Update on Possible Parents for Sophia Watt: Now We Know

Way back in 2014, I wrote this post speculating that Sophia Watt's parents might have been William Watt and Jane Bond, whose first husband was John Powis.  My guess was based upon knowing Sophia's birth date and place from the obituary written by her son David Oliphant Jr. and published in The Christian Banner, Volume 11, No. 4, April 1857.   I could only find one birth record for a child named Sophia Watt in London in late March of 1782.   However, finding a record for a Sophia did not prove definitively that this was our Sophia.  

 However, another researcher has recently and very generously sent me an 18-page history of the Oliphant family written by Edith Kilgour, who was a great granddaughter of David Oliphant and Sophia Watt.   Edith tells us that she had access to many old family letters and other documents when writing her family history, so she was relying on more than oral history to create it.  And it is truly a goldmine of information!  I'm so excited and happy to have seen it.

First of all, Edith tells us of a rumour that Sophia was "closely related to James Watt the inventor of the Steam Engine", who was born on January 19, 1736, in Greenock, to another James Watt (shipwright and merchant) and his wife Agnes Muirhead.  James Watt Senior's father was Thomas Watt, mathematics teacher.  At the moment I can't find any relationship between these people and Sophia, and Edith doesn't know what it was precisely.

She does, however, know the names of Sophia's parents and her paternal grandparents.  Hooray!  Now we can go back two generations, which is very good news.

"The first Watt of whom we have record is William Watt of St. Andrews and his wife Agnes Wallace. They had a son William born 17th August, 1759.  The latter married in London "Jean" Bond, an English woman, and they had a son James born on March 26, 1786 and registered in St. Andrews, and a daughter Sophia born March 26, 1783 in London. After the birth of Sophia they evidently returned to St. Andrews to live."  

It's kind of strange that both children were born on the same date, three years apart.

Edith also confirms something that I'd already discovered in the records, that Jane Bond's marriage to William Watt was a second marriage for her.  Her first husband was named John Powis.  

Edith has a lot to say about Sophia's other relatives.  On her mother's side, "not much is known except that her [Sophia's] great grandfather was one Percival Bond and that she had two aunts, Frances and Phyllis, the latter of whom, unmarried, left her a legacy...Sophia Watt had an aunt Isabella (Taddie) who died in 1841 and left her a legacy.  She also had legacies from two other aunts, Anne Turner and Phyllis Bond.  She had at least two uncles, one of whom was  Thomas Watt who was wealthy and travelled to the West Indies.  There he married the daughter of the Governor of Guadeloupe, and afterwards returned to Edinburgh where they lived "in style" in Claremont Crescent...This Thomas Watt had several children.  A daughter, Isabella, married a Mr. Anderson of Jamaica, W.I.  The son, Edward, lived in Trinidad.  Another son, William, also lived in Trinidad and a son, Henry, went as A.D.C. to the Governor of Domenica.  His father [Sophia's Uncle Thomas] wrote to Sophia Watt that this son had been given a handsome establishment and later accepted a judgeship."

And finally, Edith provides us with a Watt-Bond family tree:

There's even more here, mostly about Sophia and David Oliphant's life, but this is enough information to get started with.  First of all, one of the reasons I was so happy to learn that Sophia was indeed the daughter of William Watt is that I have a biography of a William Watt of St. Andrews. This turns out to be a biography of Sophia's grandfather, William Watt Senior.  It was published in 1839, well after his death, in "The Gardener's Magazine, and Register of Rural and Domestic Improvement".

The archives of St. Andrews University were able to give me some supplementary information.  From the book "Biographical Register of the University of St. Andrews 1747-1897" by Robert Smart:

"Watt, William.  Cook and gardener to St. Mary's College 1757-1786 (retired).
 Previously gardener to the Earl of Buchan.

Watt, William.  Cook and gardener to St. Mary's College 1786-22.4.1800 (died aged 83). 
Also worked as a surveyor. 
Born c. 1717 son to William Watt, cook and gardener to St. Mary's College. 

Watt, William.  Cook and gardener to St. Mary's College.  
Son of William Watt, cook and gardener to St. Mary's College."

I think the author incorrectly attributed the death date of the elder William Watt to his son.  It is probably the elder William Watt who died in 1800, age 83 (although to add to the confusion, his biographer in the "Gardener's Journal" has him dying in 1798).  

The librarian at the archives pulled out several relevant entries from the Minutes of St. Mary's College. According to these records, the first William Watt began work at the College on November 24, 1757.  On 16 June 1786, the minutes mention a gratuity awarded to "William Watt Younger" for "extraordinary work" in the gardens, and says that Watt Sr. was retiring due to "age and infirmity".  On 22 July 1800, the minutes report:

"The meeting considering that the offices of Cook and Gardener to the College had become vacant by the death of the late Mr. Watt Senior on the day of _____ last, agreed to nominate Mr. Watt Junior to officiate as a cook for the next session of College."  


On April 3 1801, there is an entry that records the full appointment of William Watt Junior.

By the way, in case it's not clear, St. Mary's College is part of St. Andrew's University in the town of St. Andrews.  


This information is both very helpful and a tiny bit confusing.  It makes it seem as if there are three William Watts, but I think there are only two.  Sophia's father, William Watt, was born in 1759.  He would have been 27 years old in 1786, when the first William Watt retired and the second took his place, which makes sense, especially since it seems as though he was already gardening there in some capacity anyway.  The part about him also working as a surveyor is unexpected.  I think it was the elder William Watt, Sophia's grandfather, who was born circa 1717.  This would make him 22 when entering the Earl of Buchan's service, and 34 when his first child was born.

I don't have a marriage record for William Watt Sr. and Agnes Wallace, but I do have birth records for seven of their children, three more than Edith's family tree contains.  William and Agnes had:

• Henry, born May 6, 1751, in the parish of Liberton (parish record says the family lives in "Goodtrees").  In the family history Edith refers to this child as Henry David. Apparently Liberton is a parish in the county of Edinburgh, 2 miles outside the city of Edinburgh.   Fun fact:  "Liberton" derives from "Leper's Town", due to a leper hospital the area once containted.  
• Cardross (male) born September 29, 1754, also at Liberton.  Cardross is a name associated with the Earl of Buchan's family.  
• Isabelle (on the birth record) or Isabella (on the family tree).  Born December 6, 1757, in the parish of St. Andrew's.  This makes sense, as William Watt the elder began working at St. Andrew's University that year.  From here on in, all the birth records refer to William as being a "Gardener at New College".  According to the St. Mary's College Minutes, St. Mary's College was sometimes referred to as New College at this time.  
• William, born August 17, 1759, St. Andrews.  This is Sophia Watt's father.  
• James, born February 28, 1761, St. Andrews.
• Jean, born January 7, 1763, St. Andrews. 
• Thomas, born January 31, 1765, St. Andrews.  

It is possible that not all these children survived.

There are two different death records in the St. Andrew's parish records in the name of William Watt.  It makes sense to me that the first William to die would have been Sophia's grandfather, who would indeed have been 83 years old if he was born in 1717 and died in 1800.  His son, Sophia's father, who died in 1803, would have been a relatively young 44 years. 

"William Watt Gardner to St. Mary's College St. Andrews died 27th of April 1800".  

"William Watt Gardner to the New College died here 6 of May 1803". 

Additionally, the book "Monumental Inscriptions pre-1855 in East Fife" by John Fowler Mitchell and Sheila Mitchell records this gravestone inscription in the churchyard of St. Andrew's Cathedral:

"Wm Watt gardner and surveyor here 27.4.18(0)(0 or 6) (83)".   

There are still clues to the Watt and Bond families to explore, and next I am going to look into the family of Sophia's globe-trotting uncle Thomas Watt. 



  

Field Trip to the Dundas Museum and Archives

Yesterday Doug and I went on a research visit to the Dundas Museum and Archives in Dundas, Ontario, where both the Elliot and Oliphant families originally settled when they came to Canada. We found some great material, although not the great material I was originally hoping to find.  One day wasn't quite enough, so we plan on making a return visit sometime this summer.

To give some context:  Robert and Ann Elliot brought their children, including our ancestor William Elliot, to Ontario in 1827 and they settled in Dundas. Robert came to Canada with his brother Josiah but they didn't settle in the same place;  Josiah became a merchant in Beachville, Ontario.  Robert was a currier or leatherworker in England, but his occupation in Canada is unknown.  William was 15 when the family arrived;  in his twenties he farmed briefly, then worked in the Lesslie pharmacy and eventually took it over from the Lesslie family with a partner.  William moved to Toronto in 1854 to broaden his business horizons, and his father Robert died that same year.  Robert's wife Anne's death date is unknown.

David Oliphant, meanwhile, arrived in Canada in 1822 with one son, and his wife and three other children joined him within a few years.  He was a shoemaker in Scotland and lived as a shoemaker in Dundas as well, although family letters refer to David and Sophia living on a family farm.  Their  children were Alexander, Mary (our ancestress, who married William Elliot), David Jr. and William.   David died in Dundas in 1841.  He was an enthusiastic member of the Disciples of Christ church, and his son David Jr. was educated at Bethany College, a Christian college in Virginia,  and went on to become editor of several Disciple newspapers.

I was primarily hoping to find out more about the lives of Robert and Ann Elliot in Canada, and unfortunately I didn't find anything.  However, we did find lots of references to William Elliot and to the Oliphant family, primarily in the Lesslie family fonds, and we did find some scattered information about both families in other sources.

From the Woodhouse Family History collection (a collection of index cards giving point form information on various Dundas families):  Maria Elliot (Robert and Anne's daughter) married 1/1/1828 to David Yates of Dundas, also Louisa Elliot (another daughter of Robert and Ann) married 1/1/1828 (the same day!) to Thomas Hilton of Dundas.

We found a copy of the Dundas Centennial 1847-1947 Souvenir Historial Program, "Produced under the direction of the Dundas Centennial Committee by the Star Printing Company of Dundas", which on page 45 had something to say about David Oliphant Sr.

"David Oliphant, one of the earliest shoemakers in 1819, had a son Alexander who was very prominent in the Union Sabbath School in 1829.  David is reputed to have sheltered his relative, Samuel Lount, after the 1837 rebellion.  Maybe if Lount had remained hidden in Dundas he might never have been captured or executed."   

I don't believe that Lount was a relative of the Oliphant family, but various sources do state that it was Oliphant who hid Lount as he was trying to escape Upper Canada.

The more I learn about the Lesslie family, the more I feel that they were touchstones of a sort, bringing together and influencing various families from which we descend.  It's almost certain that our family story would not have taken the shape that it does without the influence of the Lesslies on the business, religious and social lives of the Scotts, Elliots and Oliphants.  The Lesslies were members of the Disciples of Christ church and successful businessmen in Dundas, Toronto and Kingston.  The Lesslie family was originally from Dundee, Scotland.  Here is a biographical sketch of the family from the Dundas Archives:

 Edward Lesslie was born in May 1765. He married Grace (Grizel) Watson on August 13, 1798 in Dundee. Although his father was a sailor, Edward Lesslie established himself as a bookseller and printers ink maker in Dundee. He is described in the Scottish Book Trade Index as a leader of the advanced radicals who narrowly escaped prosecution for sedition....by 1819 he decided to emigrate to Canada with his family. He sent his son John in 1820 with a supply of goods to open a store. Upon arrival, John chose York (Toronto) and, together with his travelling companion, William Lyon Mackenzie, established a business in the book and drug trade. They later opened a store in Dundas, which, in addition to drugs and books, dealt in a variety of other merchandise. In 1822, ill health prevented the emigration of the remaining family so Edward sent his sons James and Charles, and daughter Grace on a chartered brig loaded with supplies for the stores. James ended up in Kingston, operating a store there for the next four years. In the meantime, Edward and Grace and their remaining children finally arrived in Upper Canada and settled in Dundas where they operated the store now named Lesslie and Sons. The Lesslie family played an important role in early life in Dundas. They operated a thriving business and owned considerable land in the area. Edward Lesslie was instrumental in establishing the Free Church in Dundas, which offered meeting space to a variety of denominations. John Lesslie would continue to manage the store in Dundas, become the postmaster, and purchase a brewery. He and three of his sisters remained in Dundas. Edward Lesslie died in 1828 and management of the business fell to the sons, John, James, Charles, and William. John remained in charge of the Dundas branch while James operated the York store with the help of their youngest brother, Joseph. William operated the store in Kingston. Charles emigrated to Davenport, Iowa, disillusioned after the rebellion of 1837. He would remain there for the rest of his life. Joseph Lesslie eventually became postmaster of Toronto. 

Here are some of the connections I already knew.  James Lesslie was responsible for the Scott family coming to Canada, as Thomas Chalmers Scott had originally intended to immigrate to America.  This is what Scott's obituary in the Toronto Globe Newspaper has to say about Scott's change of mind:

Upon his arrival at New York [in 1842], however, he met with Mr. James Lesslie, of this city, who persuaded him to come to Toronto, and took him into his employment.  For several years he continued his connection with the Examiner, of which Mr. Lesslie was the editor and publisher....

The connection of the Lesslies to the Elliots is obvious;  William Elliot received his pharmaceutical training in the Lesslie pharmacy in Dundas, and eventually took over the Lesslie family businesses in Dundas before he moved to Toronto.  William Elliot was also a member of the Disciples Church, and probably worshipped with the Lesslie family in Dundas.   Since the Lesslies were close to William Lyon MacKenzie,  I think we can assume that William  Elliot got to know MacKenzie through his connection with the Lesslies, even though MacKenzie had relocated to York (Toronto) by the time the Elliot family landed in Dundas.  MacKenzie is a huge figure in Ontario and Toronto history and I have  a lot of questions about his political  influence on William Elliot and other members of our family, which I will save for another post.  

The sources we examined in the Lesslie family fonds were a scrapbook and a diary kept by John Lesslie.  The scrapbook consisted of unidentified newspaper clippings, primarily about politics, and recipes for pharmaceutical medicines (most of these were handwritten and not from published sources).    The recipes were rather fascinating;  there was a recipe for a medicine to cure smallpox, for example, as well as a cure for cancer.   From a modern perspective, not many of the recipes looked particularly promising.  It gave me a lot of insight into why William and his son Robert Watt became so invested in regulating their profession and in the education and training of pharmacists in college settings, where subjects like chemistry were taught.  Although advertisements for various remedies that the Elliot pharmacy sold in Dundas were sweepingly optimistic, William must have noticed that in actual practice not all of his medicines were that effective.

John Lesslie's diary was very business-like, with short factual entries about goings-on in the business and in his religious and/social spheres. He also recorded the weather.  William Elliot's name came up frequently, which was not surprising since he worked for John.  William seems to have travelled for the business quite a bit throughout Ontario and the diary records his comings and goings.  MacKenzie's name shows up fairly frequently as well, and surprisingly, so does David Oliphant Jr.'s.  John records David's going to Bethany College in Virginia and his coming home, for example.  There appears to be a close relationship between John and David Jr., who will eventually become William's brother-in -law when William marries David's sister  Mary Oliphant.   Thomas Chalmers Scott's various visits to Dundas, presumably to preach, were also mentioned. 

A page from John Lesslie's diary, 1843.  Thomas C. Scott and Wm. Elliot both mentioned.