Barnabas Watson & Elizabeth Smith

!NOTES:
(1) I'm not related to this person. But I'm interested in all Watsons in Eastern NC/SC to some extent.
(2) This person is an ancestor of my uncle Ben Franklin Meggs.

!REFERENCE:
http://www.martygrant.com/
http://www.martygrant.com/genealogy/watson/

!TAXLIST:1786 Prince George Parish, SC Cpt Haraldson's Co. Barnaby WATSON, 150a, 1 black;

!CENSUS:1790 Georgetown Dist, SC Prince George Parish pg 56 Barnaby WATSON age 16+ (bef 1774) "1-4-3-0-1";

!CENSUS:1800 Marion Dist, SC pg 788 Barnabas WATSON age 26-44 (1755/74) "01010-01010";

!WITNESS:25 Feb 1801 Marion Dist, SC Deeds B-118 Willis FINKLEA & John FINKLEA of Liberty Co, Marion Dist, to Thomas T. WICKHAM of same place for $320 tract where John FINKLEA resides west side Catfish Creek, one tract 150a taken out of 350a tract Abraham DUE purchased of William ATKENSON which DUE conv to Reese JONES to James JOHNSTON to Samuel COX to Willis FINKLEA on Catfish Swamp, bounded by John SMITH, Frederick JONES. Other tract of 7a taken out of 200a tract that Reubin DUE purch of John SMITH on Catfish Swamp, bounded by Reubin DUE and FINKLEA. S: Willis (X) Finklea, John Finklea. Wit: Hardy CRAWFORD, Barnaby (X) WATSON, Willis FINKLEA. Mercy (x) FINKLEA, wife of John FINKLEA relinq dowere 31 Jul 1802. Pro bef Richard CRAWFORD, JQ, saw Willis FINKLEA Jr wit signature;

!NAMED:31 Mar 1804 Marion Dist, SC Inventory Book 1800-1811 pg 68 Estate of James CRAWFORD. Appraisers: John TART, Barnabas WATSON, Andrew BERRY Jr;

!CENSUS:1810 Marion Dist, SC pg 83 Barnaba WATSON age 45+ (bef 1765)
"10001-00001";

!TAXLIST:1811 Marion Dist, SC Barnabas WATSON $0.19;

!TAXLIST:1814 Marion Dist, SC Barnabas WATSON $0.84;

!CENSUS:1820 Marion Dist, SC pg 67 Barnabas WATSON age 45+ (bef 1775) "100001-00001";

!TAXLIST:1824 Marion Dist, SC Barnabas WATSON $1.19;

!CENSUS:1830 Marion Dist, SC pg 52 Barnabas WATSON age 60-69 (1760/70)
"100000001-120001";

!CENSUS:1840 Marion Dist, SC pg 141 Barnaba WATSON age 70-79 (1760/70)
"20100000001-1012001";

!PROBATE ROLL # 835 Marion Co., SC Barnabas Watson 1841
Isham Watson, adm 29 Nov 1841
...
1/3 to widow (not named)
2/3 to eight children (not named)
1843 paid Martha Dorman in full
1845 paid Susannah Watson in full
1845 paid Milly Watson in full
1848 paid Meridy Watson in full
1850 paid Mary Watson in full
1855 paid Mark Watson in full
1855 paid Barnabas Watson in full
1855 paid Mary Watson widow in full
... Isham Watson a son of Barnabas Watson ...;

!REFERENCE: A History of Marion County, South Carolina From Its Earliest Times to the Present, 1901, by W. W. Sellers, Esq., of the Marion Bar. 1902. pp. 199-206

WATSON.—Another family that may here be noticed, is the Watson family. The progenitor of this family, so far as Marion County is concerned, was Barnabas Watson, on Buck Swamp, who was the great-grand-father of our now fellow-citizens of the county. Old man Isham Watson was the founder, it may be said, of the family on Catfish, in name and fortune. Barny Watson, his father, was married twice ; whether he had a child or children other than Isham, by his first wife, is not known. Isham Watson married and settled on Catfish, near where Antioch Church now stands, in the first part of the nineteenth century, a poor man; his wife was Miss Mary Hays, a sister of the late John C. Hays ; the results of the marriage were five sons, Matthew, James, Isham H., Samuel and William; and seven daughters, Nellie, Nancy, Elizabeth, Mary, Verzella, Fama and Jane ; all raised to be grown and all married, and all now dead, except the daughters, Mary and Jane. Matthew Watson married Miss Celia Easterling, in 1839; and raised a large family of sons and daughters; the sons are David E-. Isham E., Silas, Enos and Robert; and daughters, Martha, Lavina, Kate and Hortensia. David E. Watson married Miss Rose Bass, and has now living two sons and one daughter. Silas Watson married a Miss Page, daughter of W. J. Page, and has a family of sons and daughters, some of them grown. Isham E. Watson married Miss Beulah Emanuel ; he moved to Florence and has several children, sons and daughters; he is in the dairy business. Enos Watson married Miss Theodocia Emanuel, sister of Isham E. Watson's wife ; the two brothers married two sisters — both married the same evening. Enos Watson's wife is dead, leaving five children, the oldest of whom, Henry, by name, went into the Cuban war, thence to the Philippines, and perhaps now in China. Robert Watson married a Miss Walling ; he died four or five years after marriage, and left two or three children ; the whereabouts of his .widow and children are unknown. Martha, the eldest daughter of Matthew Watson, married the Rev. Alfred Pitman, in North Carolina, and resides there. Lavina, the second daughter, married a Mr. McNeill, in North Carolina, and is dead, leaving children. Kate Watson married Tracy R. Fore, they have several children, one, a daughter, married to John H. Berry. Hortensia Watson married Thomas J. Bass, who was killed some years ago by the falling of a tree, leaning over the path which he was traveling ; he left four sons, all young men, now among us ; their mother resides at Latta. James Watson, the second son of Isham Watson, married Miss Elizabeth Jones, daughter of Bryant Jones, of Wahee; the fruits of the marriage were several sons and daughters. James, the eldest, married Miss Flora Lane, and has several children, sons and daughters. Edward B. Watson married Miss Addie Bethea, a daughter of the late John R. Bethea ; they have several children. Joseph F. Watson, a physician, married in Darlington; I don't know to whom. Cicero Watson, I think, is still single. Charles, I think, is married, and he and two single sisters live together on the old homestead of his father. James Watson's oldest daughter, Mary, married Jesse Gibson, below Marion; they have a family, how many is not known. The, next daughter, Sarah, married Allen Gibson, brother of Jesse ; they also have a family, of how many is not known to the writer. Another daughter married W. H. Daniels, of Mullins; they have two or three children. Two daughters of James Watson, Telatha and Drusilla, are yet single, and live with their brother on the old homestead. Isham H. Watson, the third son of old man Isham, married a Miss McDuffie, sister to the late Sheriff McDuffie; by her he raised three children, two sons and a daughter; the sons were George E. and Duncan I., the latter named for his two grand-fathers, Isham Watson and Duncan McDuffie; the daughter (Janie), married our fellow-citizen, J. D. Montgomery. Isham H. Watson's first wife died of small-pox during the war; he married again. Miss Mary Nichols, who survives him, childless. George E. Watson went West, and married there; some months after marriage, Geo. E. died suddenly, and left his widow, to whom a posthumous daughter was born, who takes and has the name of her father, George Elmore ; the widow and daughter are both now in Marion. Samuel Watson, the fourth son of old Isham, married, first, a Miss Page, and by her had sons, W. J. Watson, Melton, S. P. Watson and S. C. Watson, and two daughters, Sophronia and Maggie. W. J. Watson married his first cousin, a Miss Bethea, moved to Mt. Airy, N. C. ; his wife is dead ; he 'has seven children. Melton Watson married a Miss Moody, daughter of the late Charles Moody, and soon after died childless; his widow still survives. Samuel Watson's first wife died, and he married a Miss Roberts, daughter of the late Rowland Roberts, and by her had five children, when she died ; he married a third time, a Miss Price, sister of the Rev. Willie Price, of the Baptist Church ; by her he had one child, a boy, named Albert. The children of his last two marriages are unknown to the writer ; they are, however, here among us, and are of the present generation. S. P. Watson, third son of Samuel, married a Miss Bryan, near Little River, in Horry County is a physician; he left a few days ago, with his family, for Oklahoma ; he practiced medicine in Latta, and left his beautiful and comfortable home in Latta unsold; he sold his plantation to J. K. Page; he has seven children; he made a trip to that far off land last winter, and bought thirty acres of land in the suburbs of Oklahoma City, at $90 an acre; the city is growing so fast that his place is no longer in the suburbs, but is now in the city; his purchase has already quadrupled, and there is no telling what his thirty aches of land will be worth in the near future; the city now has 20,000 inhabitants. S. C. Watson, the fourth son of Samuel Watson and youngest by his first wife, married a Miss Stackhouse, daughter of Wm. R. Stackhouse; he has five children. William Watson, the fifth son and youngest of old man Isham's sons, married Miss Cherry Deer, daughter of Joseph Deer ; the results of the marriage were four sons, John G., William E., Furman and D. Maxcy Watson; and three daughters, Ellen, Pauline and Norma. William Watson, the father, died some years ago. The son, John G. Watson," married a Miss Emanuel, and by her has several children ; he resides in Marion, and is now one of the division chief liquor constables of the State. William E. Watson, the second son of William Watson, deceased, married Miss Annie Fore, daughter of the late Stephen Fore, and by her has had twelve children, one dead, eight sons living and three daughters. Furman Watson married Miss Linnie Bond, and has two children, two sons. D. Maxcy Watson, the youngest son of the late William Watson, married Miss Lucy B. Sellers, daughter of John C. Sellers, and grand-daughter of the writer; they have no children. Of the daughters of the late William Watson, the eldest, Ellen, married Addison Bass they have several children, sons and daughters. The second daughter, Pauline, married, first. Rev. Mr. Price, a Baptist minister ; he died a few years ago, leaving one child, a daughter, named Annie Hamer; the widow married, a second time, Charles W. Wiggins, of Dillon; they have no children. Norma, the youngest daughter, married Benj. B. Sellers, son of John C. Sellers; they have two children, a son and a daughter—Harry and Margaret Ellen. As to the two daughters of the late Samuel Watson by his first marriage, Sophronia and Maggie, Sophronia married John K. Page, a first class citizen ; she died some four years ago, leaving two sons, Samuel and Ernest. Samuel is now in Baltimore, in a medical college; Ernest, a lad, is yet at home. The second daughter, Maggie, married Frank Easterling, a very worthy man; they have two children, sons, Rupert and Henry. Of the daughters of old Isham Watson, Nellie, the oldest, married Frank A. Berry, in 1839; she died, together with her infant, in 1840; both were buried together in the same grave. Frank A. Berry lived a widower for perhaps thirty years or more, when he married Verzilla Watson, sister of Nellie, then an old maid; she died childless, a few years ago; her husband preceded her to the grave a year or two. Nancy, the second daughter, married Rev. Joel Allen; they raised a large family of sons and daughters; the sons were James (killed in the war), William, Joel I., David E. and Frank ; the daughters were Annie, Maria, Eugenia and Alice. Of the sons, William married a Miss Cox, of Florence; they have a large family of children, sons and daughters, and live on the old homestead. Joel I. married, first. Miss Helen Bass ; she died, and left four or five children, sons and daughters; Joel I. married, a second time, a lady near Ridgeway, S. C, named Lulie Meredith ; by her he had three children, when she died, and he is now a widower again, with two sets of children, eight in number. Joel I. Allen, like his father, is a Baptist preacher, and has charge of the Baptist Church at Dillon, and resides there ; is a fair preacher, and has one quality that many preachers do not have —his sermons are short and sensible, and when he gets through he quits —he does not turn round and thrash the straw over again or rehash it; he is a good' man. David E. Allen married Elizabeth (Bettie) Bethea, a daughter of Philip W. Bethea; has raised a family of eight or nine children, sons and daughters ; some of them are married and have families. Frank Allen emigrated some years ago to Greenwood, S. C, and married there— can't say to whom ; he is a first class man. The Allen boys are all good men, straightforward and reliable. Of the daughters of the Rev. Joel Allen, Annie Maria, the oldest, married Dr. Andrew J. Bethea, son of Rev. S. J. Bethea; he died in 1881, and left three sons and two daughters ; the sons are Herbert, Percy and Andrew, and are all young men of fine character. Andrew is now in Wake Forrest College, N. C. ; all unmarried.* [*Herbert Bethea has recently married Miss Eva Manning, daughter of the late Houston Manning. Of the daughters, the oldest, Nettie Bethea, married Rev. Pierce F. Kilgo, a Methodist preacher of the South Carolina Conference, and is now stationed at Williamston and Belton, and is said to be a fine preacher ; they have several children. Georgia, the younger daughter, married W. T. Bethea, her first cousin, who is, and has been, for several years, agent for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company at Dillon, and has been Mayor of the town for three or four years. They have three children, sons, and are doing well. W. T. Bethea is the grand-son of the writer. Eugenia, a daughter of Rev. Joel Allen, married Preston L. Dew; they moved to Greenwood several years ago, and are said to be doing well; they have several children. Alice Allen, the remaining daughter of Rev. Joel Allen, married her cousin, Furman Allen, of Marlborough; they are doing well, and have a large family, sons and daughters'. The Allen family under consideration herein are most respectable, good citizens, worthy to be emulated. Elizabeth Watson, third daughter of old man Isham, married the late George W. Reaves, being his third wife; by him she had five children, three of whom died children; two were raised a son, J. R. Reaves, and a daughter, Mary E. Robert Reaves is one of our leading fellow-citizens, on Buck Swamp he married a Miss McMillan, in the Mullins community, and has raised a large family— I think, thirteen or fourteen children, sons and daughters; he is doing a good part by his children in the way of education. Charles is a leading merchant of Mullins. Samuel W. is a graduate of the Citadel, and is a promising young man* [*S. W. Reaves is now a professor in Clemson College] Robert, another son, is a graduate of a dental school, and has located in Marion for the practice of his profession; he is also a promising young man. Of J. R. Reaves' daughters, the older ones are well educated and stand well ; one or two of them married, to whom unknown; several not yet grown.* [*Mary Reaves, a graduate of Winthrop. died of typhoid fever recently.] Mary married Dr. N. C. Murphy, who died several years ago; she is a practical business woman, a good manager in her business and farm affairs she has three sons and two daughters ; both daughters are married, one to a Mr. McMillan, the other to a Mr. Cain, of St. Matthews. Mary, the next daughter of Isham Watson, married James B. Legette, and still survives ; they raised a large family, mostly girls— only two sons, Salathiel and Andrew. The oldest daughter, SaraJh Ellen, married a Mr. Cadell, a one-legged man ; they left the county—I think they are now in Florence ; they have a family, how many not known. Another daughter married D. S. Cottingham, and is doing well ; of their family the writer knows nothing. Another married W. C. Easterling, of "Free State;" they have several children, five daugihters and two sons; the oldest daughter married; I do not know anything of their family. Of the two sons of James B. Legette and Mary, his wife, the oldest, Salathiel, accidentally shot himself several years ago, unmarried. The younger orie, Andrew, married a Miss Moore, a daughter of Alfred Moore, of Marlborough ; he lost his wife some months ago, and left him with, I think, seven children. Fama Watson, another daughter of old man Isham Watson, married, first, Stephen Berry, youngest son of Cross Roads Henry Berry; he lived about a year, and died childless ; the widow afterwards married the late Fred. D. Jones, of Marion; the fruits of this marriage were one son, Presley, and five daughters. Presley Jones married a Miss Sparks, of Marlborough, and has four children. The oldest daughter, Costa, married a Mr. Hunter, of Marlborough, who died a few months ago, and left five or six cliildren. Alice Jones married L. W. Oliver, of Marion. Sallie, Theodocia and Cora, young ladies, are yet single, and live at the old homestead. The father and mother are both dead. Jane Watson, the youngest daughter of old Isham, married John M. Mace, and yet survives; they live in the Friendship neighborhood, and have a large family of sons and daughters ; the sons are Thadeus, Stephen, Moses, Samuel, John C. and Cornelius, and one son dead ; daughters, Elizabeth (Bettie) and Mary. Thadeus married a Miss Eugenia Gasque, daughter of our excellent fellow-citizen, Arny Gasque, and Moses Mace married another daughter. Miss Emma. Stephen Mace married Miss Julia Philips, daughter of our late fellow-citizen, F. Marion Philips. Samuel Mace married a Miss Carter, and John C. Mace married a Miss Griffith, I think, of Edgefield County. Neill Mace is yet unmarried. Of these sons of John M. Maee, John C. Mace and Samuel are both doctors ; one, John C, located at Marion, and running a drug store, and is Coroner of the county ; Samuel Mace is located at L,oris, in Horry County, and is said to be doing well there, and is a fine physician. Of the two daughters of John M. Mace, the oldest, Bettie, is married to Furman Wall the younger one, Mary, is yet unmarried. It is supposed (the writer does not know) that all these young Maces that are man led have families, more or less numerous, perpetuating the name and family connections, and also contributing to an increase in the population of the county, and industriously adding to the county's wealth and prosperity. This closes the notice of the Watson family, so far as is diescended from the old man, Isham. In many respects, the old man, Isham, was an extraordinaTy man ; he made a large fortune, raised his large family respectably—industry, frugality and economy were the prominent characteristics of his career; these, with his great good sense, gave him success in life; he died of erysipelas, in 1864, over three-score and ten years of age. Barney Watson, his father, married a second time, I do not know to whom ; by this marriage he had two sons, Barney and Meredith, and some daughters. Barney and Meredith are both dead, and left families, about whom the writer knows nothing. Barney and Meredith were hard-working, honest men, but did not succeed in life as did their older half-brother, Isham. The father, old man Barney, had two brothers, Needham and Thomas; I do not know what became of Thomas. Needham Watson married and had a family—at least, one son, named Wickham, who lived in the Temperance Hill neighborhood. Wickham married and had a family, how many is unknown ; one son, named Kerigan—what became of him is unknown; he was not remarkable for his beauty ; if there had been such a club as an "Ugly Club," he would have stood a fair chance to have been its president. Wickham Watson was a remarkable man physically, in respect to which the writer will say nothing. ;

Marty and Karla Grant

www.martygrant.com