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EARLY SETTLERS OF SANGAMON COUNTY - 1876
By John Carroll Power

These biographies were submitted by a researcher and evidently abstracted from the 1876 History of Sangamon County, IL. Errors could occur, so one should always verify the correctness by obtaining copies of vitals and performing all necessary research to document what is contained herein.



WATTS, BENJAMIN, born Nov. 22, 1769, at Warwick, Franklin county, Massachusetts, was the eldest child of Nicholas Watts and Eunice Newton, his wife. Mary Barbour was born Jan. 4, 1771, in Warwick, Massachusetts. Benjamin Watts and Mary Barbour were there married and moved to Shoreham, thence to Windham, Vermont, and from there to Lyman, Grafton county, New Hampshire. They moved to Sangamon county, Illinois, in the fall of 1837. Of their sixteen children six died young. Of the other ten who came to Sangamon county--

JOSEPH, born Sept. 1, 1793, in Vermont, was married in Lyman, New Hampshire, to Mahala Smith, came to Sangamon county in 1838, and moved to Menard county, Illinois, where they both died, leaving five children. ALONZO is married and lives in Iowa. GEORGE, BENJAMIN, NEWELL and AUSTIN.

LYDIA, born July 9, 1798, in New Hampshire, married Gideon Tripp. She is a widow and lives near Farmingdale, Illinois.

SALLY, born Jan. 26, 1800, in Lyman, New Hampshire, married Joel Buckman. See his name. Their only child, BENJAMIN, is married, and lives near Farmingdale, Illinois.

NICHOLAS, born Dec. 31, 1801, in New Hampshire, married Elizabeth Pallady. They have one child, BENJAMIN, who is married, and lives in Macon county, Illinois. Nicholas Watts and family came to Sangamon county in 1842, where he died May 9, 1843. His widow married again.

CHARLES, born Jan. 11, 1804, in Lyman, Grafton county, New Hampshire, was taken by his parents to St. Lawrence county, New York, in 1821. He was married at Brasher, in that county, Nov. 22, 1823, to Elizabeth Innes. They came with one child, in a colony of fifty-two persons, arriving in the fall of 1833, at Old Sangamo. July 4, 1834, they moved to a place one-fourth of a mile south of the present Farmingdale station. Of their ten children, ALEXANDER J., born Oct. 29, 1831, in St. Lawrence county, New York, brought up in Sangamon county, Illinois, left for Oregon in 1851, returned to Sangamon county in 1866, and was married April 4, 1867, in Jacksonville, Illinois, to Alexina J. Lander. They left the same month for Oregon. Mrs. Alexina J. Watts died May 15, 1868, near Applegate, Jackson county, Oregon. Alexander G. Watts resides there, and is county surveyor--1874. ANN JANE, born Dec. 31, 1833, in Sangamon county, was married there Nov. 10, 1853, to Thomas P. Stacy, who was born May 2, 1827, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. They have seven children, ELIZABETH A., MATHEW K., ALEXINA J., WILLIAM H., SALLIE M., THOMAS E. and GATES, and reside in Jacksonville, Ill. CHARLES H., born Dec. 2, 1836, in Sangamon county, lives near Farmingdale. EDWIN, born June 14, 1839, in Sangamon county, was married Oct. 19, 1871, to Laura E. Rickard. They have one child, and live five miles southwest of Farmingdale, Sangamon county, Illinois. ALBERT B., born Oct. 23, 1841, in Sangamon county, was married Nov. 19, 1867, to Amelia L. Dustin, who was born June 20, 1847, in Jacksonville, Illinois. They have four children, ANNA J., LUCRETIA, CHARLES and JAMES, and live three-fourths of a mile northwest of Farmingdale, Illinois. SAMUEL W., born Aug. 14, 1844, in Sangamon county, lives with his parents. RICHARD N., born Jan. 13, 1848, in Sangamon county, was married Jan. 19, 1871, to Ellen F. McDermott. They have two children, and live in Shelby county, near Assumption, Christian county, Illinois. THOMAS B., WILLIAM and MARY E. live with their parents adjoining Farmingdale, Sangamon county, Illinois, on the south. Mr. and Mrs. Watts counted twenty-nine of the fifty-two persons forming the colony in which they came to Sangamon county. About half of this colony of fifty-two are now living--1876.

ISAAC and BENJAMIN, twins, born Nov. 26, 1808, at Lyman, New Hampshire.

ISAAC was married in St. Lawrence county, New York, Nov. 28, 1833, to Jemima Nevin, who was born June 5, 1815, in county Down, Ireland. They had two children in New York, and moved to Sangamon county, Illinois, arriving Oct. 7, 1838, in what is now Cartwright township, where two children were born, one of whom died in his fifth year. Of the other three, GEORGIE K., born Nov. 10, 1834, in New York, was married in Sangamon county, August 10, 1864, to Andrew Wilson. See his name. RUSSELL, born August 24, 1836, in New York, was married August, 1871, in Iowa, to Mary E. Hardin. They have one child, ISAAC, and live at North Platte, Nebraska, on the Union Pacific railroad. JOHN N. Isaac Watts resides two miles southwest of Farmingdale, Sangamon county, Illinois.

BENJAMIN, Jun., was married in St. Lawrence county, New York, to Calista Jacobs, came to Sangamon county in the fall of 1838. Their only child died young, and Mrs. Watts died in 1840 or '41. Benjamin Watts was married in 1842 to Orpha Bates. They had four children, one of whom died young. CALISTA P. and JAMES A. live with their mother. BENJAMIN O. married Sept. 26, 1876, to Miss Brown at Pleasant Plains. Benjamin Watts, Jun., died February, 1862, and his widow lives three miles west of Pleasant Plains, Illinois.

IRENA and RUSSELL, twins, born June 15, 1813, in New Hampshire.

IRENA married Isaac Holmes and he died, leaving two children. His widow married James Bates. See his name.

RUSSELL came to Sangamon county in 1835, and was married March, 1839, to Diantha Holmes. They had three children, and moved in 1847 to Calapooga, Lynn county, Oregon, where Mr. Watts died Dec. 11, 1854, leaving five children. His widow has since married.

Benjamin Watts, Sen., died Sept. 11, 1838, and Mrs. Mary Watts died two days later, Sept. 13, 1838, both in Sangamon county, Illinois.



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