From Proud Heritage, Volume I by DCPA, currently out of print.
It was in the spring of 1868 that William Ardrey Watson packed a few of his personal belongings and set out by horseback to make a place for himself in Dallas County, Texas. He was a young boy of only fourteen years, leaving his family on their farm near Peru, Kansas. He would never see his parents again. He had been born when the family lived on a farm near Shellsburg, Iowa. He was the namesake of his father who had come to the New World from Bally Gawley, Northern Ireland. His mother Jane Clark had come from Ireland, too, and had met her husband in Salem, New Jersey, where they were married. Life had been hard for the Watson family on the plains of Kansas. It was not unusual at that time for a son to leave home and seek his fortune elsewhere.
It was a long trip by horseback from Peru, Kansas, to Dallas County, Texas. Will had to travel through the Indian Territory of Oklahoma. There was very little money for him to carry with him. He would stop to hunt and fish for food to give him sustenance for his journey.
He worked as a farm hand in North Texas, doing such odd jobs as would be required of him. He found work on the William Caruth plantation, and it was through this job that he met, fell in love with, and married a cousin of Mrs. William Caruth. Mary Elizabeth Spilman was the daughter of Elijah Spilman, a school teacher who had come to Texas from Kentucky at the same time as the Caruth family. His wife was Mary Anderson Spilman, a native Alabama girl, brought up in the southern tradition of gracious charm.
Will and Mary built their first home near Pleasant Grove: a log cabin with a breezeway, or “dog run,” between the two primary sections. It was beautifully furnished with gifts from the Spilman and Caruth families. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by fire soon after the couple moved in. Other sad events followed in the deaths of three of the babies born to them.
In 1888 they moved to what was to become the Watson family homeplace, a tract of land between Richardson and Dallas, located on what it now Greenville Avenue. Will and Mary worked hard, lived frugally, and finally amassed more than a section of land. Four of their children lived to adulthood: Wilbert, Robert Clifford, Mary Naomi, and Martha. In 1901 Mary died giving birth to baby Samuel, who also died. Will’s sister, Ella, and Mary’s father came to live in the family home to help rear the children.
The Watson farm was a showplace of agriculture and the breeding of fine animals. Will educated his two daughters at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. His two sons attended business school in Dallas and helped him to run the farm. Wilbert married Stella Huffhines and reared a family of four chil dren on the homeplace. Robert Clifford served in the Merchant Marines during World War I prior to his marriage to Hattie May Flook of Garland.
Mary Naomi and her husband, M. H. Blewett, lived in the family home after Will’s death in 1924. She retained ownership of her portion of “the homeplace” until it was sold after her death in 1978. Two grandchildren still own portions of the original Watson section of land, but most of the farm has been transposed into apartments, businesses, and commercial developments.
Surviving descendants of William Ardrey Watson who are now living in Dallas County or who have investments in Dallas County are: Chester W. Watson and May Beth Watson Smith, both grandchildren. Great grandchildren include: Jeanine Kuhlken, Cynthia Smith Rogers, Dr. Gary J. Smith, Robert A. Smith, John Mcilvain, Chester Mcilvain, Martha Presley, Sally Bell, Mary Bell, Janet Whitley, Bill Watson, Ray Watson, Bob Watson, and John Watson.
By Mrs. Joseph Smith, Garland
