John Watts (New York politician)

Statue of John Watts in the Trinity Church Cemetery in New York

John Watts was born on August 27, 1749, in New York City. He was the son of John Watts (1715–1789), a Scottish immigrant from a wealthy family, and Ann DeLancey (1723–1784), a descendant of the Schuyler family and Van Cortlandt family. His elder brother, Robert Watts (1743–1814), was married to Mary Alexander, the daughter of Lord Stirling. His younger siblings included Anne Watts (1744–1783), who was married to Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis (the parents of Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa), Susannah Watts (1749–1823), who was married to Phillip Kearney, Mary Nicoll Watts (1751–1815), who was married to Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet, Stephen Watts, who was married to Sarah Nugent, and Margaret Watts, who was married to Robert Leake.[2]

His maternal grandparents were the French born Etienne de Lancy (1663–1741), a minor member of the French nobility,[2] and Anne van Cortlandt (1676–1724), the third child of Gertrude Schuyler (b. 1654) and Stephanus van Cortlandt (1643–1700), the Chief Justice of the Province of New York.[3]

He completed preparatory studies, graduated with an A.M. degree from King's College in May 1769, and studied law.[1]

In 1774, he was appointed the Recorder of New York City under Mayor David Mathews, and was the last to serve in this role under the English Crown.[4] The role included serving as a "mayoral assistant, judge, and in sundry administrative and judicial functions."[5]

His father, a Loyalist, fled the colonies to England during the Revolutionary War. In 1779, his properties, including his "Rose Hill" estate (which is now occupied by Fordham University), were seized by the New York State Legislature. Watts and his brother Robert petitioned for the attainder to be overturned. They were unable to have it overturned but were allowed to buy back their father's properties.

In 1775, Watts married Jane Delancey (1750–1809)[9] in a double wedding, along with her sister, Susannah Delancey (1754–1837), who married Thomas Henry Barclay.[10] The sisters were daughters of Peter DeLancey (who served in the New York Provincial Assembly for many years) and Elizabeth Colden (daughter of Cadwallader Colden), and granddaughters of Stephen Delancey making them first cousins to John.[11]

Together, John and Jane were the parents of eleven children. His grandson would later write that "Watts was a monument of affliction, in that he had seen his wife, six handsome, gifted, and gallant sons, and four daughters precede him to the grave. One childless daughter survived him and three grandchildren."[5] The children included:[11]

• George Watts, a First Lt. and aide-de-camp to General Winfield Scott from 1814 to 1815.[11]
• Robert J. Watts, a captain in the 41st Infantry to whom John G. Leake left his extensive properties. Robert inherited Leake's estate but died very soon after.[5]
• John Watts III.[11]
• Ann Watts.[11]
• Susan Watts (1795–1823), who married her cousin Philip Kearny (1780–1849).[11]
• Elizabeth Watts (d. 1866),[12] who married Henry Laight.[11]
• Mary Justina Watts (1801–1821),[12] who married Frederic de Peyster (1796–1882) in 1820.[11]

John Watts died at his longtime home, 3 Broadway in New York City, on September 3, 1836. He was interred in a vault in Trinity Churchyard.[1] In 1839, his family's Rose Hill estate and manor house were purchased by the Catholic Church to establish St. John's College.[9]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Watts (politician).

• United States Congress. "John Watts (id: W000211)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.