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| The Oath of Catharine A. Watts, Natural Tutrix - 21 August 1867 |
These documents were a part of the ten-page succession of James C. Watts. The record was requested and received from the County Clerk's office in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
This transcription was added to my Rootsweb Freepages website in 2005. Ancestry, who now owns Rootsweb, is retiring the pages in 2024. When and if they are returned, the pages will be static and I will not be able to make changes or additions. I am adding them to this blog along with new information and photos.
Tutorship
Similar to a guardian, a tutor is a person appointed or qualified by a court to act as guardian of a minor’s property. In every tutorship, there is an under-tutor who shall act when the tutor is unable or whenever the interest of the minor is in opposition to the interest of the tutor. These terms appear to be unique to the laws of Louisiana.
James C. Watts and Catharine A. Bryan
James C. Watts, the husband of Catharine Amanda Bryan, was the son of Richard I. Watts and his wife, Sarah. James served as a hospital nurse in the Bienville Blues - Company C of the 9th Louisiana Infantry during the Civil War. Although there were statements in his compiled service record telling that James was discharged in 1862 as he was over 35 years of age, his record clearly showed that he was serving in Virginia in 1863. And a Pierson family letter states that he was wounded in Virginia in 1864. James died in 1867. His burial place is unknown.
Note that Catharine spelled her name with an "a" following the "h." In many documents, her name was spelled as Catherine; however, Catharine's signature on the above document and also on her father's succession records indicate that she used the less common spelling Catharine.
Tutorship of the Minor Children of James C. Watts
PART 1 - FRONT AND BACK
Transcribed by Diana Bryan Quinn, May 28, 2005.
Tutorship of the minor children of James C. WATTS desc
Letters
Original
Filed August 21st 1867
J. G. NOLES Clerk DC
The State of Louisiana
Parish of Bienville 11th District Court
Whereas, Catharine A. WATTS has been appointed and confirmed by the District Court, in and for said parish, Natural Tutrix of the minor children of James C. WATTS late of said parish and State, deceased; and taken oath as described by law.
Now, therefore, the said Catharine A. WATTS is hereby fully authorised and empowered to do and perform all and singular the duties incumbent on him by law in said capacity.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of my office, this 21st day of August A.D. 1867.
[signed] John G. NOLES Clerk, DC
PART 2 - FRONT AND BACK
Tutorship of the minor children Jas C. WATTS
Oath of Catharine A. WATTS
Natural Tutrix
Filed August 21st 1867
J. G. NOLES Clerk DC
The State of Louisiana
Parish of Bienville
I , the undersigned, Catharine A. WATTS, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me by law as Natural Tutrix of Edmund Bryan, Alice Elizabeth, Sarah Catharine and Martha Caldwell WATTS minor children of James C. WATTS late of said state and parish deceased according to the best of my knowledge and ability - SO HELP ME GOD.
Sworn to and subscribed on this the 21st day of August A.D. 1867
before me, [signed] John G. NOLES Clerk Dist Court [signed] Catharine A. WATTS
PART 3 - FRONT AND BACK
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| James Bryan was a half-brother to Catharine Amanda Bryan Watts. Born in North Carolina, he was the oldest son of Reddick Bryan and his first wife. James was married to Alice Mary Wimberly. |
Oath of James BRYAN
Under Tutor
Filed August 21st 1867
J. G. NOLES Clerk DC
The State of Louisiana
Parish of Bienville
I , the undersigned, James BRYAN, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me by law as under tutor of Edmund Bryan, Alice Elizabeth, Sarah Catharine and Martha Caldwell WATTS minor children of James C. WATTS late of the aforesaid state and parish deceas
according to the best of my knowledge and ability - SO HELP ME GOD
Sworn to and subscribed on this the 21st day of August A.D. 1867
before me, [signed] John G. NOLES Clerk Dist Court [signed] James BRYAN
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Children of James C. Watts and Catharine A. Bryan
Edmund B. Watts, also seen spelled Edmond, was the son of James C. Watts and Catharine Amanda Bryan. He was born on 7 February 1853 and, in 1870, married Martha Elizabeth "Lizzie" Wimberly, daughter of John Lawson Wimberly and Sophanny Ann Frances Nix. It was said that Edmund died of pneumonia at the age of thirty-three, leaving six children and one not yet born: Frances Amanda Watts, James C. Watts, Sarah Catherine Watts, Lucy Watts, John Lawson Watts, Harriet E. Watts, and Eddie Bryan Watts. Edmund and Martha Elizabeth are buried in the Wimberly Cemetery in Bienville Parish.
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| Martha Elizabeth "Lizzie" Wimberly, wife of Edmund Watts and their three youngest children: Harriet Elizabeth Watts, John Lawson Watts, and Eddie Bryan Watts. |
Alice Elizabeth Watts was born in about 1859. The first daughter of James C. Watts and Catharine Amanda Bryan, she married Green H. Huckabay Jr and remained in Northwest Louisiana. They are known to have children Amanda D., Joe, Denson, Fannie, John L., Lizzie, and Bryant. Alice Elizabeth and her husband are buried in Old Castor Cemetery in Bienville Parish.
Sarah Catherine Watts was the daughter of James C. Watts and Catharine Amanda Bryan. I am not certain about the spelling of her name as I have seen it as Sarah spelled also as Sara and her middle name spelled as Catharine, Catherine and Katherine. In a letter dated 1914, written by her cousin, Sallie Hammett, Sarah was referred to as "Kate Stewart." On the 1870 census, she was Sara Watts, age 10, living with the family of her Aunt, Georgia Ann Frances Bryan Pitman Wimberly, in Bienville Parish. Also listed nearby were her future husband, Elastus Stewart, and his family. Children of Sarah and Elastus were James Pitman, Sarah Elizabeth "Lizzie," Thomas E., Alice Corinne, John Hiser, Martha "Mattie Lou," and Mary Lou. Sarah died in Arcadia, Bienville Parish, in 1932 and is buried in the Arcadia Cemetery.
Martha Caldwell Watts, also seen as "Mattie" was the youngest child of James C. Watts and Catharine Amanda Bryan. She was born 18 February 1866. Martha married Jeffrey Tolbert and they are known to have children Mary Alice, Marian, Joseph Earl "Dodie," Leon H., Hugh Leroy, Burdette, Earnest, Irene, and Allen Watts. Martha died on 8 December 1934 and is buried with her husband in the Bethany Cumberland Presbyterian Cemetery in Natchitoches Parish.
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Diana
Diana Quinn, #1 Diana's Bryan-Quinn Family, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/45260559?cfpid=6334928766: accessed 6 November 2023).
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11775574/alice-elizabeth-huckabay: accessed 06 November 2023), memorial page for Alice Elizabeth Watts Huckabay (May 1859–17 Feb 1942), Find a Grave Memorial ID 11775574, citing Old Castor Cemetery, Castor, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, USA; Maintained by Roy Bates (contributor 46805299).
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/115012781/martha-caldwell-tolbert: accessed 06 November 2023), memorial page for Martha Caldwell “Mattie” Watts Tolbert (18 Feb 1866–8 Dec 1934), Find a Grave Memorial ID 115012781, citing Bethany Cumberland Presbyterian Cemetery, Fairview Alpha, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, USA; Maintained by A Footstep In Time (contributor 47345816).
James Bryan photograph, n.d.; digital image, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016.
"Kinship Navigator - Tutorship," Department of Children & Family Services (https://www.dcfs.louisiana.gov/page/690 : accessed 3 November 2023).
"Louisiana, U.S., Compiled Marriage Index, 1718-1925," database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/528550:7837?: 4 November 2023), Amanda C. Watts to G. B. Thomas, 7 Jan 1873, Red River, Louisiana.
Martha Elizabeth Wimberly Watts and three children, photograph, n.d., scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of Betty Crain, 2003.
"Obituary for Sarah Katherlne STEWART (Aged 73)" Newspapers.com. The Times, March 13, 1932. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-obituary-for-sarah-katherlne-s/42367689/.
pamnorth1996, Pam Huckaby North Family Tree 2, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/14340025?cfpid=92757394&dtid=100: accessed 6 November 2023).
"Researching Bryan, Hairston, Criswell, Davis, Glynn, Giddens, Murray, Driscoll, Staubach, and Quinn," Membership List for the Liberty Chapel 1875 and a Letter from Marguerite Cook Clark to Eugene Ragan Pruitt.
(https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~bryanquinn/genealogy/Bryan-WillsdeedsobitLA-LibertyChapel.htm : accessed 2 November 2023).
"Researching Bryan, Hairston, Criswell, Davis, Glynn, Giddens, Murray, Driscoll, Staubach, and Quinn," Tutorship of the Minor Children of James C. Watts
(https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~bryanquinn/genealogy/Bryan-WillsdeedsobitLA-Watts-Tutorship.htm : accessed 2 October 2023).
Richard McCutcheon, McCutcheon Family Tree, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/117093337/person/332083572057/facts: accessed 6 November 2023).
Signatures found on the "Partition of Slaves" in the Succession of Reddick Bryan, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, 1 August 1864; digital image, copied from the privately held collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos and documents were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016.
Thomas W. Cutrer and T. Michael Parish, Brothers in Gray, The Civil War Letters of the Pierson Family (Louisiana State University Press, 1997), p. 240.
Tutorship of the minor children of Jas C. WATTS found in the Succession of James C. Watts, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, 21 August 1867, copies received from the Bienville Parish clerk's office in 2005, now in the private collection of Diana Quinn, 2023.
"UNDER-TUTOR Definition & Legal Meaning," The Law Dictionary (https://thelawdictionary.org/under-tutor/ : accessed 3 November 2023).
"United States Census, 1870", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8Q5-61P : Tue Oct 03 17:45:24 UTC 2023), Entry for E F Wimberly and Georgia Wimberly, 1870.
Vera Meeks Wimberly, Wimberly Family History, Ancestors, Relatives, and Descendants of William Wimberly, Pioneer from Georgia to Louisiana 1837 (Houston Texas: D. Anderson, 1979), 132-133.
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