User:Mcfaddenproject/The Watson Brothers

The Watson Brothers of Philadelphia

Among the many Irish immigrants that poured into Philadelphia during the Great Famine were four brothers: Laurence, Christopher, John, and Patrick Watson. A solitary death certificate lists their parents as Michael and Elizabeth, both born in Ireland. This page was created to serve as a hub for research of the brothers and their descendants.

Proving the Relation

To this point, no record has been found that explicitly states the four men were brothers. However, the following information supports the assumption:

• John Joseph, son of John, worked in real estate with Patrick and John Joseph's will refers to Patrick's daughters Elizabeth, Mary Regina and Annie as cousins.
• Two of John's children were buried in Patrick's grave before later being re-interred.
• The address listed on the death record of Christopher's son Bernard is where John lived.
• Christopher and John both married Jacksons, who appear to be sisters.
• Laurence is buried in Patrick's grave.
• Matilda (Watson) O'Donnell, a granddaughter of Laurence, was the informant on the death record for John's daughter Annie.
• All four men had sons named Michael. By itself, this is hardly worth mentioning. But it does fit with old Irish naming conventions in which sons were named for their paternal grandfather.
• A descendant of Christopher and a descendant of Patrick have matched via autosomal DNA testing.

The Descendants of the Watson Brothers

This list extends to the fifth generation. It goes further only in the cases of people who are known to be deceased.

1. Michael and Elizabeth Watson
2. children
3. grandchildren
4. great-grandchildren
5. great-great-grandchildren

Green text indicates people who are believed to have living descendants.
Red text indicates people who are not believed to have living descendants.
Black text indicates people for which more information is needed.

1. Michael Watson m. Elizabeth

2. Laurence Watson (about 1820 in Ireland - August 9, 1862 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Catherine Payto (about 1820 in Ireland - August 19, 1901 in Philadelphia, PA)

3. Mary Elizabeth Watson (June 1, 1852 in Philadelphia, PA - March 25, 1908 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Thomas John Hughes (April 12, 1857 in Maryland - January 14, 1914 in Philadelphia, PA)

4. Thomas John Hughes Jr. (September 28, 1873 in Philadelphia, PA - September 6, 1928 in Oil City, PA) m. Annie (about 1876 - ?)

5. Katherine Hughes

5. Anna Hughes

5. Robert Hughes

4. Katherine M. Hughes (1877 in Philadelphia, PA - March 8, 1951 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Emmet Joseph Donovan (December 2, 1882 in Philadelphia, PA - ?)

5. Mary V. Donovan (August 6, 1912 in Philadelphia, PA - December 29, 1999 in Darby, PA)

4. William Joseph Hughes (June 30, 1878 in Philadelphia, PA - January 8, 1954 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Mary A. Stamford (August 13, 1877 in Philadelphia, PA - October 27, 1937 in Philadelphia, PA)

5. Frances E. Hughes

5. William Joseph Hughes Jr.

4. Margaret E. Hughes (April 1880 in Pennsylvania - July 19, 1948 in Ridley Park, PA) m. Otto Richard Trefz Jr. (August 7, 1882 in Philadelphia, PA - April 1970 in Pennsylvania)

5. Joseph Otto Trefz (January 23, 1908 in Pennsylvania - May 1965) m. Mildred Ethel McMahon (November 28, 1912 in Pittsburgh, PA - January 14, 2003 in Media, PA)

5. Mary Trefz (June 5, 1910 in Philadelphia, PA - July 19, 1920 in Philadelphia, PA)

5. Richard Vincent Trefz (February 24, 1912 in Pennsylvania - February 1, 1988 in Ridley Park, PA) m. Gertrude Geoghegan (November 21, 1910 in Philadelphia, PA - November 7, 2000 in Darby, PA)

6. Carolyn M. Trefz (December 25, 1940 in Pennsylvania - January 23, 1941 in Ridley Park, PA)

6. John C. Trefz (about 1954 in Darby, PA - June 2009 in Brookhaven, PA) m. Pamela Grey

5. Loretta V. Trefz (February 20, 1914 in Philadelphia, PA - May 15, 1999 in Kansas City, MO) m. Harold J. Dempsey

5. Edwin C. Trefz (December 26, 1916 in Pennsylvania - February 2, 1992) m. Frances M. Kearney (December 22, 1918 - November 22, 2011)

5. Alvin J. Trefz (September 22, 1918 in Pennsylvania - April 1982 in Pennsylvania)

5. Paul J. Trefz (April 25, 1921 in Pennsylvania - December 1, 1994 in Pennsylvania) m. Regina R. Thompson (January 3, 1925 in Philadelphia, PA - April 25, 2004 in Pennsylvania)

4. Anna C. Hughes (September 1883 in Pennsylvania - July 29, 1948 in Ridley Park, PA)

4. James A. Hughes (July 1885 in Philadelphia, PA - October 5, 1925 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Margaret McCullough

5. Joseph A. Hughes (March 31, 1911 in Pennsylvania - September 1973 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Catherine Byrne

6. Patricia Hughes (November 18, 1939 - May 1976) m. McGowan

5. James A. Hughes Jr. (February 23, 1912 in Pennsylvania - August 7, 1997 in Sharon Hill, PA) m. Anna Atchison

6. Barbara Ann Hughes (December 29, 1943 in Philadelphia, PA - November 4, 2005 in Brookhaven, PA) m. Griffin

5. Martin John Hughes (September 16, 1920 in Philadelphia, PA - December 3, 1993 in Ocean View, NJ)

4. Ella Hughes (1886 in Philadelphia, PA - October 3, 1890 in Philadelphia, PA)

4. Charles B. Hughes (1888 in Philadelphia, PA - March 6, 1889 in Philadelphia, PA)

4. Loretta M. Hughes (January 16, 1890 in Philadelphia, PA - September 1974 in Ridley Park, PA) m. Harry John Thomas Pfeffer (December 24, 1890 in Pennsylvania - November 1962)

5. Helen L. Pfeffer (about 1918 in Philadelphia, PA - March 28, 2004 in Exton, PA)

5. Marie Pfeffer (December 13, 1919 in Philadelphia, PA - December 15, 2009 in North Tonawanda, NY) m. Roman John Piskor (August 9, 1917 in New York - August 1981 in New York)

5. Charles Joseph Pfeffer (July 10, 1921 - June 28, 1957) m. Winifred C. Cosgrove (February 23, 1924 - May 10, 2003 in Pennsylvania)

6. Charles Joseph Pfeffer Jr. (July 3, 1951 - December 21, 2004)

5. Philip Edward Pfeffer (December 12, 1922 in Atlantic City, NJ - August 19, 1976)

5. Theresa Agnes Pfeffer (January 17, 1926 in Los Angeles, CA - September 24, 1995 in Pennsylvania) m. Henry J. Bakey (August 27, 1922 - May 11, 1988 in Pennsylvania)

5. Elizabeth Marie Pfeffer (November 13, 1927 in Atlantic City, NJ - July 26, 1995 in San Diego, CA)

5. Veronica Mary Pfeffer (June 21, 1929 in Atlantic City, NJ - April 23, 1997 in New Jersey)

5. Katherine H. Pfeffer (May 16, 1931 in New Jersey - May 22, 1976 in Pennsylvania)

5. Dorothy Pfeffer m. William J. Black

4. Unknown Hughes (July 3, 1893 in Philadelphia, PA - July 3, 1893 in Philadelphia, PA)

3. Anna C. Watson (about 1854 in Philadelphia, PA - March 18, 1893 in Camden, NJ) m. Stephen Poulterer Wert (August 1853 in Pennsylvania - ?)

4. Catherine Wert (December 29, 1881 in Philadelphia, PA - April 8, 1903 in Camden, NJ)

4. Stephen P. Wert (July 12, 1884 in Philadelphia, PA - July 8, 1892 in Camden, NJ)

4. Celestine Joseph Wert (September 13, 1888 in Philadelphia, PA - August 1975 in Camden, NJ) m. Emily C. Martin (died October 3, 1918)

5. Clifton R. Wert

5. Harold Leslie Wert (May 16, 1917 in Camden, NJ - April 5, 1990) m. Ella Virginia McLaren

6. Emily Virginia Wert (July 31, 1943 in Pleasantville, NJ - July 2, 2006 in Texas) m. Millard Sloan

4. George Edwin Wert (November 21, 1892 in Camden, NJ - April 27, 1893 in Philadelphia, PA)

3. Michael Lawrence Watson (November 14, 1856 in Philadelphia, PA - November 9, 1928 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Ellen G.

4. Ellen G. Watson (November 1888 in Pennsylvania - ?) m. Edward Traynor

4. Lawrence Michael Watson (June 19, 1890 in Pennsylvania - August 15, 1970 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Mary Reilly

5. Marie Veronica Watson (June 25, 1915 in Philadelphia, PA - October 10, 1999)

5. Regina Dolores Watson (August 18, 1917 in Pennsylvania - May 3, 2000 in Lansdowne, PA) m. John A. McLaren (October 23, 1914 in Pennsylvania - May 23, 1993 in Levittown, PA)

5. Francis L. Watson (1920 in Pennsylvania - July 26, 1942 in Cabanatuan, Philippines)

5. Thomas Joseph Watson (October 2, 1921 in Philadelphia, PA - December 17, 2001 in Philadelphia, PA)

4. Mary Watson (about 1891 in Philadelphia, PA - October 22, 1896 in Philadelphia, PA)

4. Annie Watson (December 1892 in Pennsylvania - ?)

4. Christina Watson (March 1893 in Pennsylvania - ?)

4. Matilda Veronica Watson (August 14, 1896 in Philadelphia, PA - September 20, 1958 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Daniel John O'Donnell (July 21, 1893 in Philadelphia, PA - August 1969 in Folsom, PA)

5. Daniel John O'Donnell Jr. (March 12, 1918 in Philadelphia, PA - April 1980 in Folsom, PA) m. Anna M. Jacobs

5. Mary Veronica O'Donnell (January 1, 1920 in Philadelphia, PA - February 14, 2001) m. Francis St. Clair

5. Lawrence O'Donnell

5. Robert O'Donnell m. Mary Elisabeth Dalsey

4. William Watson (April 1899 in Philadelphia, PA - June 26, 1899 in Philadelphia, PA)

4. Francis Watson (April 1899 in Philadelphia, PA - June 20, 1899 in Philadelphia, PA)

4. Michael Watson (1901 in Philadelphia, PA - September 28, 1901 in Philadelphia, PA)

4. Catherine Watson (1902 in Philadelphia, PA - October 5, 1902 in Philadelphia, PA)

2. Christopher Watson (about 1825 in Ireland - December 23, 1871 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Ellen Jackson (about 1825 in Ireland - July 26, 1884 in Philadelphia, PA)

3. Michael Watson (March 21, 1850 in Philadelphia, PA - October 23, 1911 in Philadelphia, PA)

3. Christopher Watson (1854 in Philadelphia, PA - February 3, 1857 in Philadelphia, PA)

3. Edward Laurence Watson (May 16, 1856 in Philadelphia, PA - May 17, 1932 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Johanna C. Burns

4. Edward Laurence Watson Jr. (November 25, 1876 in Philadelphia, PA - December 19, 1955 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Ella V. Durney

5. Edward Laurence Watson III (November 8, 1905 in Philadelphia, PA - March 31, 1906 in Philadelphia, PA)

5. Joseph V. Watson

5. Francis E. Watson

5. Teresa M. Watson (September 16, 1910 in Philadelphia, PA - January 8, 2009 in Pennsylvania) m. David D. Walls

6. David E. Walls (April 23, 1935 in Pennsylvania - February 21, 2009 in Pennsylvania)

6. Teresa Walls (June 15, 1938 in Pennsylvania - 1995) m. Frederick Soulas

7. Tracey Soulas (about 1960 - 1988)

7. Timothy Patrick Soulas (August 11, 1966 in Pennsylvania - September 11, 2001 in New York, NY)

4. Catherine Agnes Watson (October 17, 1881 in Philadelphia, PA - September 16, 1947 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Daniel Joseph McGarrigan

5. Daniel Joseph McGarrigan Jr. (November 19, 1906 in Philadelphia, PA - May 21, 1995)

5. Edward L. McGarrigan (February 20, 1908 in Philadelphia, PA - ?)

5. Catherine McGarrigan

5. Helen McGarrigan

5. Maria Rita McGarrigan (February 22, 1918 in Philadelphia, PA - September 10, 1989) m. Richard "Dick Thomas" Goldhahn (September 4, 1915 - November 22, 2003)

4. Bernard Joseph Watson (July 4, 1884 in Philadelphia, PA - ?) m. Elizabeth Evans

5. Catherine Elizabeth Watson (May 4, 1907 in Philadelphia, PA - March 10, 1909 in Philadelphia, PA)

5. Edward Watson

5. Bernard Watson (about 1913 in Philadelphia, PA - August 30, 1916 in Philadelphia, PA)

5. Loretta Watson

5. Catherine Watson

5. Elizabeth Watson

4. Helen M. Watson (September 18, 1889 in Philadelphia, PA - December 17, 1940 in Philadelphia, PA) m. William Francis Guyon (October 19, 1888 in Philadelphia, PA - ?)

5. William Francis Guyon Jr. (February 1, 1916 in Philadelphia, PA - February 12, 1999 in Philadelphia, PA)

5. Edward Lawrence Guyon (March 11, 1920 in Philadelphia, PA - ?) m. Madeleine C. Richardson

5. Joseph A. Guyon (July 10, 1923 in Philadelphia, PA - ?) m. Beatrice Ciocca

5. Helen Marie Guyon (March 4, 1926 in Philadelphia, PA - March 6, 1926 in Philadelphia, PA)

4. Henry Joseph Watson (November 4, 1892 in Philadelphia, PA - May 28, 1953 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Anna Marie Morris

5. Henry Joseph Watson Jr. (September 4, 1915 in Pennsylvania - September 2, 2006 in Glen Mills, PA) m. Mary Rita Keenan (died 2003)

6. Michael Watson (died 1999)

5. Joseph Francis Watson (November 9, 1919 in Philadelphia, PA - August 26, 1979 in Pennsylvania) m. Mary Regina Burke

6. Kathryn Marie Watson (August 13, 1954 in Pennsylvania - October 8, 1994 in Pennsylvania) m. Borkosky

6. Joseph F. Watson (April 15, 1958 - June 26, 1984)

5. John Patrick Watson (February 11, 1925 in Philadelphia, PA - November 12, 2003 in Pennsylvania)

5. Donald F. Watson

5. Anna Marie "Nancy" Watson (March 23, 1931 in Philadelphia, PA - August 14, 2012) m. James J. Fondots

3. Alexander Watson (about 1856 in Philadelphia, PA - January 22, 1906 in Philadelphia, PA) m.?

3. George Watson (about 1858 in Philadelphia, PA - ?)

3. Ellen Watson (about 1860 in Philadelphia, PA - December 27, 1871 in Philadelphia, PA)

3. Catherine Watson (about 1862 in Philadelphia, PA - ?)

3. Bernard Watson (1863 in Philadelphia, PA - September 24, 1863 in Philadelphia, PA)

2. John Watson (about 1830 in Ireland - June 30, 1861 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Sarah Jackson (about 1835 in Ireland - January 15, 1909 in Philadelphia, PA)

3. Annie Watson (about 1855 in Philadelphia, PA - June 26, 1927 in Philadelphia, PA)

3. Elizabeth J. Watson (about 1857 in Philadelphia, PA - March 23, 1890 in Philadelphia, PA)

3. John Joseph Watson (about 1858 in Philadelphia, PA - January 3, 1912 in Philadelphia, PA)

3. Michael Watson (1860 in Philadelphia, PA - July 4, 1861 in Philadelphia, PA)

2. Patrick Watson (about 1830 in Ireland - November 18, 1907 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Margaret Jane Maguire (about 1830 in Derry, Ireland - May 31, 1881 in Philadelphia, PA)

3. Rosanna C. Watson (about 1857 - ?)

3. Elizabeth Watson (November 6, 1858 in Philadelphia, PA - April 1, 1932 in Philadelphia, PA)

3. Mary Regina Watson (December 13, 1859 in Philadelphia, PA - September 25, 1942 in Norristown, PA) m. Francis Patrick Bergin (November 27, 1859 in Philadelphia, PA - July 2, 1893 in Philadelphia, PA)

4. Francis Ignatius "Frank" Bergin (May 30, 1886 in Philadelphia, PA - November 11, 1936) m. Theresa Brunning (March 17, 1886 in Pennsylvania - November 1978 in Philadelphia, PA)

4. Leo A. Bergin (September 21, 1887 in Philadelphia, PA - May 26, 1938 in Philadelphia, PA)

4. John Eugene Bergin (September 10, 1889 in Philadelphia, PA - December 26, 1945 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Isabella Agnes Burke (July 3, 1891 in Philadelphia, PA - August 12, 1967 in Philadelphia, PA)

5. Isabelle A Bergin (December 21, 1914 in Philadelphia, PA - November 7, 2007 in Pennsylvania) m. Philip J. Kyle (January 19, 1910 in Philadelphia, PA - August 30, 1980 in Philadelphia, PA)

6. Richard Joseph Kyle (August 4, 1941 in Philadelphia, PA - April 17, 2002 in Hartfield, VT) m. Jane H. Memory

5. John Eugene Bergin Jr. (March 24, 1916 in Philadelphia, PA - February 2, 1977 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Helen Margaret Wesley (October 21, 1923 in Brooklyn, NY - October 17, 1981 in Union City, CA)

5. Elizabeth Catherine Bergin (May 3, 1917 in Philadelphia, PA - July 3, 2008 in Norwood, PA) m. William Newton Lester (1914-1964)

5. Dorothy Mary Bergin (September 27, 1918 in Philadelphia, PA - July 2, 1998 in Philadelphia, PA)

5. Annette Bergin (September 9, 1920 in Philadelphia, PA - May 31, 2005 in Philadelphia, PA) m. William A. Fischer (died October 26, 1968 in Philadelphia, PA)

5. Francis Ignatius Bergin (October 4, 1925 in Philadelphia, PA - January 26, 2000 in Yeadon, PA) m. Regina M. Carabine (died February 2, 2012 in Pennsylvania)

6. Mary Ann Bergin

6. Michael L. Bergin (September 1, 1955 in Pennsylvania - May 15, 2007 in West Chester, PA)

6. Joseph E. Bergin (December 29, 1964 - January 23, 1991 in Florida)

6. James Andrew Bergin (December 29, 1964 in Philadelphia, PA - November 21, 2004 in Pennsylvania)

5. Leo Bergin

4. Aloysius Joseph Bergin (April 14, 1892 in Philadelphia, PA - August 26, 1957 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Mary Josephine Lindsey (March 25, 1889 in Philadelphia, PA - August 5, 1977 in Philadelphia, PA)

5. Mary J. Bergin (June 28, 1914 in Philadelphia, PA - January 20, 1918 in Philadelphia, PA)

5. Margaret R. Bergin (May 31, 1916 in Philadelphia, PA - March 4, 2010 in Pennsylvania) m. William E. Diehl (December 14, 1917 - March 7, 2001 in Pennsylvania)

5. Regina M. Bergin (May 31, 1916 in Philadelphia, PA - August 27, 1988 in Pennsylvania) m. Owen Vincent McCabe (January 25, 1917 in Philadelphia, PA - August 1, 1979 in Pennsylvania)

5. Aloysius Joseph Bergin Jr. (August 3, 1918 in Philadelphia, PA - September 25, 1994 in Abington, PA) m. Katherine Marie Phillips (February 25, 1918 - April 6, 2010 in Warminster, PA)

6. William P. Bergin (April 13, 1943 - May 20, 2015)

5. Elizabeth Anne Bergin m. Charles Augustus Joseph Halpin Jr. (January 19, 1921 in Philadelphia, PA - November 15, 2009 in Warminster, PA)

5. Anne Elizabeth Bergin m. Robert Edward Lee (April 2, 1918 in Philadelphia, PA - December 12, 1980 in Pennsylvania)

6. David Lee (1953 - June 1953)

3. Michael Watson (about 1861 in Philadelphia, PA - June 6, 1865 in Philadelphia, PA)

3. Thomas J. Watson (June 1862 in Philadelphia, PA - July 31, 1900 in Philadelphia, PA) m. Mabel Grover

3. Margaret Jane Watson (about 1864 in Philadelphia, PA - July 26, 1865 in Philadelphia, PA)

3. Anna Theresa Watson (August 15, 1865 in Philadelphia, PA - May 23, 1932 in Pennsylvania) m. John Joseph Longworth (October 1861 in New Jersey - ?)

4. John Joseph Longworth Jr. (October 9, 1892 in Philadelphia, PA - November 1964) m. Pauline J. Paradis

5. Maria Rose Longworth (July 31, 1937 in Pennsylvania - February 23, 1985 in California) m. Robert Theodore Kostello

4. Raymond John Longworth (January 6, 1894 in Pennsylvania - December 1, 1939) m. Mary Lucilla Scott (September 25, 1895 in New York - September 1986 in Lansdale, PA)

5. Raymond John Longworth Jr. (March 20, 1920 in Pennsylvania - April 15, 1966 in Havertown, PA)

5. John J. Longworth

5. George Adam Longworth (June 23, 1925 in Philadelphia, PA - September 1982)

5. Gerald Raymond Longworth m. Virginia Fadigan

3. Margaret Veronica Watson (about 1868 in Pennsylvania - September 19, 1939 in Melrose Park, PA) m. John Joseph Henderson (May 17, 1866 in Philadelphia, PA - February 17, 1941 in Lower Merion, PA)

4. Margaret Henderson (January 13, 1892 in Philadelphia, PA - December 6, 1894 in Philadelphia, PA)

4. Sophie Henderson (December 14, 1893 in Philadelphia, PA - April 20, 1961 in Philadelphia, PA) m. William T. Connor (June 22, 1883 in Philadelphia, PA - ?)

4. Joseph Aloysius Henderson (January 4, 1895 in Philadelphia, PA - ?)

4. John Sailer Henderson (October 17, 1896 in Philadelphia, PA - July 4, 1940) m. Regina Fitzpatrick

5. John Joseph Henderson (October 24, 1924 in Philadelphia, PA - March 17, 2001 in Vashun, WA)

5. Margaret Veronica Henderson (August 18, 1926 in Philadelphia, PA - July 23, 1992 in Philadelphia, PA)

5. Jean Gorey Henderson (October 12, 1928 in Philadelphia, PA - May 12, 2007 in Brunswick, ME) m. Howard W. Stoudt

4. George H Henderson (January 27, 1898 in Philadelphia, PA - August 20, 1933 in Melrose Park, PA) m. Sallie