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The William Watson Family William Watson was born in 22nd March 1865 and died 23rd September 1952 in Northallerton North Yorkshire. In his first marriage to Mary Jane Lowe, they had a staggering 14 children. Of those children, only two were boys. The family tree is here. Many thanks to Peter Smith, who provided the following recollection of William from when he was a wartime evacuee and was sent to his Auntie Vi in Hurworth -on-Tees near Darlington and on occasion went to Northallerton: "He was a short dapper chap with a full head of white hair and a magnificent moustache. He had a car - quite a rarity in those days - and was an alarming driver. I seem to remember he only gave up driving when, well into his eighties, he got prosecuted for careless driving and decided it was perhaps time he gave up" The picture on the left below is of William stood in his garden in about 1944. On the right we have his first wife, Mary Jane Lowe (b.1880, d.1926)
The picture below shows William and Mary Jane with twelve of their children. Back row, left to right: Fred, Daisy, Dorothy, Violet, Ivy, Kitty, Rupert, Myrtle. Front row (sitting): Rene, William holding Joan, Mary Jane holding Mary, and Sylvia.
The picture below comes from Peter Smiths album, where written below the picture were the words “Myrtle Joan” but no indication who was which. We suspect they were the two children, in which case the adult, who bears a remarkable resemblance to the adult Myrtle, is almost certainly William Watson’s first wife, Mary Jane. The picture on the right below is of William sheltering from the sun in his garden. The picture does show his splendid moustache
Williams 6th daughter was Dorothy Phylis May Watson (b.1898, d 1961), and we have an undated picture of her below on the left. In the middle we have Williams 9th daughter, Irene (Rene), and on the right we have Williams 10th daughter, Christina Sylvia Watson (b.1906). The picture is dated November 1939.
Following Williams first wife Mary Janes' death in October 1927, William remarried Olive Atkinson. The had a daughter Beatrice (known as Betty). The picture below was taken in the rear garden of William Watson’s house, Woodville, in Northallerton High Street which is now a shop: at the last known point it was a showroom for bathroom fittings. The 'refugee from Just William' is Peter Smith. His mother, Daisy Erica is on the right. On the left is “Cousin Betty” (Beatrice) as she was known to Peter. She was quite young when she died, and we believe she had some degenerative illness, possibly M.S. Dated 8th June, 1944
The picture on the right above is of Charlie Birkitt, who was adopted by Amos Watson and lived at the farm just outside York. We understand that he may have been the son of Mary Annes' sister who we suspect died in childbirth, following which the children were taken care of by immediate relatives. He is remembered as a gentle person, much loved by Williams children. Williams eleventh daughter was Joan Alberta, who married Thomas Sillett. The picture below is take at Frinton on Sea in the late 1940's. Tom was a prison officer at Wormwood Scrubs at the time. Peter Smith recalls that Grandfather Watson (William) disapproved of him, but then as a good primitive Methodist, he disapproved of most things and most people.
The final picture is a very distinguished looking William Watson on his 80th birthday. On the reverse it reads "I find life good and well worth living at 80". Splendid. Sylvia adopted a son, Andrew, and in later years shared a house with her sister Irene (Rene) in Northallerton. He we have a more recent picture of the two of them. Rene on the right, Sylvia on the left. Sylvia is the last surviving child of William and Mary.
For the family tree go here
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