymour, wife of ex-Governor
Mrs Roscoe Conkling, wife of the Senator


So, I wondered who they were and how they were related to the bride Elizabeth, daughter of Col George Watson Pratt (deceased) and Anna Atwood Tibbets.  I found it curious that there was no mention of any relatives from her father’s side of the family making me wonder if they had lost contact with that branch after George’s tragic death in 1862. It is also interesting that no aunts or uncles are mentioned, only great aunts. Even odder was no mention at all of the groom’s family.