My Genealogy Hound

JOSEPH NEWTON WATTERS, gardener, Dixmont, was born Aug. 1, 1849, in Pittsburgh, Pa., son of Joseph and Harriet (Eyston) Watters. (See sketch of W. E. Watters for parents.) He received his education on the island and at Clinton. He was married, in 1876, to Emma P. Fleeson, daughter of Thomas P. and Elizabeth M. (McCuer) Fleeson. Her mother was a daughter of Mr. McCuer, of Pittsburgh, who was clerk of the court. Her father was a gardener, and a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church. He died, July 28, 1888, aged seventy years. Mrs. Watters’ grandfather was Reese E. Fleeson, and his wife was Matilda Craig, sister of Neville B. Craig. He was a southern banker, and when he came to Neville island he brought his slaves with him. Mrs. Watters’ great-grandfather, Thomas Plunckett, was a Presbyterian minister in Ireland, and fled with his family to this country at the time of the religious persecution, and at that time changed the name to Fleeson. He was a descendant of Lord Plunckett, of Ireland. Her father’s brother, Reese E. Fleeson, was editor of the Pittsburgh Dispatch. Her mother resides with T. P. Fleeson, of Hite’s Station, Pa. Her maternal grandparents were William F. and Margaret (Ferguson) McCuer, of Westmoreland county, Pa., and of Scotch descent; her great-grandfather was Joseph Bartlett, who was scalped by the Indians. Her father’s uncle, Eugene Fleeson, was in the Mexican war and the rebellion, dying in Libby prison. Her great-uncle, Charles Carroll, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Her sister, Miss Kate Neville Fleeson, is a Presbyterian missionary to Siam. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Watters: Margaret Virginia, John Barnard, Harriet Elizabeth, Joseph Wilson and Carroll Stanley Crossen. Mr. Watters is now vegetable-inspector of Pittsburgh. He is a republican and a member of the I. O. O. F.