I recently heard from Tom Carter of Westlaco, Texas. Tom is a descendent of Abraham Wiley Hill through his daughter Mary Parks Hill who married Dr. John Watson.  They had three children, the second being Tom’s great grandfather…Lee Wiley Watson. Lee Wiley Watson married Laura Stephens from Missouri and they had one son, Robert Lee Watson. Lee and Laura traveled by covered wagon to Silver City, New Mexico.  Lee Watson had a degree in mining from Texas A&M.  Laura cooked meals for the miners and did their laundry.  From Silver City they moved to Bisbee , Arizona and then to Douglas , Arizona.

For Tom, I am posting the information I have from Eva’s memoirs on the Watsons.

Eva writes that in the spring of 1873, her Papa and Mama (Augustus and Elizabeth Holmes) moved back to Hills Prairie after the death of Mr. Holmes in Louisiana.

“In this home besides Grandpa and Grandma, there were Aunt Mary Watson, Papa’s oldest sister with her three children, Cousin Eva, Lee, and Bob. Although she had a fine farm of several hundred acres and a very nice home, she had come back to Grandpa’s to live when her husband, Dr. John Watson had died. Mr. Ollie Watson, her brother in law was also living there and teaching at the Hills Prairie School. “

What followed was a description of the house I have posted elsewhere.

“My Aunt Mary made a great deal over me, and I loved her very much. I remember how proud I was of a little dress she made me, embroidered, low neck and butterfly sleeves. I remember little things from that time.  A Mr. Vaughn was trying to come see here and she would run to her room and hide until he was gone.”

“In January (I think 1876) Aunt Mary Watson had a spell of something like ‘flu’ but she was much better. As it was such a lovely, warm, spring-like day, she was sitting up awhile. Some had remarked that the weather was much too warm and balmy for this time of year  , that it was a “weather header”.  In the late afternoon the wind began to blow in puffs and veer from one direction to another. The north turned dark blue and before they could pull the windows down, the “blue norther” arrived and brought freezing with it’s first breaths. Aunt Mary soon complained of a pain in her chest and side. Papa gaver something to try to ease her and Uncle Ripley went for Dr. Sayers. He came and all was done that they knew to do  but she died that night, as so many die these days after pneumonia and flu.  I remember that Uncle Ripley’s mustache had frozen and his ears were frost bitten from that ride facing the north wind. I remember the strange and terrible mystery of death in the house and Grandpa’s grief. She was his oldest and best loved daughter. She had graduated from the College in Marietta, Georgia and married Dr. Watson soon after she returned home. I was a little over three when she died. I remember Grandpa sitting holding me and sister Emma in his lap and of being lifted up to kiss her cold cheek and tell her goodbye. She was laid under the big tree beside her husband where I had often gone to put flowers on his grave. Cousin Eva did not come home for her mother’s funeral. It was a long way from Texas to Virginia in those days, and she and Cousin Mary spent the vacations with  her Watson relatives in South Carolina, and attended  the College for another year.

“The Watson boys, Lee and Bob, Charlie McGehee, Tom Price and Bennett Hubbard went to A&M College. I can remember how fine those boys looked in their Confederate Grey Uniforms with gold brad and gold buttons and black stripes down their trouser legs.”

“Grandpa had always intended for Papa to have the home place. He had given the three other children farms of several hundred acres each. But it seemed that it had to be home for the Watson children as both parents were now gone.  So he gave Papa a little place up on the creek.”