Dr. Watt of Oktibbeha County, Mississippi

This is a brief follow-up to a previous post I wrote on members of the Watt family buried in Steele Creek ARP Cemetery in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Among the graves of the immediate family of the Rev. James Bell Watt was a gravestone for a Dr. William J. Watt who had died in 1857.  I didn't know the name, but wondered whether he could be the younger brother of Rev. Watt referred to in a biographical entry on one of Rev. Watt's sons.  I've since found some additional information on him and his possible relationship to the Steele Creek Watts.

In 1850, a "Doc" William J. Watt, whose age matches that of the gravestone at Steele Creek, is living in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi.  The name that follows his, Virginia, is evidently his wife, and the census indicates they have married within the year.  His birthplace is given as South Carolina, and if we'll recall, Rev. Watt was also originally from Fairfield County, South Carolina.  The 1860 census shows Virginia Watt as the head of household in Starkville, Oktibbeha County, as would indeed be the case if her husband had died in 1857!  Notice also that their oldest son is named James Bell Watt.  Their younger son John apparently died later that year.  His gravestone stating he is the son of "W. J. and V. C. Watt" is located in the ARP Cemetery in Starkville.  That same cemetery is full of Watts, Bells, and Montgomerys who came from the Fairfield District and were all kin to the Steele Creek Watts, including three of the brothers of Rev. Watt's first wife, Nancy Bell.  By 1870 Virginia Watt had married again, when her two surviving Watt children can be found in the household of her second husband, James P. Curry.  In 1880 she is a widow again, and lives with her Curry children.  Her son James B. Watt is enumerated just above her.  Her daughter Margaret Watt married Dr. Samuel A. Montgomery, a descendant of the Fairfield Montgomerys; further information on him can be found on page 450 of this book.  Virginia herself lived until 1899, and is buried in Odd Fellows Cemetery in Starkville, Mississippi.

Given the heavy presence of Fairfield County natives in the Starkville ARP congregation, particularly of those closely connected to the family of Rev. James Bell Watt, my opinion is that it is likely that "Doc" Watt who appears on the census in 1850 was also from Fairfield County.  I think it is also likely that he is the same person buried at Steele Creek and that he was the brother that Rev. Watt's son's biography referred to.  Of course, my investigation is still not complete and there are still offline sources I'll need to hunt down and check up on, but so far nothing found rules this particular relationship out.  Quite the contrary, what circumstantial facts we have would seem to support it.