Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Watts Collection, documents 241-255


Checklist of documents in the Watts Collection at the Historical Society of Western Virginia, Roanoke, Virginia. To consult these documents, go to http://www.vahistorymuseum.org/ and click on “Visit HMWV's Virtual Collection!” The documents can be found by a keyword search, or by catalog number using “Click and Search”.

Except for the first two items, which relate to a legal matter in 1873 that had been raised in the previous set, the 15 documents in this group are closely related. Two of them concern a bond given by William Watts in 1873 to his brother-in-law William Joseph Robertson, which was paid by William’s son John Allen Watts in 1890. The source of the money was the sale of Oaklands, which will be documented in forthcoming series. The remaining documents in this set are stock certificates for shares, owned by John Allen Watts or others in his family, in companies that were established in Roanoke in the 1880s and 1890s. These were boom years, following the decision to locate in Roanoke the junction of the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad with the Shenandoah Valley Railroad. The company was renamed the Norfolk and Western Railroad, and it led the way in developing new industries and new residential areas in the city.


doc #
date
abstract

1998.26.241
March 22, 1873
Deed from James Humphries and Eliza Jane Lore, his wife, to William Watts, trustee for John Dabney's widow Lavinia Langhorne and their children, regarding the sale to Watts of a piece of property in Big Lick (Roanoke), Virginia, which he had previously sold to Humphries and Humphries sold to Charles Elisha Pobst, who has apparently not paid his bonds; the land adjoins tracts of land belonging to Watts, Robert B. Moorman and Clack R. Campbell, and was originally bought from John A. Sowers; includes acknowledgment of signature by Humphries and admission to record of the deed in Roanoke County

1998.26.242
March 22, 1873
Agreement between William Watts, John Dabney and Lavinia Dabney, his wife, George Plater Tayloe, and James Humphries, regarding the water grist mill and land in Montgomery County, Virginia, held in trust by Watts to insure payment of John Dabney's debt, which is to be sold to Humphries without a public auction; Humphries is paying with bonds from Charles Elisha Pobst, issued in payment for a house and lot in Old Lick, Roanoke County, Virginia, and from John A. Sowers, issued in payment for the Company Mills in Roanoke County, with a modification regarding the signing of bonds and deeds of conveyance; document incomplete, begins in 1998.26.235

1998.26.243
November 22, 1873 to July 19, 1890
Bond from William Watts to his brother-in-law William Joseph Robertson for a loan of $6500, with receipts for partial payments by his son John Allen Watts, administrator, in 1881, 1886, 1887 and 1889, and final payment in full in 1890



$6500  On demand, for money this day borrowed, I promise to pay to William J. Robertson, the sum of six thousand five hundred dollars, with interest thereon, from this date, payable annually at the rate of eight per centum, per annum, until paid. As witness my hand and seal this 22d day of November in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy three. Wm Watts {seal}
[vertically in the left margin] Received this 19th July 1890, from J. Allen Watts, administrator c.t.a. of William Watts deceased, six thousand nine hundred and thirty nine dollars, being balance in full due on this bond. Wm J. Robertson

            c.t.a.: an administrator c.t.a. (cum testamento annexo, Latin for "with the will annexed") is appointed by the court where the testator had made an incomplete will without naming any executors or had named incapable persons, or where the executors named refuse to act.
            William Watts (1817-1877) had borrowed from his brother-in-law William Joseph Robertson (1817-1898) in 1873. Robertson was a distinguished lawyer living in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he taught law at the University of Virginia. In 1863 he married as his second wife Alice Matilda Watts. Through her, he became owner of a part of the original Oaklands.
            John Allen Watts (1855-1904), the only child of William Watts, attended school in Charlottesville, and later the University of Virginia Law School; he then practiced law in Roanoke, Virginia, in partnership with sons of William Joseph Robertson. At about the time of the settlement of this debt, J. Allen Watts sold the plantation to the Oaklands Improvement Company, and moved into the city.

1998.26.244
July 19, 1890
Account statement of a bond from William Watts to his brother-in-law William Joseph Robertson for a loan of $6500, showing partial payments by his son John Allen Watts, administrator, in 1881, 1886, 1887 and 1889, and final payment in full in 1890

1998.26.245
August 30, 1887
Stock certificate (#77) issued by Pocahontas Coal Company for 1 share, issued to John Allen Watts on August 30, 1887. The certificate is notarized, and signed by the company president, whose signature is illegible (probably S. W. Jamison), and A. J. Demphill, Secretary.


 The Pocahontas Coal Company was formed in 1881 by E. W. Clark & Company, owner of the newly created Norfolk & Western Railroad, to develop coal mines in the northern tip of Tazewell County, Virginia. A company town was built and named Pocahontas.

1998.26.246
September 30, 1890
Stock certificate (#56) issued by Roanoke Iron Company for 5 shares, issued to John Allen Watts on September 30, 1890. The certificate is notarized, and signed by the company president, Joseph H. Sands, and Olin Beall, Secretary. "Par Value of One Hundred Dollars Each"


The Roanoke Iron Company was one of many industries that opened in Roanoke, Virginia, in the 1880s, attracted by the railroad.

1998.26.247
September 30, 1890
Stock certificate (#53) issued by Roanoke Iron Company for 5 shares, issued to John Allen Watts on September 30, 1890. The certificate is notarized, and signed by the company president, Joseph H. Sands, and Olin Beall, Secretary. "Par Value of One Hundred Dollars Each"

 1998.26.248
August 25, 1890
Stock certificate (#39) issued by The Virginia Land Company for 50 shares, issued to John Allen Watts on September 30, 1890, on payment of five hundred dollars, the first installment of ten percent upon his subscription to fifty shares. The certificate is notarized, and signed by the company president, John Allen Watts, and E. A. Moomaw, Secretary. "Par Value of One Hundred Dollars Each"


 The Virginia Land Company was one of many real estate companies created in Roanoke, Virginia, in the 1880s, to take advantage of the economic boom created by the railroad.

1998.26.249
October 25, 1890
Stock certificate (#184) issued by Roanoke Development Company for 10 shares, issued to John Allen Watts on October 25, 1890, on payment of one hundred dollars, being ten percent of his subscription to ten shares, with a second payment of $100 recorded on the back December 15, 1890. The certificate is notarized, and signed by the company vice president, S. W. Jamison, and W. S. McClanahan, Secretary. "Par Value of One Hundred Dollars Each"
 

 The Roanoke Development Company was one of many real estate companies created in Roanoke, Virginia, in the 1880s, to take advantage of the economic boom created by the railroad.

1998.26.250
February 25, 1891
Stock certificate (#36) issued by The Mountain View Land Company for 10 shares, issued to Mrs. Mary (Lee) Chandler on February 25, 1891. The certificate is notarized, and signed by the company president, Charles G. Eddy, and William F. Winch, Secretary. "Authorized Capital, $35,000. Shares $100 Each"


 The Mountain View Land Company was one of many real estate companies created in Roanoke, Virginia, in the 1880s, to take advantage of the economic boom created by the railroad. It was originally headed by Robert H. Woodrum. This certificate is in the name of Mrs. Mary Lee Chandler, née Mary Marsh Criss, mother-in-law of John Allen Watts; after her first husband's death, she remarried to Rev. Charles N. Chandler.

 1998.26.251
February 25, 1891
Stock certificate (#37) issued by The Mountain View Land Company for 10 shares, issued to Mrs. John Allen Watts on February 25, 1891. The certificate is notarized, and signed by the company president, Charles G. Eddy, and William F. Winch, Secretary. "Authorized Capital, $35,000. Shares $100 Each"

1998.26.252
May 2, 1887
Stock certificate (#138) issued by Roanoke Rolling Mill Company for 4 shares, issued to John Allen Watts on May 2, 1887. The certificate is notarized, and signed by the company president, Samuel Bryson Haupt, and N. D. Maher, Secretary. "Capital Stock $90,000"


 The Roanoke Rolling Mill Company was one of many industries that opened in Roanoke, Virginia, in the 1880s, attracted by the railroad.

1998.26.253
January 26, 1891
Stock certificate (#3) issued by Shenandoah Investment Company for 10 shares, issued to John Allen Watts on January 26, 1891, for ten dollars, the first installment of 10 percent upon subscription to ten shares. The certificate is notarized, and signed by the company president, C. J. Stevens, and F. M. Truslow, Secretary

1998.26.254
January 26, 1891
Stock certificate (#4) issued by Shenandoah Investment Company for 10 shares, issued to Mrs. Gertrude (Lee) Watts on January 26, 1891, for ten dollars, the first installment of 10 percent upon subscription to ten shares. The certificate is notarized, and signed by the company president, C. J. Stevens, and F. M. Truslow, Secretary


The Shenandoah Investment Company was one of many real estate companies created in Roanoke, Virginia, in the 1880s, to take advantage of the economic boom created by the railroad. Gertrude (Lee) Watts was the wife of John Allen Watts.

1998.26.255
June 20, 1872
Stock certificate (#602) issued by Atlantic Mississippi and Ohio Rail Road Company for four shares, issued to George Watson Carr trustee for Emma Gilmer Carr on June 20, 1872. The certificate is notarized, and signed by the company president, William Mahone, and James E. Cuthbert, Treasurer



            The Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Rail Road Company was created 1870 by the consolidation of Virginia’s three major railways: the Norfolk & Petersburg, the Southside, and the Virginia & Tennessee; the new line, run by William Mahoney, defaulted on loans in the 1873 depression and was placed in receivership in 1875. It was bought in 1881 by Enoch W. Clark & Co., the Philadelphia investment company that owned the still incomplete Shenandoah Valley Railroad. Clark renamed it the Norfolk & Western Railroad and selected the location for the junction of the two lines at Big Lick. This decision quickly led to Big Lick’s incorporation as Roanoke, and to several decades of very rapid growth.
            George Watson Carr (1822-1899) married in 1860 Emma Gilmer Watts (1835-1872), a daughter of Edward Watts; they had five children, ages 2 to 11 in 1872. Emma was deceased at the time this certificate was issued, and Carr made the investment as trustee for her estate.

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