On the trail of Elijah Watson: What can we learn along the way
Elijah was the son of
Nicholas Watson and Hannah Birchall one of my paternal three times great
grandparents. That makes him my two times great uncle.
According to records Elijah
was born in Burslem, Staffordshire, England June second 1831.
Six-year-old Elijah appears
on 1841 the Burslem, Staffordshire with his parents at Snow Hill. There is also
an older Nichol Watson, aged 20, potter, as well as siblings Emey (Emma), age
10, Robert age 4 and Andrew age three. In the same house but listed as a
separate family are Mary Williams and ‘Hervey’ Williams, Potter. The question
as to who the younger Nichol Watson is will have to wait for another day
Moving forward to the 1851 census the only Elijah I can locate, now aged 16, occupation potter, is with a differently named family than the previous 1941 census. John Werroell, 38 and his 49-year-old wife Hannah. Children Henry and James Williams, aged 23 and 20, and Elijah 18, Emma 16, Robert 15, Andrew 14 and George 11, all with last name Watson.
The
different family names on this census sent me off on a hunt for John Werroelll who
was actually John Worrall, the result of a mis-transcription by the
transcriber. First though to order the death certificate of Nichol Watson who
died in 1842, fingers crossed it’s the right man.
Now
to find a marriage of Hannah to John Worrell, and there it is.. Hannah married
John on September 13th 1846 at St. Paul, Burslem, Stafford, England.
As to
who the sons with the last name of Williams are, well for the time being I will
not be searching for them or for any more details of John Worrall.
The entry in the 1861 census is a little unclear so I have enlarged part of it, which shows Elijah 28 as head, then his brothers Robert 24 and Andrew 23. Then, and this is curious entry a half-brother Henry Williams 34, his wife Fanny 30 and their son Henry aged 8.
Looking back to the 1851 census there is a 23-year-old
Henry Williams just described as son.
So off I go to see what is to be learned from this couple. Henry Williams married Fanny Hill August 1st 1853 at St John, Burslem, Staffordshire. Henry’s father was John Williams. Though Fanny and Ellen’s mother was Ruth Hill. I think there is nothing to be gained in searching any longer on this tangent.
FreeBDM has an entry
for a marriage of Fanny Fee to William McClelland, the same couple who were
witnesses at Elijah’s wedding
Elijah and Ellen married at St Mary’s Church a Parish in Manchester March 8th 1864.
The Parsonage Gardens is now the site of St. Mary’s Church Built in 1759, St. Mary’s was the first new church in the expanding Georgian city. When much of the resident population left the centre of town after 1870, many of the churches were deserted. Several were demolished, and St Mary’s was the first to go. The last regular services were held on the last Sunday of 1887, and the church was finally closed after a service on October 4th 1890, at which the last Rector, the Rev. Richard Tonge, officiated. The Parish was then united with St Ann’s. The image and above quote are from from https://www.mang eogsoc.org.uk/egm/1_8_Machester_Churches.pdf
The search for Elijah, now aged about 38, on Ancestry
which is my preferred genealogy site, on the 1871 census proved something of a
challenge.
After a fairly convoluted search I was finally able to
locate him. It was frustrating to be able to easily locate him on the 1871
census on two other sites, namely My Heritage and Family Search, but not on
Ancestry. I found the right page in the 1871 by a very roundabout route. I
could view an image of the census on My Heritage so back to Ancestry’s webpage
I go and search the name of someone else entirely, and success. The problem was that despite being listed as a
male his name was mis-transcribed as Eliza and not Elijah. I have amended the
record so hopefully other searches will be able to locate him much more easily
than I did.
I had previously messaged Kathy, another Ancestry member who is also researching Elijah. Kathy has kindly shared information about him including the results of emails she received. The email provides a possible answer as to why Elijah took his young family from Staffordshire to Devon.
Thank you for your email. I have checked the list of pottery workers, as listed in the book The Art of the Torquay and South Devon Potters (ISBN 0 9515 4 6 - 1996) and Elijah Watson is listed as working at either the Watcombe Pottery or the Torquay Terracotta Company (TTC) in the 1880s. His job title is Potter. Also listed are Isabella Watson - Saleswoman, and Marshall Watson - Turner. All three are listed as having worked at Watcombe or TTC in the 1880s. No other Watsons are mentioned.
I am not aware of any signed pots by Elijah Watson, but that is not to say that such pots do not exist.
And this one
I can find no evidence that Elijah Watson was an artist. He seems to have simply been listed as ‘potter’ in the various records online through family history sites such as Ancestry etc., except for the 1871 census where he is listed as ‘Potters’ Turner’. That role involved taking the pots from the thrower, who formed them, and turning away the excess clay, adding bands or rouletting by pressing tools into the surface before it was sent to be fired and any decoration added. It was skilled manual work but not artistic.
Elijah was born in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, the centre of the British pottery industry. He seems to have moved to Devon to have worked at one of the potteries that opened there in the late 19th century. The Devonshire potteries recruited a lot of workers from Staffordshire in the late 19th century as there was not a history of pottery-making in Devon at that time. He is mentioned as a worker at either the Torquay Terracotta Company or the Watcombe Pottery in the 1880s on this website. https://torquaypottery.info/about/ancestry In the census record for 1881 his children are too young to work. It might be possible to trace them and his widow in the 1891 census.
Kathy also allowed me to share other information from her tree including letters of Michael Fee who tells his sister about family members including this gem.
Ellen, born on January 1th 1841- now turned 29 was married on 7 march 1864 has one child, a little boy four years old last March. Her husband is named Elijah Watson. He finishes fancy jugs & teapots & many other fancy things, for they live in the potteries – Staffordshire at a town called Hanley near Burslem & 37 miles from here.
So on to the 1881 census and Elijah is now about 48, the census entry gives his wife as
Jane, and step children James and Hanna Curtis. Then their Ernest,2, Beatrice
1, and Ellen 10 weeks. There is also servant Lizzie Henley aged 15
Jane was actually Elizabeth Jane Mann, she first married
Samuel Thomas Curtis in September 1860 at Newton Abbot, Devon. Samuel died in
March 1875 and Jane married Elijah in April 1877.
When Elijah died 17 Feb 1877 at St Mary Church he left a not unsubstantial sum of two hundred and nine pounds, seven shillings and 10 pence, to his widow Jane, but only if she ‘remains a widow’
