Edward Watts

Edward Watts, identified in family-tree material as Barbara’s 10th great-grandfather, was reportedly born at Wells, Somerset, England, on 16 October 1620 and died in Stafford County, Virginia, on 12 September 1690. He is associated with several Virginia immigration, land, and court references, although some identifications in the compiled notes are stated as beliefs or probabilities rather than proven conclusions.

Edward Watts was reportedly born on 16 October 1620 at Wells, Somerset, England, the son of Cornelius Watts (1590–1640) and Ann Esserman Watts (1594–1679).

Family-tree notes state that he arrived in Virginia in 1640. A published immigrant reference includes an Edward Watts associated with the ship Captivity, moored at Portsmouth, and gives a 1640 entry. The same notes identify him as the Edward Watts who left England for Virginia on 26 November 1640 with William Wigg and others. They further state that an Edward Watts appeared in York County, Virginia, in 1646.

Edward married Anne Sherman, reportedly born in 1630 and died in 1665. She was said to be the daughter of Ezekiel Sherman (1589–1653) and Anna Stephens Sherman, whose birth date is given only as about 1590. Edward and Anne Sherman Watts were the reported parents of Edward, Francis, Thomas, and David Watts.

The compiled notes say that Edward may have returned temporarily to England. They report that he came from Bristol, England, to Virginia in 1664 and again in 1679, but this information is attributed to an online family-tree website and should be treated as unverified. The notes also state that he is believed to have been the Edward Watts who deeded land in old Rappahannock County, Virginia, on 22 February 1662. They say he was probably the Edward Watts who received a headright in New Kent County, Virginia, on 20 October 1687.

After Anne Sherman Watts’s reported death, Edward married Anne Bidbrough on 18 June 1667 at St. Peter’s Parish, Frimley, Surrey, England. Their reported children were William, Robert, Richard, and John Watts.

In 1689, an Edward Watts of Stafford County, Virginia, and his wife Anne Watts were brought before the court and fined. Edward Watts died in Stafford County on 12 September 1690. Family-tree notes state that his widow, Anne Watts, administered his estate, with the record said to appear in an old Stafford order book; the corresponding will-book entry was reported as lost or destroyed.

Historical context

Virginia records of the seventeenth century often identify people only by name and county. Because Edward Watts was a common name, references to immigration, land, headrights, and court proceedings may require further record-by-record comparison before all can be confidently assigned to the same man.

Sources & research

Greer, George Cabell. Early Virginia Immigrants, 1623-1666. Richmond, Virginia: W.C. Hill Printing Co., 1912, 376 pages; reprinted Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1978; reprint 1982. Page 346. Source Publication Code 2772. Ship: Captivity. Place moored: Portsmouth.
Virginia State Land Office records, described in the compiled notes as including 25,000 names; excerpts of Irish names from the Greer list were published in O’Brien, Early Immigrants to Virginia, no. 6258.
Old Rappahannock County, Virginia, Deed Book, 1656–1664, page 344; deed dated 22 February 1662.
Stafford County, Virginia, Court Book, 1689–1690, page 32.
Davis Tree website, http://davistree.info/getperson.php?personID=I5473&tree=davist1, cited in the compiled notes for alleged 1664 and 1679 returns from England to Virginia.
Old Stafford County order book, cited in the compiled notes for the estate administration; corresponding will-book entry reported lost or destroyed.