John Watts of Winterbourne Earls (born ~1748)

5^th Great Grandfather – FFFMFMF¹

I haven’t been able to find a baptism record for John, but according to his burial record, he would have been born in about 1748. By 1771, he was living in Salisbury, as the Banns for his marriage on the 29^th June 1771 to Mary Joles² was read in the Parish of St Martin with St Mary Magdalene, where he is listed as “of this parish”³. Mary was from Winterbourne Earls, where they were married and where they settled.

John and Mary had a daughter Sarah who was baptised 28^th June 1773 at Winterbourne Earls⁴, but Mary died the following year and was buried in Winterbourne Earls on 25^th March 1774⁵.

John married again the following year on 1^st November 1775⁶ at Winterbourne Gunner to Sarah Young (nee Sutton) a young widow whose husband William Young had recently died. Sarah had a young son William Young. Sarah’s brother Thomas was a witness to the marriage.

John and Sarah had two children together, Jane my 4^th great grandmother, who was baptised 8^th December 1776⁷ at Winterbourne Dauntsey and John who was baptised 28^th April 1780 at Winterbourne Earls⁸.

In the Marriage License for his marriage to Sarah, John is listed as a wheelwright⁹, but in his will¹⁰, he says he is a carpenter. The latter was a trade carried on by his father-in-law, John Sutton, and then by his grandson Francis Fane Taylor.

I believe Sarah died in 1799 and was buried on 22^nd January 1799 at Winterbourne Gunner, but the reference where I found that information is no longer available on the internet to confirm that, and there is no reference in the burial register for Winterbourne Gunner. John died 1n 1829 and was buried at Winterbourne Earls on 6^th September 1829¹¹, where his age is given as 81 years old.

In his will, he leaves all of his estate to his three grandsons, children of his son John, who was also a carpenter. There is no reference to any of his grandchildren from his daughter Jane and Henry Taylor, most likely as Henry was a good deal wealthier and could support his own family.

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