My Family Tree

John Henry Watts was born on May 24 1863 in Cascumpec, PEI, the son of George James Watts and Mary Ann Smith. This is the date given on his baptismal record. John Henry himself said he was born in 1866 or 1865 on most census records, and his gravestone said May 24 1861. His father was a tailor who had emigrated from England.

His mother Mary Anne died in 1871 when he was about 8 years old, and it is possible that his father had died before that date. His youngest brother Frederick died 10 years later. I couldn't find John Henry in the 1881 census, although his younger brother Joseph, age 16, was working for a farmer, William Simmonds, in Lot 2. Maps from this time show that the Smith and Simmonds farms were next to each other on the Western Road, so Joseph could have been taken in by neighbours. However, Simmonds was married to Jane Catherine Smith, Mary Anne's sister. John Henry could have been brought up in any of the Smith households, and probably by the age of 18 he had gone to find work.

The next mention of John Henry was in 1891, when he appeared in Clinton, working on the Humphrey farm as a hired man. He may have come to this area of the Island looking for relatives or other family contacts on his mother's side of the family. For instance, Thomas Simmons, who had been married to another Smith sister, had moved to Lot 20 by 1881.

After working on the Humphrey farm for at least 10 years, John Henry married Janie Humphrey in Summerside, PEI in 1903. They were both in their early forties. They had two children, Bertha Jane (1904) and William Charles (1906). John Henry expanded the farm, and also worked as a blacksmith. In 1921 they were living in Margate: John, a farmer, age 56; Janey 53; Bertha, 17 and William, age 15. On census records, John Henry said that both of his parents had been born in England.

From a 1935 voter's list, we know he had moved to Charlottetown/St. Avards to live with his son William and daughter-in-law Mildred. He died there later that year at the age of 72. On his death certificate, filled out by his son Will, his father's name was given as James Watts from England and Mary Jane Smith, born PEI. William had his father's age right, 73 years.

John Henry and Ellen Jane were buried in Margate, near Janie's adopted parents.

1935 - Kensington Notes: "The recent death at Charlottetown of John Henry Watts, aged 74... Deceased formerly belonged to Margate. His wife predeceased him... There are left to mourn one son, William, at Charlottetown, and one daughter, Bertha, Mrs. Leslie Mann, Kensington." (from PEI Ancestry website)

Name John Henry Watts
Age 73
Residence St. Avards
Date of Death 18 November 1935
Entry Number 1045
Source RG19/s2/ss6: Death registration books, 1935

John Watts
Charles Humphrey married Agnes Fyfe.
John Watts, 1861-1935, originally came from western P.E.I. land took over the management of the Charles Humphrey farm which is situated east of the Bruce Clark farm. He married Charles Humphrey's daughter Janie, 1862-1928. They had two children: Bertha, 1904-1970 and William.
Bertha married Leslie Mann, Kensington. They had six children. William married Mildred Wood. They lived for a short time in Margate and then moved to the Charlottetown area.
John Watts purchased the farm from Lewis Wickett on the Woodside Road and lived in the home on this farm, managing both this and the Humphrey farm. The buildings on this farm were demolished in the first half of the twentieth century.
Arthur Heaney, although he never lived on this James Woodside property, farmed it for a few years.
from the History of Clinton