Our Watkins Family

The Watkins Family
Polli Jost Turner, Editor

First Generation--
Edward Watkins, born ca. 1664; died ca. 1701. Married Sarah, born ca. 1664. It is possible that Edward’s father was Andrew Watkins of Roxbury, MA.
1. Edward Watkins,
born Jan. 10, 1683, in Boston, MA. Married Mary.
2. Samuel Watkins,
born Dec. 13, 1685, in Boston, MA.
3. George Watkins,
born April 14, 1688, in Boston, MA.
4. William Watkins,
born April 6, 1690, in Boston, MA. Moved to Ashford, CT. Was a captain in the French and Indian War. Daniel Powers (PowersArt@aol.com)is one of his descendants, through his son Jedediah.
5. Nehemiah Watkins,
bapt. June 26, 1693, in the Old South Church, Boston, MA. Moved to Ashford, CT. Married Bethiah Bugbee.
6. Nathaniel Watkins,
born Dec. 31, 1694, in Boston, MA.
7. Thaddeus Watkins,
born March 27, 1700, in Boston, MA. Moved to Ashford, CT.

Second Generation--
Nehemiah Watkins, bapt. June 26, 1693, in the Old South Church, Boston, MA. Moved to Ashford, CT. Married Bethiah Bugbee, born Sept. 3, 1696, in Woodstock, CT; died Aug. 1, 1736, in Woodstock, CT; 44 years old.
Second marriage (Oct. 30, 1741) Dianna Downing.
Bethia’s parents were John and Abiah (or Abigail) Bugbee. In the book, The History of Woodstock, CT, (by Clarence Winthrop Bowen) the author relates a family legend. "Having a legacy due her, Abiah rode on horseback to Roxbury. She collected the legacy in Spanish dollars and started for home. On the Connecticut Path, a robber overtook her and ‘demanded her money.’ She delayed in handing over the money long enough to get her horse and that of the robber headed in the right direction. As she handed the bag of money to the robber, on purpose she dropped the bag. The robber got off his horse to get the money. When he did, Abiah whipped both horses. The robber’s horse followed her horse. Finally she came to a cabin by the roadside and stopped, finding more dollars than she had lost and ‘with this money and the robber’s horse she returned safely to Woodstock.
1. Infant Watkins,
born Feb. 25, 1727, in Ashford, CT.
2. Phineas Watkins,
born June 21, 1728, in Ashford, CT. Married (Oct. 24, 1752) Mary Fuller.
3. Darius Watkins,
born Nov. 7, 1731, in Woodstock, CT. Married Rebecka Weeks, of Ware, MA.
4. Thankful Watkins,
bapt. March 31, 1733/34, in Woodstock, CT.

Third Generation--
Darius Watkins, born Nov. 7, 1731, in Woodstock, CT; died 1773; 42 years old. Married (banns pub. Nov. 8, 1760, in Hardwick, Worcester Co., MA) Rebecka Weeks, of Ware, MA. The family later moved to Petersham. Darius was a yeoman. Darius was "in 3rd Co. Maj. John Payson’s of the 3rd Regt. Col. Eliphalet Dyer, from 9 Sept. to 5 Dec. 1755 and in Capt. John Carpenter’s Co., which marched Aug. 1757." Recorded 18 August, 1813, Rebecca Watkins, Petersham, widow of Darius, Hardwick, to Stephen Watkins.
Second marriage to ? Green.
1. Rhoda Watkins,
born Nov. 5, 1761. Married Elisha Almy.
2. Bethia Watkins,
born Aug. 15, 1762. Married Mr. Nelson.
3. Stephen Watkins,
born July 18, 1765. Married Susannah Rice.
4. Darius Watkins,
born Sept. 10, 1767. Married (pub. Sept. 3, 1767, in Hardwick, MA) Hilda Thayer of Dana, MA.
5. David Watkins,
born June 2, 1769. Married Polly, died Dec. 5, 1795. Second marriage (May 30, 1798) Hanna Garfield of Cambridge, MA.

Fourth Generation--
Stephen Watkins, born July 18, 1765, probably in Hardwick, MA; died May 5, 1852, in Kirby, VT; 87 years old. The marriage record says he was "of Athol." Married (March 6, 1789, in Hardwick, Worcester Co., MA) Susannah Rice, born Sept. 1765; died July 1798; 35 years old. Her parents were Oliver Rice and Hannah Bartlet. [I have several generations of the Rice-Bartlet family, which I have chosen not to include here--if anyone is interested I will send photocopies of the family group sheets on the family. All branches originated in England.] Susannah bore him five children.
Second marriage, Eunice Crane, born Sept. 1778; died June 3, 1844, in Kirby, VT; 56 years old. She bore him 12 more children. Stephen fought in the Revolutionary War, as a private. According to his pension application, he had been a housejoiner by trade. However the poor conditions during his service in the Revolution so adversely that he had to give up his trade, and he turned to farming, in Wendell, MA. About 1925 he sold his farm to get out of his increasing debt, and made a trip to Ohio (then a territory) with the thought of finding property there. He decided against that, and in Feb. 1826 purchased another farm in Kirby, Caledonia Co., VT.
In 1820, while living in Wendell, MA, he applied for a government pension which was offered to veterans of the Revolution with financial need. In his application he lists as dependents his wife Eunice, 2 boys and 7 girls under 18, as well as "an aged mother to take care of who is both blind and deaf". This was probably his mother, Rebecca.
•By Susannah:
1. Hiram Watkins, born March 26, 1790; died June 10, 1810; 20 years old.
2. Byman Watkins, born Feb. 14, 1792.
3. Susannah Watkins,
born Dec. 25, 1793; died April 8, 1882, in Boston, Mass.; 88 years old. Married Joseph M. Graves.
4. Lucy Watkins, born Aug. 15, 1795; died May 27, 1877, in Stewartstown, NH; 81 years old. Married (Jan. 23, 1825) Elias Trask.
5. Stephen Watkins, born Aug. 15, 1897; died Nov. 15, 1797; 3 mos. old.
•By Eunice:
6. Rice Watkins, born Dec. 25, 1799; died the same year; no more than a week old (or, died Oct. 4, 1802; two years old).
7. Thankful Watkins, born Feb. 8, 1801; died Nov. 12, 1864, in Mason, NH; 63 years old. Married ? Sawtelle.
8. Sopronia Watkins, born Nov. 14, 1804, in Wendall, Franklin Co., MA; died Sept. 7, 1885; 80 years old. Married (Feb. 16, 1832, in Waterford, VT) Phillip Smith.
9. Stephen Watkins, born April 14, 1806, in Wendall, MA.
10. Cynthia Watkins, born Oct. 15, 1807; died 1852, in Burke, VT; 45 years old. Married (Nov. 6, 1831, Kirby, VT) Eli S. Dunklee.
11. Everett Watkins, born April 9, 1808.
12. Angeline Watkins, born April 15, 1810; died Feb. 24, 1879, in Quebec; 68 years old. Married Isaac Damon.
13. Ann Watkins, born June 28, 1812; died in Quebec. Married (Oct. 26, 1837, in Kirby, VT) Roswell Crane.
14. Eunice Watkins, born Aug. 28, 1814; died Jan. 8, 1866, in Ludlow, VT; 52 years old. Married Mr. Armington.
15. Mary Watkins, born Aug. 16, 1816; died Aug. 19, 1844; 28 years old. Married Mr. White.
16. Clarissa Watkins, born June 18, 1819. Married (Nov. 18, 1843, in Kirby, VT) Joshua Tripp.
17. Eliza Watkins, born Nov. 7, 1821; died Sept. 14, 1869, in Northfield, VT; 47 years old. Married (June 14, 1843, in Kirby, VT) Rufus Young.

Fifth generation--
Susannah Watkins, born Dec. 25, 1793; died Nov. 8, 1882, in Charlestown, MA; 88 years old. Married (probably inWendall, Franklin Co., MA) Joseph M. Graves, born May 7, 1793, in Shrewsbury, Worcester Co. [or Boston, Suffolk Co.], MA; died Jan. 15, 1870, in Charlestown, MA; 76 years old. Both were buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett (a suburb of Boston), MA (The family plot is #85 Choral Ave. in the cemetery.)
Joseph was epileptic, according to his granddaughter’s medical records. He was raised by his aunt Annis Muzzy Parks, his mother's sister, who lived in Franklin Co., MA. At 14 years of age, he was sent away to trade school--he was a shoemaker by trade (according to a history of Royalston, MA, where he was ordained). Converted in 1816, he was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1821. In 1834 he received an honorary MA degree from Middlebury College in Vermont.
1. Hiram Atwell Graves,
born April 5, 1813, in Wendall, Franklin Co., MA; died Nov. 3, 1850 ["Sabbath morning," wrote son Charley], in Bristol, RI; 37 years old. Married (Jan. 19, 1937, in New Haven, CT) Mary Hinman, born May 24, 1812, in Woodbury, CT; died April 7, 1856, in N. Adams, MA; 43 years old. Hiram and Mary were buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, sharing the same monument with Joseph and Susannah.
The 1846 Boston City Directory shows Hiram as, Rev., editor Christian Reflector, 11 Cornhill, house London, E. Boston. An ad for the paper in the "yellow pages" [which weren’t yet yellow!] reads, "Christian Reflector, Rev. H. A. Graves; Damrall, Graves & Upham, 11 Cornhill, $2 per year. Baptist."
2. Sarah Ann Graves,
born July 7, 1816; died Oct. 26, 1829; 13 years old. She died during the time her father was pastoring the Baptist church in Jericho, Chittenden Co., VT. During our visit in New England, we searched three cemeteries in Jericho and Jericho Center, and could not find her grave. There were only a few graves dating back that far. Either her stone broke off and was lost, or she may have been buried on the property near Joseph and Susannah’s home. I have a handwritten inscription of her gravestone, including (presumably) the name of the engraver. But there is no clue as to who wrote the information down--perhaps Susannah (it’s not Joseph’s handwriting), wanting to remember what it said after leaving Jericho, or the engraver himself, to show what he proposed to do. I think the latter to be probable, considering the handwriting is very artistic and flowery.
3. Adoniram Judson Graves,
born Dec. 14, 1821, in Townsend, MA; died July 26, 1871, in Boston, of lung hemorrhage; 49 years old. He was epileptic, according to his daughter Sarah’s hospital records. Married (Sept. 4, 1845, in E. Boston, MA) Abigail E. Stevens, "Abby," born Oct. 1821, in Claremont, NH; died May 2, 1872, of tuberculosis; 51 years old. They lived in Boston where he was a bookkeeper.
The 1846 Boston City Directory shows that Adoniram was in partnership with H. A. Stevens (probably his father-in-law) in a dry goods store. The address was given as 105 Hanover, house, London, E. Boston. In 1959, he was listed alone, at 24 Cornhill, house, 2 Princeton, E. Boston. Brother Andrew’s business was listed as being at the same address.
4. Andrew F. Graves,
born May 10, 1825; died Feb. 17, 1894, in Winthrop, MA; 70 years old. A diabetic, he had one foot amputated before he died of gangrene. Married Julia Amanda Webster, "Amanda", born Oct. 28, 1834, in Methuen, MA; died Nov. 5, 1910, in Santa Barbara, CA; 76 years old. Both were buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, near parents Joseph and Susannah. They lived in Boston. Andrew had his own business, publishing and selling Christian books. Mother always thought the F. in his name stood for "Forest" as in her father’s name (Andrew Forest Page), but another source believes it stood for "Fuller"! At the time of his death, the family were living at 19 Johnson Ave., in Winthrop.
5. Stella Ann Susan Graves,
born Sept. 6, 1829, in Jericho, Chittenden Co., VT; died Aug. 3, 1909, in Minneapolis, MN; 80 years old. Married Emery Harkness Page.

Sources:
Watkins’ family information, copied by Sarah Graves
Stephen Watkins’ Civil War pension application file, from the National Archives
Various books and records found by Jeannette Page Rainey in research

March 1, 2013
Polli Turner