SUMMARY: George Watwood (probably born 1750s, possibly in New Jersey or Maryland) married Margaret Franklin 27 Jan 1779 in Botetourt Co VA, where their first three children were born. He and Margaret remained in Botetourt County until 1787. They may have stopped off in North Carolina but probably reached Sumner Co TN (then Sumner Co NC) by 1789 and were definitely there by 1790, when George’s name appears in Sumner County tax records. The last certain record of George in Sumner County is dated 1807. He probably died between 1807 and 1810 or 1811. According to family tradition, he died on a trip with his sons, while they were traveling through mountains during a snow storm, and was buried there by his sons. Margaret (possibly the sister of James Franklin of Botetourt Co VA and Sumner Co TN, if so born late 1750s-early 1760s in Maryland), may have lived as late as 1820, when there is an extra older female in the household of her daughter Polly Elder.
Born probably 1750s, possibly in New Jersey or Maryland; may have been the son of George Watwood and Hannah Applegate, who were married 25 Mar 1745 in Middlesex Co NJ; possibly the grandson of George and/or Elizabeth Watwood of Anne Arundel Co and Cecil Co MD. The first certain record of George is his marriage to MARGARET FRANKLIN, 27 Jan 1779, in Botetourt Co VA (bondsman William Allen, witnesses David May and Charles Cameron). Margaret was probably born in the 1750s or early 1760s. If she was, as I suspect, a sister of James Franklin of Botetourt Co VA and Sumner Co TN, she was probably born in Maryland, as he was. No other Watwoods have been found in Botetourt County or its parent county, Old Augusta, so it’s possible that George migrated down through the Shenandoah Valley to Botetourt County from Maryland with the Franklins.
George and Margaret remained in Botetourt County for eight years after their marriage.
1782
George Watwood listed among members of Capt. John Mills’ Company, Botetourt County Militia, organized “for the purpose of carrying into Execution this state’s quoto [sic] of Troops to serve the United States Army for the Term of three years.
1782
Botetourt Co Tithables: George Watwood, Capt. Mills company, with two white males and two white females in his household (George and Margaret, probably son James and daughter Polly).
13 Jun 1782
George Wattwood granted claims for the “hire of a horse 80 days for Volunteers to southward under Gen. Green £6-9” and for “horse 13 years lost by volunteers to the southward £25.”7 (I suspect the horse “13 years lost” is a transcription error, since that would mean the horse had been lost since 1769, too early to be accountable under Revolutionary War claims; perhaps the horse was only 3 years lost.)
1782-1786
Botetourt Co Tax Lists: George Watwood.
1785
Botetourt Co Tax List: George Watwood, Mases District.
1785
Enumeration of Botetourt Co: George Watwood with five white persons in his household (George and Margaret, son James, probably daughter Polly, and possibly son George, who was born ca. 1785).
1787
Virginia Personal Property Tax List: George Watwood, Botetourt Co, 1 poll, 0 white males 16-21, 0 blacks, 3 horses, colts, mules, 4 cattle.
The Virginia personal property tax of 1787 is the last record found of George in Botetourt County or anywhere in Virginia.
EVIDENCE THAT GEORGE WATWOOD OF BOTETOURT CO VA IS THE SAME PERSON AS GEORGE WATWOOD OF SUMNER CO TN:
So George and Margaret left Botetourt County in 1787, after the personal property tax was collected, or perhaps early in 1788. They may have stopped off in present-day North Carolina (for the birth of Sarah), or they may have gone straight to Sumner County, then Sumner Co NC. Once they were there, George’s name appeared regularly in the records, engaging in mostly routine activities – paying taxes, serving on juries.
1790
George Walwood taxed 7 shillings on 2 polls.
1792
George Watwood taxed 7 shillings on 1 poll.
1792-1794
George Watwood served as a juror three times, once in the Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions.
1794
George Watwood ordered to court next month with “orphan boy” William Winters to “show cause how he came to possession of said boy.
1794, Mar 26
Prosecutorial bond for Edward Douglas vs. George Watwood & Anthony Foster.
1795
George Watwood served as a juror in April and July.
1795, Mar 26
Prosecutorial bond for George Watwood vs. Anthony Graves & Wm. McAdams.
1795, Jun 15
James Hays & Wm. Brigance acknowledge themselves indebted to George Watwood for $1000.
1796
George Watwood served as a juror twice, in January and April
1796, Apr 5
Gift bond, Elizabeth Jones to Sarah, Patsy, John, Fanny and Polly Cotton, Ephraim Payton, W. George Watwood and John Dawson. (This record could represent father George or son George, age about 11 in 1796.)
1796, Jul 1
George Watwood purchased from Robert Dobins, for $280, 108 acres of land in Sumner County, “tract where Watwood now lives” (Deed Book A:128)
1799, Sep 14
George Watwood sold to Benjamin Rawlings, for $406, 114.5 acres of land in Sumner County (Deed Book 2:455).
1806, Jun 28
A debit or credit listed in Gallatin Merchant’s Journal to the account of George Watwood.
1806, Sep 13
A debit or credit listed in Gallatin Merchant’s Journal to the account of George Watwood.
1807, Jan 10
A debit or credit listed in Gallatin Merchant’s Journal to the account of George Watwood Sen’r.; for the first time, the journal distinguishes between the accounts of George Sen’r. and George Jun’r., whose account is listed 16 Jan 1807. (Son George turned 21 ca. 1806.)
1807, Feb 23
George Watwood witnessed deed of Edward Gwin to William Dinning, 260 acres for $1000 (Deed Book 6:75).3 (This record could represent father or son George, age about 22 in 1807.)
1807, Mar 16
A debit or credit is listed in Gallatin Merchant’s Journal to the account of George Watwood Sen’r, charge or payment made by wife.
1811
Sumner Co Tax List: George Watwood. (This record could represent father or son George.)
So the last time George’s name appears with certainty in Sumner County records is 16 Mar 1807, in the Gallatin Merchant’s Journal. It would seem that he was still living that day, when his wife charged something to his account or made a payment on his account. No estate records have been found for George in Sumner County. There is a family tradition, reported independently in two different lines of his descendants, that George died during a blizzard in the Cumberland Gap and was buried there by his five sons, or that he and six sons started on a journey during which George died of pneumonia and was buried on a mountaintop; according to both versions, the sons, after George’s death, went their separate ways. As it happens, George and Margaret did have five sons who did go separate ways in the second decade of the 19th century – James and William to Montgomery Co TN by 1811, John and Zelah to Fayette Co IL by 1820, while George remained in Sumner Co TN.
The existence of similar traditions among descendants who didn’t know each other is reasonably good circumstantial evidence of the main points of the story. George probably didn’t die at home in bed of old age; he probably died between 1807 and 1810 or 1811 while away from home with his sons, sometime in the winter in some mountains. He and his sons very likely set off on a trip, possibly heading back east through the Cumberland Gap, where George fell ill, died and was buried “on a mountaintop,” possibly in a blizzard, leaving his sons to return home on their own to Sumner County, where they began to make their own plans for the future.
Margaret (Franklin) Watwood was probably still living ca. 1796, when George’s last known child, daughter Margaret, was born. Possibly she died earlier and George remarried, then named a child of his second marriage after his first wife, but there is no evidence to indicate a second marriage (and daughter Margaret’s birth year is the least certain of any of the children). Mother Margaret may have been living as late as 1820, when there is an extra older female in the household of her eldest daughter, Polly Elder. I’ve found no further records of Margaret.
JAMES WATWOOD (son of George Watwood & Margaret Franklin)
James was born ca. 1780, in Botetourt Co VA, and came to Sumner Co TN with his parents. He married JANE (JENNY) WILLIAMS, daughter of Edward and Jane Williams, 3 Oct 1804, in Sumner County, Thomas Cook bondsman. Sometime after their marriage they removed to neighboring Montgomery Co TN, where James died in 1811, with Jane as administratrix of his estate (administration bond 19 Jul 1811, inventory 14 Oct 1822). His brother William Watwood appeared in court 20 Jul 1812, Montgomery County, to prove the signature of James Watwood, deceased, as witness to a deed of William Farrier to James King. Jane died by Feb 1817 when her estate was inventoried in Sumner County (estate sale May 1817, settlement Feb 1820, Hector Williams administrator).
Children of JAMES WATWOOD and JANE WILLIAMS
(All named in the will of their grandfather, Edward Williams, dated 1839)
POLLY WATWOOD (daughter of George Watwood & Margaret Franklin)
Polly was born ca. 1782 in Botetourt Co VA and came to Sumner Co TN with her parents. She married JAMES ELDER, 21 Sep 1803, in Sumner County, James Suitor bondsman. James was born before 1776. Polly and James moved to Montgomery Co TN, where they are last found living in 1820.
Probable child of POLLY WATWOOD and JAMES ELDER:
GEORGE WATWOOD (son of George Watwood & Margaret Franklin)
George was born ca. 1785 in Botetourt Co VA and came to Sumner Co TN with his parents. He married MARTHA McADAMS 29 Feb 1816, in Sumner County, James Granger bondsman. Martha was born ca. 1795, in North Carolina or Tennessee. She died in 1851 and George in Dec 1853, both in Sumner County. George served in the War of 1812 as a corporal in the 1st Regiment (Pipkin's) of the West Tennessee Militia.
For more information see The Watwood Family.
SARAH (SALLY) WATWOOD (daughter of George Watwood & Margaret Franklin)
Sarah was born ca. 1787 in North Carolina (possibly present day North Carolina or present day Tennessee) and is last found living in Sumner Co TN in 1850. She married JAMES LOVE 4 Jan 1806, in Sumner County, Samuel Roney bondsman. James was born 1770-1775 in North Carolina and died 1830-1840 in Sumner County. He was probably a blacksmith since all of his sons were.
Children of SARAH WATWOOD and JAMES LOVE:
WILLIAM WATWOOD (son of George Watwood & Margaret Franklin)
William was born ca. 1789 in Sumner Co TN (then North Carolina or Southwest Territory), and died 1852 in Montgomery Co TN. He married (1) 14 Apr 1810, in Sumner Co TN, EURIDICE FARRIER, Ezekiel Norman bondsman. Euridice died 1810-1811 in Sumner or Montgomery County, and William married (2) before 19 May 1812, in Montgomery County, NANCY DYCUS, daughter of John Dycus. Nancy was born ca. 1789, in North or South Carolina, and is last found living in 1860, Montgomery Co TN, with her daughter Martha (Watwood) Wells.
William moved to Montgomery County, with or following his brother James, sometime before 22 Oct 1811, when he was ordered, as one of Mary Farrier's hands, to do work on the Clarksville-Russellville road. He appeared in court in Montgomery County 20 Jul 1812 to prove the signature of his brother, James Watwood, deceased, as witness to a deed of William Farrier to James King.
Child of WILLIAM WATWOOD and EURIDICE FARRIER:
Children of WILLIAM WATWOOD and NANCY DYCUS:
NOTE: Some researchers claim that James F. Watwood and George W. Watwood were twins, but I've found nothing to prove it. James' and George's wives were twins; their census ages are both consistently different from the birth date attributed to them in a local history, apparently based on a Family Bible, so they either fibbed like twins, in unison, or the birth date is off by a couple of years. Either way, we may or may not have a case of twins marrying twins here.
JOHN WATWOOD (son of George Watwood & Margaret Franklin)
John was born ca. 1790-1794 in Sumner Co, TN. He and ELIZABETH ELEANOR NICHOLS were married by John Depew, JP, 29 Jun 1823, in Fayette Co IL, with the consent of her father, William Nichols. John died in Fayette County between ca. 1834, when his last child was born, and 1840, when his widow was head of household in the census. Elizabeth was born ca. 1808 in Kentucky and is last found living in Ramsey Twp, Fayette County, in the 1870 census.
John purchased land in Fayette County from the U.S. government 24 Apr 1820, and received his patents 1 Aug 1821, and 16 Oct 1835. In the War of 1812, John served in the 1st Regiment (Napier's) and the 2nd Regiment (Cocke's), West Tennessee Militia. He also served as a scout in the Black Hawk War, which was fought in Illinois and Michigan Territory in 1832; he was a 1st Lieutenant in Major William Lee D. Ewing's Spy Battalion of Henry's 3rd Brigade, for which he enlisted in Fayette Co IL
In 1820, John was the plaintiff in a court case in Sumner Co TN, JOHN WATWOOD vs. GEORGE WATWOOD, in which depositions were taken from ANDREW DIKIS, ZELAH WATWOOD and WILLIAM WATWOOD of Montgomery County. This case probably represents some sort of family dispute, since John, George, Zelah and William were then the four surviving sons of George and Margaret (Franklin) Watwood (James died 1811), and Andrew Dycus was a son-in-law (he married Margaret Watwood, daughter of George and Margaret).
Children of JOHN WATWOOD and ELIZABETH ELEANOR NICHOLS:
NOTE: Sorting the children of John and Zelah Watwood in Fayette Co IL is difficult; I believe the first three children are very likely John's, but they could be Zelah's; Minerva was John's daughter.
ZELAH FRANKLIN WATWOOD (son of George Watwood & Margaret Franklin)
Zelah was born ca. 1795 in Sumner Co TN. He removed to Fayette Co IL before 28 Jan 1822, when he and Charity Hall were married in Fayette County, with the consent of John Hall (no relationship given), who was also bondsman. (Charity's name is given as Hinds on the marriage bond.) Zelah died 29 Sep 1859, in Fayette County. Charity, who was born ca. 1804 in Kentucky, died between 1870 and 1880, probably in Fayette County.
Zelah purchased land in Fayette County from the U.S. government 6 Aug 1831 and 23 Feb 1838 and received his patents 8 Oct 1834 and 10 Aug 1838. His name on three different patents is written Zela F. Watwood, Zela Franklin Watwood and Zelah Franklin Watwood.
Children of ZELAH FRANKLIN WATWOOD and CHARITY HALL:
NOTE: Sorting the children of John and Zelah Watwood in Fayette Co IL is difficult; the last three children are definitely Zelah's; the first three are probably his but might be John's.)
MARGARET WATWOOD (daughter of George Watwood & Margaret Franklin)
Margaret was born ca. 1794-1797 in Sumner Co TN. She married, ca. 1812, Andrew Dycus. Andrew, the son of John Dycus (and brother of Nancy Dycus, who married Margaret's brother William), was born ca. 1782 in Rutherford Co NC. Margaret and Andrew lived in Todd Co KY, just across the state line from Montgomery Co TN. Andrew last appears in the census in Todd County in 1830. Other researchers claim that he died before 1840 (some say 1833) and that Sarah Dycus, listed in Todd County in the censuses of 1840 and 1850, was Andrew's widow Margaret. These researchers may know something I don't, but I'm not so sure of this, partly because other members of the Dycus family lived in Todd County (the family needs to be better sorted before we can be sure who Sarah was), and because some of the younger children of Andrew and Margaret, who should have been still at home, aren't listed in the Sarah Dycus household in 1840. Some of the children had moved to Fayette Co IL (following their uncles John and Zelah Watwood) by 1840, and most or all of them were there by 1850. Thus it seems possible that Margaret died in Todd Co KY after 1830 (and that the children went to their uncles in Illinois because both of their parents had died) or that she remarried and is hidden behind an unknown husband's name. Without further information, the best that can be said is that Margaret is last found living in 1830 in Todd Co KY.
Other researchers attribute a number of different children to Margaret and Andrew. I'm comfortable with the following list, though there were probably others.
Children of MARGARET WATWOOD and ANDREW DYCUS: