John Watts (April 16, 1715 – August 15, 1789) was a Scottish-American businessman and landowner.

Early life

Watts was born on April 16, 1715, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was the son and fourth child born to Mary (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Nicoll) Watts (b. 1689) and Robert Watts (1678–1750), an immigrant to New York City from Scotland at the close of the 1600s. In 1715, colonial Governor Hunter appointed him to the board of the "Lords of Trade" of the city of New York. His paternal grandfather was John Watts and his family's seat was Rose Hill, then in the suburbs of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. His maternal grandparents were William Nicoll,

Speaker of the New York General Assembly The Speaker of the New York General Assembly was the highest official in the New York General Assembly, the first representative governing body in Province of New York, New York from 1683 to 1775 when the assembly disbanded after the outbreak of ...

(and son of mayor

Matthias Nicoll Matthias Nicoll (1630 – December 22, 1687), a.k.a. Nicolls, was the sixth List of mayors of New York City, mayor of New York City from 1672 to 1673. He is the patriarch of the Nicoll family, which settled and owned much of Long Island, New Yor ...

), and Anne (née Van Rensselaer) Nicoll. His grandmother was a widow of Kiliaen van Rensselaer and a daughter of

Jeremias van Rensselaer Jeremias van Rensselaer (Amsterdam, 16 May 1632 – October 12, 1674) was the third son of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, one of the founders and directors of the Dutch West India Company who was instrumental in the establishment of New Netherland a ...

, acting patroon of

Rensselaerwyck Rensselaerswyck was a Dutch colonial patroonship and later an English manor owned by the van Rensselaer family located in the present-day Capital District of New York in the United States. The estate was originally deeded by the Dutch West Ind ...

Career

Watts, one of the most prominent and wealthy landowners in the colonies and was one of the original subscribers to the

Tontine Coffee House The Tontine Coffee House was a coffeehouse in Manhattan, New York City, established in early 1793. Situated at 82 Wall Street, on the north-west corner of Water Street,Nathans, p. 133 it was built by a group of stockbrokers to serve as a meetin ...

. He served as president of His Majesty's council of New York from 1758 to 1776, and a member of the

New York General Assembly The General Assembly of New York, commonly known internationally as the New York General Assembly, and domestically simply as General Assembly, was the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the Province of New York d ...

from 1752 to 1759. It has been said that if the Revolution failed, Watts would have been the chosen

Lieutenant Governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a Constitution of New York, constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governo ...

and Acting Secretary of the Province. In 1754, he was one of the original founders and trustees of the

New York Society Library The New York Society Library (NYSL) is the oldest cultural institution in New York City. It was founded in 1754 by the New York Society as a subscription library. During the time when New York was the capital of the United States, it was the de ...

. He was also a founder and original member of the

Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York The Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York is the oldest Charitable organization, charitable institution in the state of New York (state), New York and is focused on helping Scots in the New York community with the motto Charity, Fello ...

, serving as its president from 1771 to 1772, and as the first president of the

New York City Hospital This is a list of hospitals in the five boroughs of New York City, sorted by hospital name, with addresses and brief descriptions of their formation and development. Hospital names were obtained from these sources: Hospitals * Manhattan: * The ...

in 1760. As the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

approached, Watts and his wife, both

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

s, went to Wales in 1775 where his wife died a few months later. In 1779, his properties, including his "Rose Hill" estate (which today is occupied by

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

), were seized by the New York State Legislature.

Personal life

In July 1742, Watts was married to Anne DeLancey (1723–1775), daughter of Anne (née van Cortlandt) DeLancey and Étienne de Lancy, a minor member of the French nobility. Her maternal grandparents were Geertruy Schuyler and

Stephanus van Cortlandt Stephanus van Cortlandt (May 7, 1643 – November 25, 1700) was the first native-born mayor of New York City, a position which he held from 1677 to 1678 and from 1686 to 1688. He was the patroon of Van Cortlandt Manor and was on the governor ...

, the Chief Justice of the

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

, and among her siblings was

New York Governor The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ha ...

James DeLancey James De Lancey (November 27, 1703 – July 30, 1760) was an American politician from the colonial period who served as chief justice, lieutenant governor, and acting colonial governor of the Province of New York. Early life and educatio ...

and fellow loyalist Oliver DeLancey. Together, they were the parents of: * Robert Watts (1743–1814), who married Mary Alexander, eldest daughter of

William Alexander, Lord Stirling William Alexander, also known as Lord Stirling (December 27, 1725 – January 15, 1783), was a Scottish-American major general during the American Revolutionary War. He held a claim to be the male heir to the Scottish title of Earl of Stirl ...

. * Anne Watts (1744–1783), who married

Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis Captain Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis (1720 – 30 December 1794) was a British peerage, Scottish peer who lived in the English colony of New York which became part of the United States. Early life Kennedy, who lived in New York City ...

. * Susanna Watts (1749–1823), who married Phillip Kearney (1725–1798). * John Watts (1749–1836) who became a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

, and married his cousin Jane Delancey. * Mary Nicoll Watts (1751–1815), who married

Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet Brigadier-General Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet (5 November 1741 – 4 January 1830) was an American-born military officer, politician and landowner who fought as a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War. He was the son of Sir William J ...

. * Stephen Watts, who was married to Sarah Nugent (1754–1841). * Margaret Watts (born 1753), who was married to Robert William Leake. Watts died in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

on August 15, 1789, and was buried in

St James's Church, Piccadilly St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, England. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. The churc ...

, London. After the War ended, his sons Robert and John petitioned for the attainder of their properties to be overturned, and were unsuccessful, but were allowed to buy back his properties in 1784, which included vast holdings in ships, mills, factories, banks, and investment houses.

Descendants

Through their children, the Watts became ancestors of the

Marquess of Ailsa Marquess of Ailsa, of the Isle of Ailsa in the County of Ayr, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 10 September 1831 for Archibald Kennedy, 12th Earl of Cassillis. The title Earl of Cassillis (pronounced "Cass-ell ...

in Scotland, the

Duke of Grafton Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke o ...

and the

Viscount Daventry Viscount Daventry, of Daventry in the Northamptonshire, County of Northampton, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 6 May 1943 for Muriel FitzRoy, 1st Viscountess Daventry, Muriel FitzRoy (née Douglas-Pennant), in h ...

in England. Through his daughter Susanna, he was the grandfather of Major General

Stephen Watts Kearny Stephen Watts Kearny (sometimes spelled Kearney) ( ) (August 30, 1794October 31, 1848) was one of the foremost antebellum frontier officers of the United States Army. He is remembered for his significant contributions in the Mexican–American Wa ...

(1794–1848) and great-grandfather of Gen.

Philip Kearny Philip Kearny Jr. (; June 1, 1815 – September 1, 1862) was a United States Army officer, notable for his leadership in the Mexican–American War and American Civil War. He served in Emperor of the French, French Emperor Napoleon III's Imperial ...

(1815–1862), a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer notable for his leadership in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

and

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

who was killed in action in the 1862

Battle of Chantilly The Battle of Chantilly (or Ox Hill, the Confederate name) took place on September 1, 1862, in Fairfax County, Virginia, as the concluding battle of the Northern Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's corps ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, John 18th-century American politicians 1715 births 1789 deaths Governors of the Province of New York Members of the New York General Assembly People from colonial New York Presidents of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York John Watts De Lancey family