Stirpes, Volume 34, Number 1, March 1994 Page: 64
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0TIPPIk MARCH 1QUd
be adopted. As a result, I have a very large extended family. I have one brother, three sisters,
three half-sisters, one step-sister (deceased), at least six or more brother-friends from the home
and several took girls from the home as brides. I think of Elouise Dierks and Annis Howard.
Then, after I got married in 1944, I gained even more. I took Marjorie's mother as
mine too, and have always called her Mama through the years. She has been as good to me as
anyone could be. In the marriage deal, I also gained a very good father-in-law, who was dad to
me. I got a little sister too who grew up and married as fine a brother-in-law as anyone could
wish for. I have taken Marjorie's family as my own, and they have taken me as theirs.
My Dad passed away in February of 1974.
The following is a list of my original family and their birthdates which are on file in Hardy, Ark.
(1) Sarah Elizabeth Watts, born Oct. 19, 1926, died Oct. 21, 1926.
(2) Cecil Riley Watts, born April 27, 1928. Adopted as Bobby Cecil Adams, married Jo Ann.
Father of Gary Wayne and Roger Bruce Adams.
(3) Opal Maydella Watts, born Feb. 12, 1930. Adopted as Marydel James, married Wren,
divorced. Mother of a son and two daughters.
(4) Nadine Virginia Watts, born March 1, 19832. Adopted as Wanda Lou Martindill, married
Myron Miller. Mother of Myra Lou, Diana and Dennis Keith.
(5) Lorene Ellen Watts, born March 9, 1933. Adopted as Betty Sue Hughes, second marriage to
Gene Rone. Mother of Eddie, Michael, Chuckie, Teresa and Candace.
Half-sisters:
(6) May Bell Watts, born June 14, 1938. Married London Broadway, born September 18, 1938.
Mother of Wayne and Rick.
(7) Betty, known and called Dolly Watts, born April 16, 1940. Married to Walter Arnold,
divorced. Mother of Rocky and Nickie.
(8) Mary Ella Watts, born March 16, 1942. Married Laverne Green. Mother to Mary Rebecca,
Danny, Jonathan, and David.
Step-sister:
(9) Hazel Jones, mother of five. Daughter of Mary, who was Dad's second wife. Mary passed
away in 1980. Hazel Jones is deceased.
Paternal Antecedents of Joe C. Watts
I know very little about my paternal grandfather and grandmother. I have been told that
Grandfather died from a disease, perhaps influenza, and my grandmother was struck by lightening. A
terrible thunderstorm came up and she felt safe, apparently under a true. Lightening killed her and the
horse. As a result of these untimely deaths, my Dad, Harry, and his older brother Obe were on their
own. Obe was considerably older than my Dad. These boys also had twin sisters, but I do not have dates
of their births of deaths.
My great-grandfather was Reddick Spradling, b. Aug. 18, 1836 in Hickman, Tenn., d. Nov. 9,
1876. On April 17, 1859, in Scott Co., Mo., he married Sytha E. McCord, b. Mar. 28, 1866. Their
children:
(1) William Francis, b. Aug. 31, 1861 at Thebes, Ill.
(2) Sarah Janie, b. Aug. 12, 1863, at Commerce, Mo.
(3) Sytha Elizabeth, b. March 28, 1866, at Oran Mo.
(4) Malissa Emeline, b. May 26, 1869, at Oran, Mo.
(5) Reddick Obediah, b. July 23, 1874.
The Spradlings moved to Arkansas in 1909.
My grandfather was Joe Watts, b. 1874 in Oran, Mo. Family stories say that Grandfather Joe
Watts had something to do with textiles, worked in a mill, or owned one. It also was said that an aunt64
MARCH 1994
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Texas State Genealogical Society. Stirpes, Volume 34, Number 1, March 1994, periodical, March 1994; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth39868/m1/66/?rotate=270: accessed April 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Genealogical Society.