Timothy Watrous 1785-1818
2010
Timothy Watrous is the oldest known ancestor in our Watrous line. He was born about 1785 in Connecticut and died in 1818 in Muskingum County, Ohio. He migrated to Ohio in the company of many others. They all bought land or received “bounty lands” for their service in The American Revolution. It appears that ancestor Timothy simply bought land or was eligible to buy it because his father had served. Just a surmise. Timothy bought 180 acres of prime Ohio River Valley land for $2 an acre. After only a few months, Timothy unexpectedly died. We don’t know how or why.
His first marriage had been to Mabel Rowley. She was the daughter of Jesse Rowley and his wife Bathsheba. Mabel and Timothy became the parents of two sons named William and Samuel. Mabel Rowley Watrous died. Our ancestor Timothy married his deceased wife’s sister Mary Rowley. She migrated to Ohio as Timothy’s wife in the company of her nephews who also became her step-children. Two months after the death of Timothy Watrous, his wife Mary Rowley Watrous gave birth to a son. He is our direct ancestor. His name is Jerome Timothy Watrous.
Timothy was the first person buried in the newly formed township. The History of Muskingum County Ohio tells us that he was buried “where the Walker tannery once stood” but “was taken up and moved to the Waters graveyard in section 10, Monroe Township”.
Today, this land is owned by a mining company. The place of the graveyard is likely still there, but since none of the graves were ever marked it has not been found and there is no record of who is buried there. The search for the parents and siblings of Timothy Watrous has occupied our thoughts and efforts for ten years. We have turned over every stone and feel no closer to finding his origins today than we did when we started.
The migration of Timothy Watrous
Connecticut to Ohio