Alexander and Nathan Watkins Families from Walpole As It Was and As It Is (1880)

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Surname: WATKINS
Source: Walpole As It Was and As It Is by George Aldrich, 
        The Claremont Manufacturing Co., Claremont, N.H., 1880, pages 374-378

WATKINS, ALEXANDER, came to this town from Pomfret, Conn., about 1777-8, and settled first 
on the Stephen Johnson place; but soon after purchased the place where Benjamin E. Webster now 
resides, of Samuel Parker, Antipas Harrington and one McLaughlin. He built the house now standing on 
the place, and lived there till the time of his death, which occurred in 1824, aged 68. He was a lame 
man and a tailor by trade, and worked in a shop that stood near the present highway, a short distance 
from his house. The latter part of his life, he kept a public house, which was the resort of a class who 
wanted a merry time. His house was also the resort, at noon, of those who attended church at the old 
meeting-house near by, for the purpose of warming up. He had by his wife, whose maiden name was 
Hannah Ruggles, eight children, seven sons and one daughter.
I. Ruggles, b. Jan. 11, 1782; m. Sarah, dau. of Thomas and Elizabeth (Boynton) Nichols. He lived 
on the old homestead, and was a stirring, active businessman, in various pursuits through life. 
For many years he was deputy sheriff. He d. June 27, 1839; she d. Jan. 6, 1866. Ch., 1st, 
Lyman, b. Sep. 14, 1807--was a carpenter by trade, and a much esteemed citizen. He m. 
Abigail, dau. of Jonathan and Catherine (Dorr) Livingston; d. Sep. 4, 1861. 2d, Sumner, b. 
Sep. 12, 1809: d. Apr. 1, 1820. 3d, William, b. Feb. 6, 1813; m. Susan Royce and had a 
family of 7 ch., 4 of whom are now living, viz. (1) Mary Ann, m. Lucius B. Wright. (2) 
Frederick, m. Mary Ball. (3) Warren F., m. Nellie Davis. (4) Jennie, m. Charles Chickering. 
William jr., d. Dec. 2, 1866, aged 20, and two d. in infancy. 4th, Henry Jackson, b. Feb 10, 
1815; m. first, Nov. 10, 1842, Emeline, dau. of Luke Thurston, and had two children that 
survived, Albert and Emily. His second wife was Mary French, of Westminster, Vt. 5th, 
Andrew, b. Oct. 18, 1816, went West. 6th, Sarah Nichols, b. Sep. 5, 1819; m. Otis B. Arms, 
of Bellows Falls, Vt., Aug. 16, 1842. 7th, Stella, b. Nov. 28, 1822; m. George W. Graves 
(See Ap.) 8th, Alexander Sumner, b. Dec. 5, 1824; m. first, Helen, dau. of Jonathan 
Livingstone, second, Martha E. Wells, of Westminster, Vt. Ch. one dau. 9th, Thos. Foster, b. 
Sep.9, 1826; m. Martha W. Taft, of Putney, Vt.--issue 8 ch.
II. George, b. Jan. 28, 1784; m. Rebecca, dau. of John Wier. He always lived in town and 
pursued the occupation of a butcher. He d. May 13, 1851; she d. Oct. 29, 1864. Ch. 1st, 
George Dana, b. Feb. 1, 1817; m. Sabra A. Stevens, of Plainfield, N.H. He resides in Troy, 
N.Y., where, by industry and economy, he has accumulated a competency and become one of 
the solid men of the city. He has three children. 2d, Harriet Rebecca, b. June 22, 1822; m. 
Christian B. Locke, of Richmod, Va., Dec. 11, 1843--one child living, Gustavus. 3d, Frances 
A., b. Nov. 9, 1828: m. May 12, 1863, Asa H. Carpenter. 4th, Mary, b. Nov. 4, 1827, m. 
Silas M. Bates, d. Nov. 29, 1858.
III. Alexander jr., b. May 5, 1786; m. Mary Sherman. He lived in town, had a large family of 
children, many of whom, and their descendants, are living in town at the present time. (1879.) 
Ch. 1st, Sherman, b. Oct. 3, 1809; m. Harriet, dau. of Nathan Smith, and had two sons and 
two daughters. (1) Isabella, m.-- Lamphere. (2) Mary, m. John Farr, of Westminster, Vt. (3) 
Martin, m. Louisa Pierce. (4) Lewis. 2d, George, b. Mar. 15, 1811, m. Emeline, dau. of Isaac 
Jennings, and had 6 children, most of whom are living in town. (See Ap.) 3d, Mary Ann, b. 
Dec. 3, 1812; m. Frederick Kilburn. (See Kilburn.) 4th, Adeliza, b. Dec. 13, 1814; m. Alonzo 
Jennings. (See Jennings.) 6th, Ephraim Alexander, b. Jan. 10, 1817; m. Harriet M., dau. of 
Stephen Tiffany. 6th, Wm. Cook, b. May 15, 1819; m. Maria L. Onstine. 7th, Frederick, b. 
July 2, 1821; m. Sarah A., dau. of Stephen Tiffany. 8th, Harriet Maria, b. June 28, 1823; m. 
Thomas Beal. 9th, Luke Thurston, b. Oct. 14, 1825; d. 1828. 10th, Frances Caroline, b. Nov. 
13, 1828, m. Nathaniel Adams 11th, Hiram, b. March 20, 1830; m. first, Louisa B. Onstine: 
second, Mary J., dau. of George Bundy. 12th, Rebecca, b. Apr. 30, 1834; d. unm.
IV. Ralph, b. July 28, 1788; m. Hannah Quimby. Ch. 1st, George, b. Apr. 30, 1811. 2d, Andrew, 
b. Mar. 16, 1813. 3d, Foster, b. Aug 19, 1815. 4th, Martha Eleanor, b. Oct. 16, 1816; m. 
Wm. J. Shipman, of Westminster, Vt., had 1 ch. 5th, Moses Q., b. Mar. 13, 1820; m. Mary A. 
Spaulding. 6th, Holland B., b. July 16, 1821; m. Mary Tuttle, 3 ch. 7th, Roxana Quimby, b. 
July 27, 1823; m. Sep. 18, 1841, Azro B. Bishop. 8th, Mary Jannette, b. Sep. 26, 1826; d. 
Sep. 19, 1836, of tetanus. 9th, Nancy, m. George Fairbanks and has 1 ch. 10th, Hannah, m. 
Charles Towns of Bellows Falls and has one son, Charles.
V. Nancy, b. Mar. 13. 1791; m. Holland Burt. (See Burt.)
VI. Charles, b. Aug. 7, 1793, m. Amy Sherman, and purchased the old Kittredge homestead, 
where he lived till he died. He vas a successful farmer, making sheep husbandry a specialty. Ch. 
1st, Marietta Louisa, b. Apr. 19, 1821; m. Oliver Hall. 2d, Oliver Hazzard Perry, b. Aug. 5, 
1822; m. Mary P. dau. of William and Naomi (Moore) Arnold. 3d, Alfred, b. Sep. 3, 1825; m. 
Isabella Leonard. 4th, Clarissa, b. Nov. 4, 1827; m. Alonzo Jennings. 5th, Charles Edmund, b. 
Dec. 10, 1829; m. Frances Church. 6th, Sophia, b. Sep. 16, 1831; m. Daniel Gilbert. 7th, 
Helen, b. May 22, 1833; d. 1869. 8th, Amy Elnora, b. Aug. 12, 1837; m. Henry F. Lawrence. 
The descendants of Charles are mostly living in town and their ages will be found in the 
Appendix.
VII. Alfred, b. Sep. 7, 1798. He studied medicine with Dr. Ebenezer Morse, of this town, 
and, in 1816, went to Troy, N.Y. where he completed his studies and practiced his profession 
during life. He became eminent in his profession and a man of affluence and influence in the city 
of Troy, being at one time its mayor. For some reason he changed the spelling of his name from 
Watkins to Wotkyns which has been followed by some other members of the family. He m., for 
his first wife, Mary Augusta Williams, by whom he had three children; by his second wife, 
Elizabeth Braley, he had five.
VIII. Hiram, b. Sep. 27, 1801. He studied the medical profession with Daniel Gilbert of this 
town, and completed his studies with his brother Alfred, in Troy, N Y., about 1828; after which 
he commenced practice in the city and continued till 1858, when he returned to the Mecca of 
his early days to spend his declining years with his kinsfolk and old townsmen. He is the only 
one of the family now living, and although born in 1801, time has been generous with him, as his 
carriage and appearance do not indicate the frosts of more than three score winters. He married 
Sarah Dauchy, of Troy, by whom he has one daughter, Helen.
A large majority of the family of Alexander Watkins, and their descendants have lived, and are still living 
in town, being generally thrifty, well disposed and energetic citizens.

WATKINS, NATHAN, came very early to this town, but, at precisely what time is unknown. He was 
a boatman on the Mohawk river, in his younger days, and on his way home to Ashford, Ct., he stopped 
over night with Col. Benjamin Bellows. He was a black-smith by trade, and the colonel, seeing the need 
of skilled workmen of all trades, in forming a new settlement, persuaded Watkins to make trial of a 
settlement in towed: but after a few days he became homesick, and, unbeknown to the colonel, started 
for Connecticut. Mr. Bellows, missing him, mounted his horse, followed, and overtook him in 
Westmoreland, and offered him such inducements that Mr. Watkins was persuaded to return. He 
settled on the place now owned by the Kingsbury brothers, and built himself a shop on the south side of 
Kingsbury hill. At that time he was about thirty years old, but whether married or not is not known. He 
brought the apple-trees now standing on the Kingsbury place, a little south of their residence, from 
Connecticut, on a hors’s back and set them out there, more than a century ago. The ancestors of this 
branch of the Watkins family were from Wales and Scotland, and their descendants settled in New 
England and Virginia, and can be traced back to 1513. Nathan was born in 1732, and died in Walpole, 
Oct. 6, 1805; his wife, whose maiden name was Esther Lyons, was born in 1756, and died Jan. 4, 
1824. He had eight children: 
I. Chloe, m. Daniel Dennison, Feb.-28, 1781. (See Dennison;)
II. Polly.
III. Rhoda, m. Aaron Hodskins, June 16, 1791. (See Hodskins)
IV. Elizabeth, m. Horace Floyd.
V. Allen, m. Patty, dau. of Manoah Drury, Sep. 10, 1797. He used to boast, as his mother was a 
Lyon, that he had Lion’s blood in him, which gave him the sobriquet of "Tiger" Allen. Certainly, 
one needed some brave blood in his veins, to lead to the altar a girl who could fling a barrel of 
cider into a cart with as much apparent ease as an ordinary woman can pick up her lap-dog. He 
had two sons, Gardner and Mason; and two daughters, Fanny and Sally.
VI. Edward, m. Keturah, dau. of Daniel Dennison, Oct. 3,1786. Ch. lst, Royal, b. Oct. 1, 1788; m. 
a Carpenter, from Swanzey. Ch. (1) Freeman C., m. in Michigan, where he went early in life, 
and is still living there, in the town of Norvell, a man of influence and affluence. (2) Elvira. (3) 
Ruth; and one or two more born in Michigan. 2d, Miriam, b. Mar. 7, 1781; m. John Dennison, 
Nov. 18, 1806. 3d, Ira, b. Apr. 19, 1793. 4th, Alpheus, b. May 29, 1797. 5th, Charlotte, b. 
July 21, 1769; m. Levi Leonard. Tradition says that Edward Watkins possessed great physical 
energy; a strong native intellect, and some literary taste. He accumulated quite a respectable 
library of books agreeable to his taste; such as various works on Theology and History. Royal, 
his son, inherited his rigor and tenacity of life. He died in 1876, aged 86.
VII. James, never married: he died at the house of his sister, Mrs. Aaron Hodskins.
VIII. William, m. Olive Shattuck, Feb. 4, 1774, and had fourteen children. The death of two 
had been mentioned heretofore, in the narrative portion of this work, and six died in infancy. 
Those that survived were, 1st, William, m. Hannah Hodskins, and had five or more children, 
and went west. 2d, Elizabeth, m. Dean Ray, Dec. 23,1825, and had five ch., 2 girls and 3 boys: 
3 children survive. 3d, Ira, married at the west. 4th, Philinda, m. Alpheus Clark, and had five 
girls and one son. 5th, Nathan m. Harriet Carpenter, of Swanzey. 6th, Harriet, m. William T. 
Ramsey. Mrs. Dean Ray is the only descendant of this family now living in town, bearing the 
Watkins name.