George Watson Sr. (1808-1900) was born in England in Port of Rye, Sussex, England, in February 1808. He married Sarah Filegar / Fullagar (or a similar last name) on July 24, 1836. Sarah was born in 1807. They had 5 Children: Sarah Fullager (b. 1837), Hannah Francis (b. 1841), George Jr (b. 1842), Stephen (b. 1845), and Mary Jane (b. 1850). George brought most of his sons and daughters to America, landing in NYC on the “Delta Queen” in July 1852. One aspect that needs to be added is that he did not arrive with his first wife, Sarah Fullagar. I have found two possibilities, one is that Sarah died in childbirth in England in 1851, and the second is that he left his wife to take up with a younger woman, Albania Stone (b 1833, 25 years younger), whom he married in England on July 10, 1851.
On the manifest for the arrival in New York, it shows George Sr his children by Sarah Fullagar; George Jr (20yo), Stephen (17yo), Francis (21yo),
and on the next page, Albania his new wife (19 yo), Sarah (15yo), and the youngest, Mary (2yo).
The reason to think his first wife, Sarah, had died is that, to me, it would be challenging to bring the whole family together if his wife were still alive and able to take care of them. Times, I am sure, were much different then, but it seems odd to me.
The reason to think that he left his wife is mostly passed down from my Grandfather, George, who was George Sr’s grandson. I never spoke to him directly, but from family members, I have heard that Grandfather George would never discuss that part of his history. He did not like it and dealt with it by not talking about it, and never mentioning that part of his past.
Artifacts
I have two items given to me by my Grandfather, “Grandpa George.” The first was a small, long box that contained some tools. On top of the box, he had written, “Some of these tools were my Grandfather’s shoemaking tools. Perhaps brought from England in 1852.”
My grandpa George also gave me a watch fob, which he said belonged to George Sr and was brought over from England.
To gather more information, I conducted a web search (accurate or not) on the cost of passage from England to America. The price for steerage was typically £ 5, but at times, it could be as low as £ 3.50 due to competition. Adults were considered anyone over 14, and the cost for the six adults and one child would have been approximately 30 pounds. The estimated wage of a shoemaker in England at the time would have been about 20 shillings or 1 pound per week. This means that the cost of the passage was likely equivalent to 6-9 months of wages. This is also unusual as it was more common for the Breadwinner to come over first, followed by the rest of his family. The Ocean Queen was lost at sea in February 1856. More can be seen at this link. I find that it typically takes 10 days to get from Liverpool to New York.
Once they arrived in New York, they “disappeared” until the 1860 census put them in Woodcock, Richmond Township, south of Cambridge Springs.
However, most of the children who came over are not listed on the 1860 Census, with George Jr (15, act 18) and Stephen (13) being the only ones. Sarah Watson was married to Jeremiah Stanford and lived in Rockdale/Richmond, had four children over five years.
The other children of Albania and George Sr were born in the US: Caroline, Charles, Fanny, and June. Oddly, it does not show Launton (Tont), who was born after Charles. He does show up on the 1870 Census (below) along with younger children, Doctor, and Albania. By the time of the 1870 Census, both George Jr and Stephen had moved out.
Stephen had married Mary J Shilling in 1869 and was still living in Rockdale Township. George Jr was also married to Mary Fisk and had a 1-year-old child, William. It appears that both wives were 17 at the time of the 1870 census (below). The header on the census page indicated they lived on Brown Hill, and being next to each other suggests they were neighbors.
Below is a Map of Rackdale Township from 1876. The Magenta line along French Creek would later become Pinewoods Road. The Blue Road later became Watson Road. George Watson is listed on a few parcels.
By the time of the 1880 Census, Stephen had moved to Union Township (southwest of Meadville), and his occupation was listed as a plasterer.
In 1880, there was an Agriculture Production Census. George Watson is listed with the following facts: Owner of the farm, 8 Acres tilled, 28 acres in pasture or orchards. The farm was valued at $750 for land and buildings, another $25 for equipment, and $100 for livestock. $50 was spent on building and repairing fences. The estimated value of all products sold from the farm was $417. There were 8 Acres Mowed (Hay), 20 acres not mowed. He had two horses, two oxen, three milk cows, and two other animals. Three calves were born (dropped), and two cows and calves died. They made 150 pounds of butter. He had two pigs, fifteen “barnyard” chickens, and one other chicken. The chickens produced 75 dozen eggs the year before. He had 1 acre planted for buckwheat yielding 10 bushels, 1 acre of “Indian Corn” that made 15 bushels. One acre of oats yields 40 bushels, and 2 acres of wheat yield 25 bushels. They had 3 acres of apples with 60 apple trees, producing 200 bushels of apples. The total value of all orchard products was $40. Lastly, they cut 125 cords of wood that were valued at $125.
