Watt, William

NEWHOUSE, DE WOLF, KELSEY, BRITTON, BOYNTON, ATCHISON, PIERCE, HAMILTON, HAMMERLY, TIEDJE, MCMURRAY

Posted By: Gail Meyer Kilgore (email)
Date: 2/17/2004 at 02:16:04

WILLIAM WATT, who resides on section 16, is a worthy representative of the agriculture interest of Sherman Township. He is also numbered among the early settlers of Jasper County, and for a number of years has been identified with its growth and progress. He was born August 5, 1845, in what was then known as Upper Canada.

Charles and Margaret Watt, the parents of our subject, we both natives of Scotland. In 1855 they emigrated to Jasper County, Iowa, locating on section 16, Sherman Township, upon a tract of raw land, which the father at once began to develop and improve. In July, 1859, while attempting to cross Watt Lake with two yoke of oxen, he got into deep water, and was drowned. The following are the surviving members of his family: Mrs. Mary Newhouse, a widow living in Grundy Centre, Iowa; William; Jane, now Mrs. DeWolf, a widow of Sherman Township; Charles, a hardware merchant of Mingo, Iowa; Jasper, in partnership with Charles; and Elsie and Lawson, both of whom live in Sherman Township. The mother of this family is still living in Sherman Township, and is now in her sixty-ninth year.

The subject of this sketch was reared to manhood amid the wild scenes of frontier life in Jasper County. Newton was but a small place when he came here, and the work of progress and civilization seemed scarcely begun. He engaged in breaking prairie at an early day, and has shared in all kinds of pioneer work and in the hardships and trails of frontier life. His education was mostly acquired in the public schools of Canada, to which he had to walk a distance of nearly four miles. His life-work has been that of farming and stock raising, and in it he has met with excellent success.

November 30, 1871, Mr. Watt was united in marriage with Miss Amanda Pierce, who was born in Rock County, Wis., March 25, 1844, and is a daughter of Alfred and Julia [Kelsey] Pierce, who were natives of the Empire State and early settlers of Rock County. Eight children were born unto them, all of whom are still living, namely: Eli W., a resident of Dane County, Wis.; Mrs. Jane M. Britton, a widow, of California; Phoebe, wife of James Boynton, of California; Calvin, who is living in the same state; Julia E., wife of Robert Atchison, of Rock County, Wis.; Alfred K., of South Dakota; Mrs. Watt; and George, of Sherman Township. Of the eight children born unto our subject and his wife, six are now living: Mary E., a teacher in the public schools; Charles W., Grace M., Arthur C., Neva B., and Florence G., Minnie and George are now deceased.

Mr. and Mrs. Watt began their domestic life upon their present farm, and are now the owners of two hundred acres of richly cultivated land, which supplies them with the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. Mr. Watt served as Trustee of Sherman Township for one year, and he was Treasurer of the School Board. In politics he is a Republican. With no special advantages in his youth he has worked his way upward to a position of prominence and has won a host of friends in his adopted county.

Source:
Portrait and Biographical Record
of Jasper, Marshall and Grundy Counties, Iowa
1894
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Watt, William

A history of Jasper County would indeed be incomplete if it did not contain a sketch of the life and labors of William Watt, who died in Newton September 20, 1910, at the age of sixty-five years. To say of a man that he was of sterling worth and flawless integrity is to say much, but to add to this that he was a good son, a kind and considerate husband and father, and a man beloved by his fellow men, is to pay him a very high compliment indeed.

Yet this and more may truthfully be said of the subject of this review, for William Watt was a great soul. Upon his willing shoulders many burdens heaped themselves even early in boyhood, and the ensuing years added additional duties and responsibilities, but he met each with the same kindly smile, which at once reflected his serenity of mind as well as the understanding sympathy of his great heart.

Reared in the wilderness, his boyhood was spent close to God's great primitive handiwork and here it was, from companionship with woods and stream, meadow and flower, that he drank in that sturdiness of character and beauty of mind which stamped his later life and made his character one of exceptional sweetness. Always a proud man, he was very modest and retiring, never courting publicity and the acclaim of his fellows, but he never failed or faltered in the right as he saw it and died beloved, as few men have been.

Mr. Watt was born in Guelph, Canada, August 5, 1845, being the son of Charles Watt and Margaret (Hamilton) Watt, natives of Scotland, his parents having married in Canada. He was ten years old when he came to Jasper County with his parents, who had taken up land in the then new country, which land is still in the family. Of the hardships of these pioneers much might be said did space permit. Their first home was a small, mud plastered, log hut wherein the first bitter winter was partly spent until the kindness of a neighbor relieved their condition. The next spring a better home was built and the family set to work with a will to establish a home in the new land. But, alas, new trouble was in store for them, for three years after coming to Iowa the father, Charles Watt, of sainted memory, was drowned in what has ever since been known as Watt lake. Thus left alone in the new country, the widow and children were in a pitiable plight but William, the subject of this review, although but thirteen years of age, set resolutely to work. In such a crucible was his character moulded and tried, until at last it came forth the finest of gold, for from his efforts the foothold already gained by the family was retained and foundation pillars of one of the county's best families firmly established.

On November 30, 1871, Mr. Watt was united in marriage with Amanda A. Pierce, daughter of Alfred Pierce and Elvira (Kelsey) Pierce, natives of Wisconsin, who was his loyal wife and helpmate until May 31, 1909, when she passed away, but a short time prior to the passing of him in whose honor and remembrance this review is written. To this union were born eight children, six of whom are living: Mrs. Nelson Hammerly; Mrs. John Tiedje; Charles; Arthur, of this vicinity; Mrs. Herman McMurray, of Woodbine, Iowa: and Florence, who has kept the home for her father ever since the death of her mother.

Mr. Watt's mother died April 3, 1912, aged eighty-five years, and he is survived by three brothers and three sisters: Lawson and Charles Watt of Sherman Township; Jasper Watt, of Long Beach. California; Mrs. Jane DeWolf; Mrs. Mary Newhouse and Miss Elsie Watt.

Mr. Watt was a member of the Congregational Church, having been a member for many years and one of the best-known men in the county. About five years prior to this writing, Mr. and Mrs. Watt left the old farm and came to town, hoping to find the rest and comfort in life's sunset, which they so richly merited, and to enjoy the competence that they had won from the soil by years of labor and perseverance. They purchased the beautiful Engle flat on McDonald Street, but the divine arbiter of all things decreed otherwise. In the passing of Mr. and Mrs. Watt, Jasper County has sustained a loss, which is understood by all, but keenly appreciated by those who were fortunate enough to count them as friends and acquaintances. Thus is a good life honored. Past and Present of Jasper County Iowa B. F. Bowden & Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1912 Page 817.