Lake Erie ship carpenter

As mentioned, in passing, in my inaugural blog post, John B. WATTS was one of my great-great-grandfathers.

“John” was born Jean Baptiste Vauthrin, in Châtenois-les-Forges, France, in 1822. I do not know precisely when the family emigrated, but John’s younger brother, Joseph, was born in the USA in 1836. By the 1840 US Census, the family settled in Buffalo, NY.

John’s wife was Louisa Voisin. She was also from France. They married at St Louis Catholic Church (Buffalo, NY) in 1846. Their children and birth years were: George, 1846; Mary, 1848; Emily, 1848; Eugene, 1851; Joseph C., 1854; Louisa, 1857; John W., 1859; and Julia, 1864.

As he is my great-grandfather, their eighth child, “ John W.,” is of particular interest to me. It is also interesting to see the name “ Eugene Watts,” as my father was apparently the namesake of this great-uncle.

Professionally, John B. Watts was a carpenter — over the years, variously documented in census records and city directories as ‘joiner,’ ‘carpenter,’ and ‘ship carpenter.’ No success yet, but I hope to discover for whom he worked.

Great-great-granddad was also a volunteer fireman. Thanks to HeritageQuest Online, via my local library, I discovered Matt Endres *History of the Volunteer Fire Department of Buffalo, NY* (published 1906). Endres lists John Watts as member of Rescue Hook and Ladder №2-located at Washington and Huron. The company’s motto was “where danger lurks, there you will find us.” Buffalo’s volunteers had a colorful history. The plot becomes complicated. A subsequent blog mayaddress some details about Watts family involvement with the Buffalo Volunteer Fire Department.

Ellicott Street and then Hickory Street were the principle neighborhoods of John B. Watts’ Buffalo years.

John B. passed, at 56 years of age, in 1878.

Originally published at http://curiousaboutthepast.blogspot.com.