PLACE OF BIRTH: Caerphilly, Glamorgan, Wales
FATHER: Watkin Watkin Watkins Sr.
MOTHER: Margaret Davies
SPOUSE: Mary Anne Davis (1874–1936)
DATE OF MARRIAGE: 1892
PLACE OF MARRIAGE: Ohio, USA.
CHILDREN: Mary Jane, Raymond, Maggie (died young), C(K)atherine, John William, Howard T.
RELATIONSHIP: Great-Uncle, his children are 1st Cousins 1x removed, his grandchildren are my second cousins.
OCCUPATION: Laborer, Brick Yard, Niles Firebrick.
RESIDED: Caerphilly, Glamorgan, Wales; Weathersfield Twp. Ohio; Niles, Ohio
DATE OF DEATH: January 1, 1919
PLACE OF DEATH: Mineral Ridge, Trumbull County, Ohio
BURIAL: Kerr Cemetery, Mineral Ridge, Ohio
ABOUT:
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| Niles Firebrick Workers, 1895 |
John W. Watkins was four when his mother Margaret died, and about seven when his father married Mary Jones. One thing you notice when you do family history, is how frequently your ancestors suffered huge losses like this. While death was common, the aftermath is always unique. Certainly, the family structure was much different 150 years ago, so I'm curious how the children took to Mary, and I have to wonder if she had an easier time of it than a second mother might have today. After all, she would have been the main source of meals, clothes, clean beds, sewn pants, darned socks and such. She would have provided the comforts we associate with a 19th century mother. I hope and believe they had an easy time of it and it seems they did because the family stayed close as the years went by.
Not much information has been found about John and his younger years. John and his siblings immigrated with Mary, in 1881, arriving in New York on the Baltic at age 11. The family wasn't here for the 1880 census and the 1890 census was mostly destroyed by fire. On the 1900 census however, John, his wife Mary (Davis) and their three children lived on Main St. in Weathersfield Twp. He and Mary had been married 8 years, and his occupation was listed as Mill Laborer.
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| 1899 Land maps of Niles Ward 3. Shows Niles Firebrick and several other factories, and Pratt St. |
I found a wonderful video on Niles Firebrick, and I was really surprised the first time I watched it - the above photo is included near the end. By all accounts, Niles Firebrick was a great company to work for at the time and many stories described camaraderie, decent pay and a kind of friendship after hours that is sort of disappearing these days. In fact, one fellow described how all of his father's work friends used to come over and watch the Friday Night fights, because his dad had one of the only Televisions in town. So. I guess the boxing matches were a big thing! The 1910 census reveals that Maggie, (daughter Margaret) who was an infant on the 1900 census, is missing. Mary noted that she'd had 5 children and 4 were living, so even though I can't find any information on Maggie, she must have died in the years between the two census.
In 1914 Howard T. was born, the last of John and Mary's children. John was 40. A year later Mary Jane, the oldest of the five children, married Charles Pierson in July of 1915.
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| Virginia Mae Pierson 1936, Miami University, Freshman. Sigma Kappa Sorority. |
Virginia graduated from Harding High School and went to Miami University for Home Economics. She became a teacher in the Public Schools. In 1951 she married native Louisianian, Willis (Bill) Guinn, who received his MBA from Northwestern. Bill retired in 1974 as a Financial Vice President of Ford Motor Credit Company, a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. They resided in Dearborn, Michigan, had three children and several grandchildren. Virginia Mae died in 1998 and Bill in 2007.
Stanley Pierson graduated in 1938 from Harding High School and completed two years of Business Administration at Miami U. before joining the U.S. Marine Corps. He did a tour of Duty in Washington D.C. and married Mary Jane Newbrough in 1944. CPL. Pierson was deployed to the South Pacific with the U.S. Marine Corps Co. E, 2nd Battalion, 29th Marines, 6th Division. Stanley was killed in action on Okinawa on June 20, 1945. Originally buried on Okinawa, his remains were repatriated and reinterred in 1949 at Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania.
Mary Jane (Watkins) Pierson died in February of 1952, and husband Charles in December of the same year.
If you're interested, The conquest of Okinawa: an account of the Sixth Marine Division, I've linked to the page that describes activities around the 18th of June. For its actions at Okinawa, the 6th Marine Division (and reinforcing units) earned a Presidential Unit Citation. The citation begins... and ends:
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| Sixth Marine Division wade ashore to support the beachhead. Okinawa, April 1, 1945 |
By their valor and tenacity, the officers and men of the SIXTH Marine Division, Reinforced contributed materially to the conquest of Okinawa, and their gallantry in overcoming a fanatic enemy in the face of extraordinary danger and difficulty adds new luster to Marine Corps history, and to the traditions of the United States Naval Service.
— Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal for the President
In 1918, twenty five years before WWII even began, John William's second oldest, Raymond Watkins (b. 1896) was preparing to fight in WWI, however Raymond never made it overseas. He appears to have enlisted in the "National Army", in the spring of 1918 and was transferred to the 158th Depot Brigade at Camp Sherman in Chillicothe, Ohio, then assigned to the Hospital Corp. for training. But even before he was fully trained, his military career ended. On January 1st, 1919, his father John William died of Influenza.
Page 6 of The Niles Daily News, published in Niles, Ohio on Thursday, January 2nd, 1919
"Mineral Ridge Resident Dead
John William Watkins, 51 years of age, passes away Wednesday at 1:15 p.m. at the home of William Fairborn --- Mineral Ridge – to an illness of two weeks beginning with the influenza, which later developed into a complication of ---
Mr. Watkins was well and favorably known in Niles, having been employed at the plant of The Niles Fire Brick Co. for the past 30 years, and was very popular among his fellow workmen, who will keenly mourn his demise. When stricken with the influenza, Mr. Watkins was removed to the Emergency Hospital where he re---- some time, but as symp--- --r diseases became man ---- patient was removed to the home of William Fairburn in Mineral Ridge where he died.
The deceased was born in Caerphilly, Wales, the eldest son of Watkin and Mary Watkins, and came to this country when a mere child. Surviving the deceased besides his wife are the following children; Raymond, who is at present with the medical branch of the government, stationed at Pittsburgh, Howard and John at home; Mrs. Charles Pierson of Warren and Catherine at home. Three brothers, William, Edward, and Watkins all of Mineral Ridge, as well as the following sisters; Mrs. William Fairburn and Mrs. Luke Daley, both of the Ridge, Mrs. Edith Morgan of Youngstown, Mrs. Charles Lawrence of Niles, Mrs. J.W. Kiley, Youngstown and another sister in Girard (Farr), also survive. The funeral will be held from the home of William Fairburn in Mineral Ridge, Saturday afternoon at 1:15 o’clock."
By the end of January, Raymond had received an Honorable Discharge from the Army. Shortly after that, he married Anna Howells on May 30th, 1919. They had four children, Anne Esther (1920-2012), Margaret Helen (1922 - ), Raymond Thomas (1924-1993) and Robert J, who died at age five in 1934.
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| Anne Esther Watkins Lynn |
Anne married Charles "Bud" Lynn in 1949 and lived in Canfield. She had a wonderful life according to her obituary, graduating from Kent State cum laude, and received her Masters from Youngstown State. She taught at at Hilltop Elementary School for 18 years, was a member of Kappa Delta Pi, and was the mother of two daughters who live in Pennsylvania. Bud died in 1995 and Anne in 2012.
Margaret married Donald (Don) Wilson from the Girard area and they resided on Irene Ave. in Warren for many years. Don was a truck driver and active in the National Guard, after serving in WWII. They had one daughter, a nurse, Suzanne. Don died in 1982, and I have not been able to find a record for Margaret.
Raymond Thomas Watkins Jr. married Lois Marie Goering in 1964, when they were both 40 years old. Lois was born in Ohltown, in Mahoning County, in between Mineral Ridge and Austintown. Lois and Raymond both worked at Ohio Lamp, General Electric. They apparently had no children. Raymond died in 1993 at almost 70 years of age, and Lois in 2016, age 92.
Raymond Sr. (son of John William Watkins and Mary) died in 1953 at the age of 55. He'd suffered from Atherosclerosis for several years and died of an aortic dissection, which must have been as awful as it sounds. He was an assistant foreman at Ohio Lamp. Anna survived many years after and in 1967, married Raymond's youngest brother, Howard.
Howard T. Watkins (b. 1914) was only four when his father died, the same age his father was when he lost his mother. Howard seems to have floated around between the family a bit. John's sister Mary Kiley had a Howard W. age 6, born in 1914, as a son on the 1920 census, but not with the Kiley's on the 1930 census. Other than a mention or two in the Niles newspapers, Howard Kiley is not found at all after 1925 or so. There is no obituary, no death record for Howard Kiley and since it's quite an unusual coincidence that Mary and her brother John would have sons, born the same year and name them both Howard, logically I'd say they are the same person.In 1925 widow Mary Ann and daughter Catherine are living at 113 Hall Ave. in Warren with no mention of Howard. In 1930 on the Pierson's census, Howard age 16, is living with his sister Mary Jane and her family. Mary Ann is living with Raymond on the 1930 census, but she moved back to Hall Ave. and is listed there in 1935. She's back with Raymond when she dies in 1936. After his father's death in 1919, it's not apparent that Howard ever lived with his mother again. In 1942 Howard enlisted in the Army and served in France with the 10th Armored Division under Gen. Patton. The 10th Armored entered the fray at Bastogne, and were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for their actions at the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, Howard worked as a salesman, and lived with his brother Raymond for many years. Thirteen years after Raymond died, Anna and Howard married. Though he never had any children of his own, he was very involved in the lives of his nieces and nephews. He died in 1980, and Anna died in 1999.
Shortly after John William died his son John W. (b. 1909) who was about 10, was taken in by John Williams oldest sister Margaret Fairburn. Even though he stayed connected to his brothers and sisters, he eventually changed his last name to Fairburn. You can read about his life on Maggie's page.
Finally, Catherine Watkins, John and Mary's middle child. Catherine (sometimes spelled with a K later in her life) was born in 1904. She was 14, when her father died, and had gone to school until she was in 7th grade. Catherine, like Howard, moved around a lot after John died. Between 1919 and 1927 Catherine appears in four different homes, always with her mother Mary, and sometimes with Raymond and Anna. I can't find her on either the 1920 or 1930 census, however I believe she was working at the Ohio Lamp Works as indicated in the 1927 City Directory. Sometime between 1927 and 1932, she married Jesse Beck, there was about a 10 year age difference. Jesse came from a large farming family in Cherry Valley, Ohio to work in the mills. He was a Millwright for Republic Steel Corp. and he and Catherine settled in Warren and then Weathersfield Township on Lawrence Ave. They never had any children. In December 1943, at the age of 48 Jesse suffered a heart attack and died a week later. They had been married 11 years.
When Catherine appears next in public records, it's 1950 and Katherine Beck married William T. Fellows. He was a 55 year old widower, with three children in their 20's. They lived on Lawnview, and he was an electrician at the Niles Rolling Mill. Katherine joined the family's church, St. Luke's Episcopal and became involved in some of their activities. William died in 1972, aged 77. Katherine died in 1977. Her brother Howard, and his wife Anna issued a Thank You in the local papers. No mention of the step children, nor did they mention her when William's son died in 1958. By contrast, Mary Jones, (John William Watkins step-mother) was always present in all of her children's lives. Was it a different time period, the difference in age or just bad obituary writing? I don't think we'll ever know.
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Photos: Public Domain, Link
