![]() My great-grandparents, James Milton Watson and Agnes Pearl Keeling, were married at Howe, Grayson, Texas on 23 Aug 1898 [1]. James was 25 and Agnes was 19. The photo shown here is a copy (made in the early 1960s) of their wedding portrait. Consistent with their wedding date, the bride and groom are both wearing styles typical of the late 1890s. Agnes has on a white, high-necked, floor-length gown. The photo is slightly overexposed, making it difficult to see details of the dress, but there appear to be ruffles on the bodice as well as on the slightly puffed sleeves. James is wearing a patterned jacket with a vest and trousers. His white shirt has a wing collar and he appears to be wearing a light-colored bow tie. I wish I had asked my grandma more questions about her parents. For example, I don’t know how they met. Family stories say that James moved to Grayson County, Texas from Anderson County, South Carolina sometime after his father died in 1893 [2]. His sister and her husband had moved to Grayson County a few years earlier. Agnes moved to Texas from Arkansas with her parents about 1885 [3]. I believe both families were living near Howe in the late 1890s. Did they meet at church? At a social event? Were they introduced by friends? Sadly, I may never know. James and Agnes had six children, including a set of twins. In the early 1910s, they moved to Hopkins County, Texas [4]. A few years later, they moved “out west” to Lockney in Floyd County, Texas [5]. James and Agnes were married for 51 years before James passed away on 13 Jan 1950 [6]. Agnes died 21 Sep 1963 [7]. [1] Grayson County, Texas, Marriage Certificates, J. M. Watson and Agness [sic] Keeling.
[2] Anderson Intelligencer, Library of Congress, 5 Apr 1893, p. 3 [3] Denton Record-Chronicle, 22 Feb 1944, p. 1 [4] Ancestry.com, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Record for Maurine Watson Thompson. [5] Ancestry.com, U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Registration State: Texas; Registration County: Floyd; Roll: 1953357. Record for Jim Milton Watson. [6] Watson Family Bible [7] Texas Death Certificates, Record for Agnes Pearl Watson
8 Comments
A lovely picture. There are good photo restoration companies available that should be able to bring out the details in her dress for you. I had it down with a couple of my pictures. I was very pleased with the results. Welcome to the Geneabloggers Family.
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Teresa Shippy
4/14/2016 01:22:35 pm
Thank you! I will have to check into that. It would be nice to be able to see her dress better.
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Sandy Kelly
5/8/2019 01:09:42 pm
Thank you for the information. Can you reply who your grandparents were! Mine was zoel Watson!! My Aunt Geneice Grant is living in Grayson county now and trying to find more information on her Grandparents James and Agnes. Any help would be great!
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Cody Kelly
11/16/2017 05:52:23 pm
That's my great great grandparents through Zoel Watson would love to know more about them!!
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Teresa Shippy
11/16/2017 09:12:19 pm
Hi Cody, I'm glad to connect with a cousin! I'll send you an email, so we can share information.
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Don Richmond
3/2/2018 08:01:45 am
Beautiful picture. My great grandparents. . .thru Zoel and Opal, and my mother, Iris Sybol (Watson) Richmond. Would love a copy of photo. My mother told me of many stories about Grandma Watson's cooking. Grandad Watson (Zoel) had a tape of her telling us great grandkids around 61 or 62 that she could still ride a bucking Broncos.
Teresa Shippy
3/2/2018 09:56:47 am
Thanks for sharing your memories of Grandma Watson, Don! I'll email a full-size scan of the photo.
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Amanda Clark
8/31/2018 10:13:23 pm
Hi! I am attempting to locate the heirs of Maurine Watson Thompson, one of the twins. Would you be if any help?
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Teresa ShippyTeresa is the the owner of KinSeeker Genealogy Services. She has a Ph.D. in Biology and a lifelong fascination with genealogy. She been researching her own family history for over 20 years and loves helping others "find their stories." Archives
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