Waters Family Genealogical History Part 1
Origin of the Waters Family. — First Settlement of Virginia. — Historical.
“Footprints on the sands of time.” ~ LongfellowThe Waters name is one more common and the family much more numerous in America than any one who had not given the subject thought or study would imagine.Persons bearing this name are to be found living in every State and territory of the American Union. Waters emigrants from Great Britain settled at an early date in the English colonies of both Jamestown and Plymouth. In every instance the families of these Waters claim descent from ancestor emigrants from some part of the British possessions. They are found to have lived for some centuries,before the settlement of this country by Europeans, in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Family names came with the Norman conquest of England in A. D. 1066. Previously Englishmen had no surnames, and when for convenience another was needed, they were called by their occupations, estates, places of birth or from some personal peculiarity.
The origin of the Waters name has not been ascertained, and no fanciful theories or conjectures have been indulged in attempts to account for it. The family is not of the nobility, and had so little connection with affairs of the government that no mention of any of the name is to be found in any general history of the mother country. The name was not always spelled as at present, but varied as prompted by the idiosyncrasy or learning of the individual, like the quaint mode of spelling English words at an early period; and in England the name was spelled Wartyr, Warter, Watter and Waters, in public documents and records.
In “Gleanings from English Records,^’ by Henry P. Waters, published by the Essex Institute, from a note to an abstract of the will of Robert Watter, we condense the following reference to him:
Robert Watter of Crundal, an eminent merchant of York, was twice lord mayor thereof, viz., 1591, 1603. He entertained King James VI. of Scotland when he was on his way to London in 1603 to be crowned King of England. He was knighted by the king. He was said to be descended from Richard Wartyr, merchant in York, sheriff in 1431, lord mayor in 1436 and 1451, and member of Parliament in 1434. Richard Wartyr had a brother William Wartyr, who was prior of Water, County York, in 1424, and a brother Francis or Nicholas Warter, a vicar of St. Mary^s, York, in 1429. Abstracts of wills of others of the family follow, in which are recited bequests of real and personal estate, indicating that the testators were of the class of landed gentry. Knights were armed horse-soldiers or cavaliers, who had received their weapons and titles in a solemn manner. Only the wealthy and noble could, as a rule, afford the expense of a horse and armor, and chivalry or knighthood came in time to be closely connected with the idea of aristocracy. It was the custom for each knight to wear on his helmet a device called a “crest” also to have one called a coat of arms. This served to distinguish him. from others, and was of practical use not only to the followers of a great lord, who thus knew him at a glance, but it served in time of battle to prevent the confusion of friend and foe. Eventually these coats of arms became hereditary, and the descent and to some extent the history of a family can be traced by them. (Montgomery’s History of England.)
Waters of Virginia Coat of Arms
Arms: Sa. on a fess wavy argent between three swans of the second two bars wavy azure.
Crest: A demi-talbot argent, holding in the mouth an arrow gu.
Motto: “Toujours Fidele”, (Always Faithful).
In the same works are described three others, viz.Waters of Saman, Carmarthen, a demi-griffin, arg. Honor fietas.
Waters — Ireland, an eagle rising regardent — ppr — spiro spero.
Waters, of New Castle, County Limerick, Ireland, a demi-heraldic tiger per pale indented argent, and azure, holding a branch of three red roses slipped, ppr.
The one first above described and shown in frontispiece is that of the American Waters of New England and of Virginia and Maryland.
It is not proposed to write a history of the European family, nor to include within the scope of this work the genealogies of the New England and Maryland branches. The history of the New England and Maryland Waters has been written, and for the first time that of the Virginia-Carolina family is here attempted.
FIRST SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA,
Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in America, and as that settlement was the cradle of nativity in America of the Southern branches of the Waters family, some brief account of the early history of that settlement, its people and their characteristics, is not out of place here, but necessary to understand many events with which the lives of the ancestors of this Virginia family were intimately connected.
On the 10th of April, 1606, a charter was issued under the royal seal of King James I. of England to a company formed by Gates, Somers and others, granting to them those territories in America lying on the seacoast between the thirty-fourth and the forty-fifth degrees north latitude. The petitioners by their own desire were divided into companies : one consisting of certain knights, gentlemen, merchants and other adventurers of the city of London, elsewhere called the London Company or First Colony, and was required to settle between the thirty-fourth and forty-first degrees of north latitude; the other, composed of similar classes of Bristol, Exeter and other places in the west of England, was called the Second Colony and ordered to settle between the thirty-eighth and forty-fifth degrees of north latitude. The intermediate region was open to both companies. At that time the whole country between the French settlements on the north and the Spanish settlements in the south was named Virginia, after Queen Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen of England. The patent also empowered the companies to transport to the colonies as many English subjects as should be willing to accompany them, who with their descendants were to retain the same liberties as if they had remained in England.
Having procured their charter, the patentees proceeded to fit out a squadron of three small vessels, the largest not exceeding one hundred tons burden, bearing one hundred men destined to remain.
This squadron was placed under the command of Captain Newport, and sailed from England on the 19th of December, 1606. Captain Newport pursued the old track by the way of the Canaries and the West Indies, and as he turned north he was carried by storm beyond Roanoke, whither he had been ordered, into Chesapeake Bay. Having discovered and named Cape Henry and Cape Charles, in honor of the king’s sons, he sailed up the noble bay. All the company were filled with admiration of its extent, the fertility of its shores, and the magnificent features of the surrounding scenery.
They soon entered the Powhatan River, which in honor of the king was called James River. About fifty miles above the mouth of this river a location for the colony was selected, which they called Jamestown, in honor of their king. A landing was effected on the 13th of May, 1607, a few huts were erected and a small fort built as a defense against the natives. After a month, Newport set sail for England, and then the difficulties of the colonist began to be apparent. Their provisions were spoiled, and the climate was found uncongenial to European constitutions. During the summer nearly every man was sick, and before autumn over half of their number died, and the colony would have been deserted had not Captain Smith, at the peril of his life, prevented. In this critical condition of affairs Newport returned from England with a reinforcement of one hundred men, a supply of provisions and implements of husbandry.
Thus far the hopes of the company in England had been disappointed, and in order to increase their funds, numbers and privileges, they petitioned for a new charter, which was granted on the 23d of May, 1609. The territory of the colony was extended from Point Comfort two hundred miles north and south along the coast and across the continent from sea to sea, including all islands within one hundred miles of the coast of both seas. The company was enlarged at the time the charter was granted by the addition of some of the first nobility and gentry, most of the companies in London, and a great number of merchants and tradesmen. A fleet of nine vessels and five hundred emigrants were sent out in June, 1609, under the new charter, commanded by Captain Newport, who, with Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Somers, was empowered to supersede the existing administration and govern the colony till the arrival of Lord Delaware.
About the middle of July the ships, then passing the West Indies, were overtaken and scattered by a storm. One small vessel was wrecked and another, having on board the commissioners, a great portion of the provisions and one hundred and fifty men, was driven ashore on one of the Bermuda Islands, where the crew remained until April of the following year. The other seven ships came safely to Jamestown. The affairs of the colony, which in the spring was so prosperous as to indicate stability and growth, with the beginning of winter was face to face with starvation. In consequence of a severe wound Captain Smith in September had returned to England. Captain Percy was left in command and the most trying period in the history of the colony began, long remembered as the “starving time.” By the last of March, 1610, only sixty persons remained alive, and these, if help had not come speedily, could hardly have lived a fortnight. Meanwhile, Sir Thomas Gates and his companions, who had been shipwrecked in the Bermudas, had constructed out of the material of their old ship, with such additional timber as they could cut from the forest, two small vessels, and set sail for Virginia, where they arrived in time to save the famishing settlers from starvation.
The colonists had now fully determined to abandon forever a place which promised them nothing but disaster and death. In pursuance of their purpose they buried their guns and cannons, and on the 8th of June Jamestown was abandoned.
As they drew near the mouth of the river the pinnace of the escaping colonists met the ships of Lord Delaware, with a reinforcement of emigrants and abundant supplies of provisions. They immediately returned to Jamestown, and were prevailed upon to remain. On June 10, 1610, the colonists began life anew with renewed hope.
In the following year the number of the colonists increased to seven hundred and several new settlements were located up the James River. But the colony did not become firmly established until 1619. At that time the colony was in a flourishing condition and in the enjoyment of civil liberty, free commerce, peace and domestic happiness. The cultivation of tobacco, commenced in 1612, was greatly profitable. The introduction of African slavery, grants of land to colonists, and encouragement given by the company to female emigrants were events and measures that contributed in a marked degree to the permanency and progress of the colony. Last and greatest of all measures and reforms was that of admitting the people to a share in legislation by the institution of a Colonial Assembly. On the 19th of June, 1619, the first Colonial Assembly ever convened in America assembled at Jamestown. The members were elected by the different plantations or boroughs, and their body was called the House of Burgesses, a name which it retained 60 long as Virginia remained a colony of England. The London Company gave its sanction to the House of Burgesses by an ordinance July 24, 1621, which may be considered as the written constitution of the colony — the first of its kind in America.
The settlements extended for a hundred and forty miles along both banks of James River and far into the interior, especially northward toward the Potomac. The Indians had seen in all this growth and prosperity the doom of their own race, and secretly plotted to destroy foes before it should be too late. They continued on terms of friendship until the very day of the massacre. The attack was planned for the 22d of March, 1622, at midday. When the fatal hour arrived, men, women and children were indiscriminately slaughtered, until three hundred and forty-seven had perished under the knives and hatchets of their savage neighbors. Jamestown and the other leading settlements had been warned by a converted Indian, who revealed the fact to a white friend. The alarm was spread and thus the greater part of the colony escaped destruction, but the outer plantations were entirely destroyed. Of eighty settlements only eight remained.
In revenge parties of English soldiers scoured the country in every direction, destroying wigwams, burning villages and killing every savage that fell in their way, until the tribes were driven into the wilderness.
From that time, the population of the colony rapidly increased by constant arrivals of large numbers of immigrants, many of whom were men of rank and fortune. The soil of Virginia was fertile, the climate genial, the forests abounded in game, and the streams filled with fish. Staple crops, produced in great abundance with little labor and sold at greatly remunerative prices, made the colonist grow rapidly rich. Large grants of land were made to colonists and to favorite subjects, which, under the law of entails, stricter than in England, and the law of primogeniture, in time, as population increased, made the families of the proprietors wealthy. The Virginia colonists were all English, cavalier English. There was a marked difference between the gay, dashing, proud, high-spirited Virginian, unused to labor or self-denial, and his more thrifty, austere and practical neighbor of the North. They belonged to essentially different classes of men. The difference between the colonists of New England and those of Virginia was as marked as that between the Roundhead and the Cavalier, or that between the Churchman and the Puritan in the mother country, or rather the difference was the same. The vice-regal court, with its elegance and mimic form of royalty, infected the manners of the gentry and kept up social distinctions among the different classes of the colonists. The proprietors of the large estates lived in luxury and ease, and some of them emulated the style of the English nobility. In the absence of other excitement they amused themselves with company, hunting, horse racing and gaming.” The established religion was that of the Church of England. And it is said that the ministers conformed as much to the tone of society around them as to the injunctions of their faith.
The elegant writer from whom we quote says, “The feudal times and baronial manners of “Merrie England” seemed revived upon this continent. Indeed, looking down from his castle-like dwelling over a broad sweep of wood and water and patrimonial fields tilled by his hundreds of slaves, the old Virginian might well feel himself scarcely less of a lord than her Saxon Franklins, or her more modem dukes or earls. ‘Old times are changed — old manners gone.’ The revelry is silent in their halls; the halls gone to decay. The very site of their mansions is covered with stunted pines and sedges, and park and garden and fields and manor, long since worn out and deserted, are grown over with briars and the undergrowth of the returning forest, and never visited save by the solitary sportsman in quest of the small game which has taken shelter in the covert.”
Where there was so much leisure and wealth there was also opportunity and taste for intellectual culture, and much attention was given to education. The sons of the rich were educated in England and provision for the educations of all was not neglected. At the bar and in her public councils, Virginia, at the commencement of the Revolution, had a distinguished array of talent, and has justly been called the “mother of presidents and statesmen.
Who were the first Waters emigrants to Virginia, and who was the founder of the family of that name in the colony of Virginia, are pertinent and interesting inquiries. To accurately answer has required much thought, diligent and patient research, and all that could be authoritatively verified has been collated and stated, in connection with a chart elsewhere contained in this work.
The tradition that the Waters emigrated from England to the colony of Virginia at an early date in the history of that settlement has been known and handed down by every generation. Colonel Jonathan D. Waters and some others claimed that the Waters came over in the Mayflower and first settled in New England, and afterwards removed to Virginia. This is a mistake. No such name appears in the list of the Mayflower passengers, landed at Plymouth in 1620. Long after the time when it is certainly known that the ancestors of these Waters were living in the Virginia colony, the established religion was the Church of England, and stringent laws were enforced against dissenters. It is hardly therefore probable that either those who were driven by religious persecution to America, or their descendants, would have willingly removed to the southern colony, where most rigorous laws against their religious faith were rigidly enforced. The family has lived in Virginia quite from the beginning of its settlement, and was unknown in the New England colony until the latter part of the seventeenth century.
Land Patent Maryland for John Waters: “Partner’s Desire” Somerset County Circuit Court Land Survey, Subdivision, and Condominium Plats MSA S1599: (Patents , SO, Tract Index) Index by Reference Reference: Patent Record CD, p. 16 Date: 1697 Description: Partners Desire, 325 Acres; Patent Developer/Owner: Waters, John, and Richard and Charles Hall.
During the seventeenth and a part of the eighteenth century a record was kept under the direction of the government at all ports of entry on the English seacoast of emigrants to her colonies, and every subject before embarking was required to take the oath of allegiance to the king and the Established Church. These records have been preserved, and from them has been compiled, by John C. Hotten, a partial list of emigrants to the colonies, including those in America.
Edward Waters, gent., was born in England in 1584, came to Virginia and before 1622 married Grace O’Neil, who was born 1603. He held the rank of Captain; Burgess in 1625, and was Commander and Commissioner of Elizabeth City in 1628. He died in England, his will being made at Great Hornmead, Hertfordshire, 20 August, 1630, and proved the 18 Sept. of that year. He left to his son, William his lands in Virginia, mentions his brother John Waters of Middleham, Yorkshire; other legatees being his wife Mrs. Grace Waters, and his daughter Margaret. The son, William, was born In Virginia before 1624. He was Burgess for Northampton county in 1654, 1659 and 1660. He died about 1685, leaving issue, six sons, Richard, John, Edward, Thomas, Obedience and William. John and Richard settled in Maryland. John married Mary Maddox, and died in 1708, leaving a son, John. Richard Waters married Elizabeth, daughter of Col. Southey Littleton of Virginia. The Arms: Sable on a fess wavy argent between three swans of the second, two bars wavy azure. Crest: A demi griffin azure. Motto: Toujours fidele. (Always Faithful) are used by the Maryland branch of the family. (Virginia heraldica: being a registry of Virginia gentry entitled to coat of arms; edited by William Armstrong Crozier)
Hotten’s list of emigrants to America between 1600 and 1700 gives a census or “list of names of those living in Virginia February 16, 1623″ (1624); also contains “The muster of the inhabitants of the College land in Virginia taken the 23d of January, 1624″ (1625). “Edward Waters his muster” contains names of “Edward Waters, aged 40, in ship Patience, 1608; Grace Waters, aged 21, in the Diana, 1618; William Waters; Margaret Waters, born in Virginia.” Among the land patents issued in the corporation of “James Cittie” at its incorporation, one hundred acres were patented to Edward Waters. These are the only Waters found until 1635. In that year John Waters came over in the ship Transport, of London, Edward Walker, master. John Waters was then twenty-nine years old. His name is not mentioned elsewhere in the record; whether he remained in the colony is not known. These are all of the name Waters as shown by the index to Hotten’s list.
Of those who now bear the name of Waters in Salem, Massachusetts, three distinct families have been traced, viz. : one settled chiefly in Forth Salem, descended from William Waters, an early settler of Boston; another, in the east parish, whose ancestor, Lawrence Waters, settled first in Watertown but removed to Lancaster on the founding of that settlement; and a third family whose progenitor came from England in the last century. (Note to “Gleanings from English Records,” Part I., p. 122.)
Men of mark in Maryland: biographies of leading men of the state, Volume 2 By Bernard Christian Steiner, Lynn Roby Meekins, David Henry Carroll, Thomas G. Boggs
GENERAL FRANCIS E. WATERS, of Baltimore, lumberman, financier, and one of the most prominent men of his state, both in business and public circles, is a descendant of one of the very earliest settlers of Virginia. This progenitor was Lieutenant Edward Waters, who was born in Hertfordshire, England, about 1568. There is some confusion about the exact time of the arrival of Edward Waters in Virginia. There seems to be a common agreement that he sailed from England in the Somers and Gates Expedition of 1608, that the vessel was wrecked on the Bermuda Islands, and that they were detained there for some little time, and that he finally arrived in Virginia in 1610. Another authority says that he reached Virginia in 1608 on the ship ” Patience.” This much is certain: that he lived in Virginia in the early years of the colony’s existence; that he married Grace O’Neal, who was thirty-five years his junior, and of this marriage two children were born—William and Margaret. He died about 1630, and his widow later married Colonel Obedience Robins, who died in 1662, and she survived until 1682. Lieutenant Edward Waters was a prominent man in the early days of the colony, and was instrumental in bringing a large number of people into the new settlements. In his will, recorded in Somerset House, London, he left as his executor his brother, John Waters, then a resident of England. Wm. Waters, son of Edward, born about 1619, died about 1689, was a Burgess from Northampton county from 1654 to 1660; High Sheriff of his county in 1662; Commissioner to run boundary line of the county; was appointed Commander, a position which included among his official duties that of presiding Judge of the county. This position he held for many years. That he was the son of Lieutenant Edward Waters was proven by a patent issued to him in 1646 for a thousand acres of land, wherein it is stated that he was a son of Lieutenant Edward Waters, of Elizabeth county. He was married three times, the given names of his wives being Catherine, Margaret and Dorothy. He left six sons: William, Edward, Richard, John, Thomas and Obedience. During his lifetime Colonel Waters (who held the military rank of Lieutenant-Colonel under the Colonial government) had acquired land in Somerset county, Maryland, not far distant from his home county of Northampton, both being on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake bay. In his will his real estate was divided among these six sons, and the Maryland land was given to John. John married Mary, the daughter of Lazarus Maddux, and from certain data now in existence she appears to have been a second wife. There is no evidence as to who his first wife was, and it is apparent that that connection was a short one, and she probably left no children. The second son of this second marriage was William. William married, in 1739, a daughter of Colonel Geo. Harmanson. This Colonel Harmanson had married Elizabeth Yardley, who was a daughter of Captain Argall Yardley, who was the son of Colonel Argall Yardley, who was the eldest son of Sir George Yardley and Temperance West This Sir George Yardley was one of the earliest governors of Virginia, and spelled his name Yeardley. The second son of this marriage was George. George married Elizabeth Handy, daughter of Captain Robt. Handy, a prominent man of that day. The Handy family goes back to Samuel, who was the first American progenitor and settled in Somerset county, Maryland, in 1664. The second son of George and Elizabeth (Handy) Waters was John. John was born March 4,1777, and died March, 1823. He married Elizabeth Corbin, a daughter of William and Sarah (Pollitt) Corbin. There were eight children of this marriage. Richard T. Waters, born November 24, 1817, died April 21, 1900, was the sixth child and the fourth son. Richard T. Waters married on April 7, 1841, Hester Ann Hopkins, daughter of Benj. Burton and Mary King (Gunby) Hopkins. Of this marriage there were five children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the youngest, born on May 4, 1856. It would be of great interest, if space permitted, to trace out all the family connections through these various marriages in the different generations; but it is sufficient to say here that General Waters is connected with a large number of the most prominent families of Virginia and Maryland, and especially of Maryland.
Burke, the great English authority, makes this Waters family to be of royal descent, in this way: James Methold Waters, an English gentleman, married the granddaughter of Edward III and became the progenitor of this family. His grandson, John Waters, was York Herald under Richard II. As Edward Waters brought with him to Virginia as his family coat of arms what was practically the identical coat armor used by John Waters, the York Herald, and as the English families of those days kept accurate record of their descent, it is evident that this family of Waters comes down from the founder, James Methold Waters.
Many of the names above recited, like the Handys and Gunbys and Corbins, bore an honorable part in the Revolutionary struggles. Colonel Gunby, for example, commanded one of the famous Maryland Line regiments, either the First or Second regiment, in Greene’s famous Southern Campaign. One of the Handys commanded a militia regiment William Corbin was an officer in the Revolutionary army, and a member of the Maryland legislature in 1800. Richard T. Waters, father of General Waters, began his business career in Snow Hill, Maryland. He was one of the first to operate a steam sawmill in the United States. After years of success in that section, he moved, in 1865, to Baltimore, and established business as a lumber commission merchant. In 1866 he formed a partnership with the late Greenleaf Johnson, under the firm name of Johnson & Waters, who added to the lumber commission business the manufacture of North Carolina pine lumber. This firm purchased extensive forests in Virginia and North Carolina, and erected large mills at Norfolk, Virginia. In 1874 the firm of Johnson & Waters was dissolved, Mr. Johnson continuing in the manufacturing of lumber, and Mr. Waters associating with himself his young son, Francis E. Waters, under the firm name of R. T. Waters & Son, confining their operations to a commission business. The firm of R. T. Waters & Son, of Baltimore, and Richardson, Smith, Moore & Co., of Snow Hill, Maryland, were closely allied. Mr. R. T. Waters was a most capable man. He became one of the incorporators of the Lumber Exchange of Baltimore City; was a director in the First National Bank of Snow Hill from its organization up to his death; was president of the Surry Lumber Company and also of the Surry, Sussex & Southampton Railway. He was a man of alert and sound judgment, of rigid integrity, and possessed the absolute confidence of his business associates. He was of genial temperament, readily made friends, and these friends became strongly attached to him. He was generous, and dispensed charity with a liberal hand and kindly manner. Much given to hospitality, he was never happier than when entertaining his friends. Himself a man of strong attachments, especially for the friends of his earlier days, he never under any circumstances forgot an old friend. During life he was a communicant f the Presbyterian church. In his early life he was very active in politics, and did much to promote the interests of the Democratic party on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Though he never forsook his early allegiance in politics, being a man of strong convictions and sound purpose, as the years passed by and his business interests became more pressing, he withdrew from activity in political matters and confined himself to a voting interest. He left an unblemished record, and few men of large affairs have ever been less subject to unfavorable criticism than was Richard T. Waters.
The family history and the reference to Richard T. Waters have been given at some length, because, to some extent at least, they shed light upon the temperament and character of the subject of this sketch.
In 1865 Francis E. Waters, a little boy nine years old, came to Baltimore upon his father’s removal to Baltimore, entered the public schools, and later completed his school training in the Pembroke School.
The wise father, having a prosperous and successful business, could easily have taken the boy into his own office, but he preferred for him to get his first training at the hands of others; so, at the age of fifteen, declining the college education tendered by his father, young Waters entered the wholesale hardware house of F. B. Loney & Company of Baltimore. He worked for them steadily for three years, and gained in the good graces of the firm. At the end of that time the old hardware house failed, and his father, recognizing the good qualities of the son and his business capacity, then invited him to come into his own office. This was in 1873, and the firm of R. T. Waters & Son, organized on January 1,1874, endured for more than a quarter of a century. It is worth while to stop for a moment and to consider the wisdom of the policy of R. T. Waters. He wanted the boy to learn how to stand alone. He wanted him to feel that he was making his own way, and was not dependent upon a rich father. The result of the experiment thoroughly justified it. The history of General Waters, from the time he entered the lumber business with his father in 1873, a period now of 37 years, has been one of steady growth and success. He has seen a business, which was then accounted large, grow to such proportions that what then appeared to be a large business now looks small indeed. The young man, though ambitious, took time to thoroughly master the eituation before venturing into new fields and after ten years of successful business he saw the way clear to establish a manufacturing plant, which was founded in 1885 in Surry county, Virginia, under the title of the Surry Lumber Company. The old Virginia farm of 1885 now shows what is considered by experts as the model lumber manufacturing plant of the United States, and the town of Dendrom with a population of 3000 has grown up around the mills and is maintained by the lumber plant. This plant now employs more than 2000 men and has an enormous output of the very best lumber. General Waters has given strict personal attention to every detail of this enterprise. Its largest stockholder and for many years its president, he is ably assisted in the management of its affairs by the vice-president, the Honorable John Walter Smith, ex-governor of Maryland and now United States Senator. It is probable that if the question was directly put to General Waters as to what feature of his work he would like to be judged by he would say the ” Surry Lumber Company,” for he has put the best of himself into this, has made it a marvel of efficiency as an industrial plant, paying good dividends to its owners and giving remunerative employment to a vast number of people. In addition to this he is president of the Cumberland Lumber Company, located at Wallace, Duplin county, North Carolina, at which plant more than one thousand people are employed.
For the past twenty years, with one break of a few months, General Waters has served as one of the Directors of the Maryland Penitentiary, and for a considerable part of the time has been president of the board. Often solicited to enter public life, though possessed of a large measure of public spirit, the sense of obligation to the business interests represented has compelled him to decline all public trusts or positions except those where he could render a useful public service without seriously interfering with nearer interests. Thus he served as one of the Commissioners of the State of Maryland at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. He was appointed by Governor Jackson a member of his staff with the rank of Colonel. After the great fire in Baltimore he was one of the twelve citizens selected by Mayor McLane to recommend certain changes in the streets, and this committee so well discharged its duty that every recommendation made was accepted save one, and all men can now see that the committee was wise in that recommendation which was not accepted. General Waters is a Democrat both by inheritance and conviction. Upon the nomination of Mr. Bryan, he felt that he could not consistently support his silver ideas, and for that occasion voted against his party.
He is a member of the Maryland Club, Merchants’ Club, Baltimore Country Club and the Elk Ridge Kennel Club. His religious preferences lie with the Presbyterian church, with which his family has long been identified, and the First Presbyterian church has shown its esteem for him by electing him as one of its trustees. His diversions are travel and yachting, and his yatch “Priscilla” is one of the best-appointed upon the bay. He is a director of the Merchants’ National Bank, the American Bonding Company, the United Street Railway of Baltimore, and the Maryland, Virginia & Delaware Railroad. He is a stockholder and investor in many of the leading financial institutions of Maryland and Virginia. When the cruiser “Maryland” was launched, his daughter, Miss Jennie Scott Waters, was selected as the sponsor. When the Honorable John Walter Smith was elected Governor of Maryland, he also appointed General Waters on his staff, with the rank of Brigadier-General, Mr. Smith being the second Governor upon whose staff he has served. He enjoys the distinction of having been elected president of the Lumber Exchange before he was thirty years of age. He has also served as president of the Board of Trade of Baltimore.
On June 30, 1877, he married Miss Fannie Scott, of Toledo, Ohio, daughter of Wm. H. Scott, a public-spirited and cultivated gentleman. Her grandfather, Jesup W. Scott, was a prominent lawyer, who first lived in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He moved West to practice his profession, wisely invested his funds in lands, buying a large tract of land near Maumee, now Toledo, Ohio, and its rapid growth in value made him a very wealthy man. He was a man of fine character and pure life, and reared three sons who were exceedingly useful men in public affairs.
General Waters represents in his own person the Cavalier stock of Virginia, while his wife represents the Puritan stock of New England. The combination of these two strains of virile blood has always worked out in the later generations strong men and women, and the children of this marriage are fortunate in their racial inheritance, more than they possibly can be in any material possessions which may come to them. Mrs. Waters traces her descent in one line from that John Wakeman who came from Bewdly, England, to New Haven, Connecticut, in the year 1640; and the Wakeman genealogy published in 1900 shows that in the ‘two hundred and seventy years which have elapsed since John Wakeman became one of the pioneer settlers of Connecticut, the family has been connected with a large number of the families which have made New England great and enriched so much the civic life of the middle and western states of our country.
In so far as Francis E. Waters has had an ideal in business, that
ideal may be said to be quality. He has always striven for quality first
and then for enlargement. The result of this ideal is a business which
is a model of organization in every department and the product of which
compares favorably with that of any other concern in the country. His
business associates and other men who personally know General Waters and
have had dealings with him during many years bear willing testimony to
his personal integrity and the absolute fairness of his business
conduct. Certainly no man can live up to a higher standard than that of
absolutely just dealings. The two Waters, father and son, have between
them over one hundred years of successful labor in the lumber business.
R. T. Waters passed away, leaving the reputation of an absolutely just
man. Francis E. Waters, though of more venturous temperament than his
father, has the same moral qualities, and is treading faithfully in the
footsteps of his honored father.
Richard Waters of Somerset County, Maryland, Planter. Will 21 April 1720
Proved 13 November 1722. To my son William that land called Waters Rivers. To my cozin John Waters a Marsh in joynt tenancy of me and my Brother John Waters deceased and Charles Hall deceased. To my sons William, Richard, and Littleton, all the marsh being on Manokin. To my brother William Water my sloop called “Elizabeth.” To my wife Elizabeth Waters four Negroes, Scipio, Aleck, Hager, and Major, and one-half of my remaining estates. If any of my children shall marry or be married without the approbation of the Monthly meeting of the People called Quakers at West River, Mr. Robins, Richard Hill, and Thomas Chalkley of Philadelphia to have charge, etc. To daughters Elizabeth and Ester a Negro each. To my sons Richard and Littleton £250 each out of property in England left me by Uncle William Marriott, Late of Towcester, now with lands of William Cooper. John Hyde Senior, Merchant, trustee in London. Executors: Son William and Wife Elizabeth. Witnesses: John Brown, William Pearson, Edward Harper, Thomas Fairclo. Marlborough, 227.
[Proved in Maryland 12 July 1720, and recorded in Liber 16, fol. 201.]
Richard Waters of Somerset County, Maryland, Planter. Will 21 April 1720
Proved 13 November 1722. To my son William that land called Waters Rivers. To my cozin John Waters a Marsh in joynt tenancy of me and my Brother John Waters deceased and Charles Hall deceased. To my sons William, Richard, and Littleton, all the marsh being on Manokin. To my brother William Water my sloop called “Elizabeth.” To my wife Elizabeth Waters four Negroes, Scipio, Aleck, Hager, and Major, and one-half of my remaining estates. If any of my children shall marry or be married without the approbation of the Monthly meeting of the People called Quakers at West River, Mr. Robins, Richard Hill, and Thomas Chalkley of Philadelphia to have charge, etc. To daughters Elizabeth and Ester a Negro each. To my sons Richard and Littleton £250 each out of property in England left me by Uncle William Marriott, Late of Towcester, now with lands of William Cooper. John Hyde Senior, Merchant, trustee in London. Executors: Son William and Wife Elizabeth. Witnesses: John Brown, William Pearson, Edward Harper, Thomas Fairclo. Marlborough, 227.
[Proved in Maryland 12 July 1720, and recorded in Liber 16, fol. 201.]
Baltimore: Biography (Baker Waters) By Lewis Historical Publishing Co.A man who may be aptly styled a typical Baltimorean, inasmuch as he combines the characteristics of a scion of an ancient race with the attributes of a progressive business man of the present day, is Baker Waters, manager of the lubricating oil department of the Standard Oil Company. Mr. Waters is a representative of a family of English origin, distinguished “on both sides of the sea”.
The history of the Waters family of England, Maryland and Virginia is
traced back to the little town of Middleham, Yorkshire, chiefly noted
for Middleham Castle, called “the fairest castle of Richmondshire”,
where the white roses of the York faction nodded defiance to the red
roses of Lancaster, during the famous Wars of the Roses. The fortress
castle was built by Robert Fitz-Rolph, upon whom all Wensleydale was
bestowed by Canan le Petit, Earl of Brittany and Richmond, and it was
afterward the seat of the Earl of Salisbury, father of the great Earl of
Warwick. King Richard the Third frequently resided here, and in this
fortress his son Edward was born.
James Methold Waters is said to have married the granddaughter of Edward the Third of England, and John Waters, grandson of James Methold Waters, was the York herald at the court of Richard the Second. The family is said to have continued in royal favor until the reign of Charles the Second. From the branch of the family to which belonged John Waters, the York herald, are descended the Maryland and Virginia representatives of the race. It appears that there is a New York branch, descended from T. Leeds Waters, but the coats-of-arms are different.
The arms, crest and motto borne by the branch of the family which included John Waters, York herald at the court of Richard the Second, are as follows: Arms: Sable, on a fesse wavy, argent, between three swans of the second; two bars wavy, azure. Crest: A demi talbot, argent; in the mouth an arrow, gules. Motto: Toujours fid&le.
The Waters family, so prominent on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, is descended from John Waters, brother of Lieutenant Edward Waters, the immigrant ancestor of the Virginia family. There is a John Waters mentioned in connection with the earliest history of Montgomery county, Maryland, and the Waters name continues to this day one of the most prominent in that section of the state. It is claimed that John Waters, who settled in Maryland had five sons: William, mentioned below; Richard, who settled in Montgomery county; Joseph, who settled in Somerset county; Edwin; Samuel.
(II) William Waters, son of John Waters, lived at Belmont. Montgomr ery county, near the present site of Brookeville, and was the owner of much land in that neighborhood. The homestead has ever since remained uninterruptedly in possession of the family. William Waters married, in 1747i in St. Mary’s county, Mary, daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Offutt) Harris, of Tudor Hall, in that county, and they were the parents of eight children, including Ignatius, mentioned below. William Waters and his wife were buried on the homestead, and the will of the former is on file at Rockville, Maryland.
(III) Ignatius Waters, son of William and Mary (Harris) Waters, married Elizabeth, daughter of Captain Eli and Sallie (Worthington) Dorsey, and fourteen children were born to them, among them Washington, mentioned below.
(IV) Washington Waters, son of Ignatius and Elizabeth (Dorsey) Waters, was born in Montgomery county. He was a member of the medical profession. He took a prominent part in public affairs, being three times elected to the State Senate and twice to the Legislature, and serving as amember of the Constitutional Convention in Maryland. He married (first) Mrs. Anne Dorsey Williams, by whom he had three children: Washington D., mentioned below; Eliza; Harriet. Dr. Waters married (second) Mary MacCubbin Waters, and (third) Eleanor Madgruder Briscoe. There were no children by the second and third marriages. Dr. Waters died in 1882.
James Methold Waters is said to have married the granddaughter of Edward the Third of England, and John Waters, grandson of James Methold Waters, was the York herald at the court of Richard the Second. The family is said to have continued in royal favor until the reign of Charles the Second. From the branch of the family to which belonged John Waters, the York herald, are descended the Maryland and Virginia representatives of the race. It appears that there is a New York branch, descended from T. Leeds Waters, but the coats-of-arms are different.
The arms, crest and motto borne by the branch of the family which included John Waters, York herald at the court of Richard the Second, are as follows: Arms: Sable, on a fesse wavy, argent, between three swans of the second; two bars wavy, azure. Crest: A demi talbot, argent; in the mouth an arrow, gules. Motto: Toujours fid&le.
The Waters family, so prominent on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, is descended from John Waters, brother of Lieutenant Edward Waters, the immigrant ancestor of the Virginia family. There is a John Waters mentioned in connection with the earliest history of Montgomery county, Maryland, and the Waters name continues to this day one of the most prominent in that section of the state. It is claimed that John Waters, who settled in Maryland had five sons: William, mentioned below; Richard, who settled in Montgomery county; Joseph, who settled in Somerset county; Edwin; Samuel.
(II) William Waters, son of John Waters, lived at Belmont. Montgomr ery county, near the present site of Brookeville, and was the owner of much land in that neighborhood. The homestead has ever since remained uninterruptedly in possession of the family. William Waters married, in 1747i in St. Mary’s county, Mary, daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Offutt) Harris, of Tudor Hall, in that county, and they were the parents of eight children, including Ignatius, mentioned below. William Waters and his wife were buried on the homestead, and the will of the former is on file at Rockville, Maryland.
(III) Ignatius Waters, son of William and Mary (Harris) Waters, married Elizabeth, daughter of Captain Eli and Sallie (Worthington) Dorsey, and fourteen children were born to them, among them Washington, mentioned below.
(IV) Washington Waters, son of Ignatius and Elizabeth (Dorsey) Waters, was born in Montgomery county. He was a member of the medical profession. He took a prominent part in public affairs, being three times elected to the State Senate and twice to the Legislature, and serving as amember of the Constitutional Convention in Maryland. He married (first) Mrs. Anne Dorsey Williams, by whom he had three children: Washington D., mentioned below; Eliza; Harriet. Dr. Waters married (second) Mary MacCubbin Waters, and (third) Eleanor Madgruder Briscoe. There were no children by the second and third marriages. Dr. Waters died in 1882.
(V) Washington D. Waters, son of Washington and Anne (Dorsey)
(Williams) Waters, was born in Montgomery county. He followed the
calling of a farmer. He married Virginia, daughter of Z. M. Waters, of
Maryland, and their children were: Baker, mentioned below; Ann
Elizabeth, married William Penn Savage, of Alabama; Lillian, died in
1890; Washington, married Lillian Keener, of Baltimore; Harriet A.,
married Percy Wilson, of Staunton, Virginia; William B., married Ellen
Brewer, of Rockville, Maryland. Washington and William B. Waters are
both employed in the sales department of the Standard Oil Company,
Washington, D. C. Mr. Waters, the father of the family, is now leading a
retired life at Rockville, Maryland.
(VI) Baker Waters, eldest child of Washington D. and Virginia (Waters) Waters, was born May 13, 1862. on his father’s farm, near Gaithersburg, Montgomery county, Maryland, where he passed the first eighteen years of his life, assisting his father in the care of the estate. From 1878 to 1882 he attended the Randolph Macon College, at Ashland, Virginia, receiving in the latter year a scholarship to the Maryland Agricultural College, which he entered in the autumn of 1882, remaining until 1884. He was then obliged to leave on account of the recent death of his grandfather, and entered at once upon a business career, becoming eastern contract and settling agent for the William Deering Company, now part of the International Harvesting Company. He quickly gave evidence of his aptitude in grappling with details and of his accurate perception and judgment, and these qualities, aided by his sturdy will, steady application, tireless industry and sterling integrity, laid the foundation of his present high reputation as a business man. After representing the concern for about two years he associated himself, in 1888, with C. West & Sons, who were engaged in the oil business, their establishment being situated on Lombard street, Baltimore. In October, 1888, in consequence of the death of William West, the firm went out of existence, and Mr. Waters then entered the service of the Standard Oil Company, beginning in the sales department, where he remained until 1890, when he was promoted to his present position of manager of the lubricating oil department. This office he has filled continuously to the present time, and has for many years been recognized as a man of influence in business circles, possessing a weight of character and a keen discrimination which make him a forceful factor among his colleagues and associates. In business transactions he exhibits the quick appreciation and prompt decision which are as necessary to the successful merchant as to the victorious general, and in discussing commercial affairs, his manner, however keen and alert, is tempered with a courtesy which never fails to inspire a feeling of friendly regard in conjunction with the respect which his reputation and personality invariably command.
While assiduous in business affairs, Mr. Waters is moved by a generous interest in his fellow-citizens, promoting every suggestion for the welfare of the city of Baltimore and the State of Maryland, and is a quiet but potent factor in many political and social movements. His family has always been identified with the Democratic party, but notwithstanding the force of tradition Mr. Waters does not ally himself with any political organization, but reserves the right to cast his vote, irrespective of partisan ties and party platforms, for the man whom he deems best fitted to serve the interests of the commonwealth. He is a member of the Baltimore Chamber of Commerce, and in private life his amiable and generous disposition has endeared him to hosts of friends. He is a gentleman in every sense of the word, fine-looking, courteous and dignified, kindly in manner and speech and, though quick and decisive in character, always considerate of others and exceedingly generous. He is a member of the Patapsco Hunt Club, the Zeta Chapter of the Kappa Alpha Fraternity and the Baltimore Yacht Club, having formerly served as chairman of the house committee of the last-named organization.
(VI) Baker Waters, eldest child of Washington D. and Virginia (Waters) Waters, was born May 13, 1862. on his father’s farm, near Gaithersburg, Montgomery county, Maryland, where he passed the first eighteen years of his life, assisting his father in the care of the estate. From 1878 to 1882 he attended the Randolph Macon College, at Ashland, Virginia, receiving in the latter year a scholarship to the Maryland Agricultural College, which he entered in the autumn of 1882, remaining until 1884. He was then obliged to leave on account of the recent death of his grandfather, and entered at once upon a business career, becoming eastern contract and settling agent for the William Deering Company, now part of the International Harvesting Company. He quickly gave evidence of his aptitude in grappling with details and of his accurate perception and judgment, and these qualities, aided by his sturdy will, steady application, tireless industry and sterling integrity, laid the foundation of his present high reputation as a business man. After representing the concern for about two years he associated himself, in 1888, with C. West & Sons, who were engaged in the oil business, their establishment being situated on Lombard street, Baltimore. In October, 1888, in consequence of the death of William West, the firm went out of existence, and Mr. Waters then entered the service of the Standard Oil Company, beginning in the sales department, where he remained until 1890, when he was promoted to his present position of manager of the lubricating oil department. This office he has filled continuously to the present time, and has for many years been recognized as a man of influence in business circles, possessing a weight of character and a keen discrimination which make him a forceful factor among his colleagues and associates. In business transactions he exhibits the quick appreciation and prompt decision which are as necessary to the successful merchant as to the victorious general, and in discussing commercial affairs, his manner, however keen and alert, is tempered with a courtesy which never fails to inspire a feeling of friendly regard in conjunction with the respect which his reputation and personality invariably command.
While assiduous in business affairs, Mr. Waters is moved by a generous interest in his fellow-citizens, promoting every suggestion for the welfare of the city of Baltimore and the State of Maryland, and is a quiet but potent factor in many political and social movements. His family has always been identified with the Democratic party, but notwithstanding the force of tradition Mr. Waters does not ally himself with any political organization, but reserves the right to cast his vote, irrespective of partisan ties and party platforms, for the man whom he deems best fitted to serve the interests of the commonwealth. He is a member of the Baltimore Chamber of Commerce, and in private life his amiable and generous disposition has endeared him to hosts of friends. He is a gentleman in every sense of the word, fine-looking, courteous and dignified, kindly in manner and speech and, though quick and decisive in character, always considerate of others and exceedingly generous. He is a member of the Patapsco Hunt Club, the Zeta Chapter of the Kappa Alpha Fraternity and the Baltimore Yacht Club, having formerly served as chairman of the house committee of the last-named organization.
Mr. Waters married, October 20, 1886, in Baltimore, Lillian Wilmer,
daughter of Jasper M. and Lydia (Emory) Berry, the latter a daughter of
Judge Hopper Emory, and they have been the parents of two children:
Wilmer Berry, born July 23, 1887, now attending Johns Hopkins
University; Lydia Duke, born in 1889, died June 1, 1890. Mrs. Waters is
one of those women who combine with perfect womanliness and domesticity
an unerring judgment, a union of qualities of great value to her
husband, making her not alone his charming companion, but also his
confidante and adviser.
Mr. Waters’ advice in regard to attaining success is well worthy the serious consideration of all young men beginning life. He says: “Stick right to whatever you have undertaken to do until it is accomplished. It is necessary for one to select a line of business for which he is best fitted, and that is in the direction that will be a pleasure rather than a bore.” These conditions, Mr. Waters, as his record bears witness, has strictly and most successfully complied with, and in all relations, both as business man and citizen, his rule of life has been the motto of his ancient house, “Toujours Udele”.
Waters of Somerset County, Maryland tax assessment of 1783Mr. Waters’ advice in regard to attaining success is well worthy the serious consideration of all young men beginning life. He says: “Stick right to whatever you have undertaken to do until it is accomplished. It is necessary for one to select a line of business for which he is best fitted, and that is in the direction that will be a pleasure rather than a bore.” These conditions, Mr. Waters, as his record bears witness, has strictly and most successfully complied with, and in all relations, both as business man and citizen, his rule of life has been the motto of his ancient house, “Toujours Udele”.
Edward Waters. W. Addition to Timber Tract, 626 acres. SO Dividing Creek p. 117
Edward Waters. Addition to Back Hole, 246 acres. SO Dividing Creek p. 117
Edward Waters. Fortunes Folly, 66 acres. SO Dividing Creek p. 117
Edward Waters. Hog Yard, 50 acres. SO Dividing Creek p. 117
George Waters. Suffolk, 446 1/2 acres. SO Dividing Creek p. 117
George Waters. Hop At A Venture, 75 acres. SO Dividing Creek p. 117
George Waters. W. Enlargement, 165 acres. SO Dividing Creek p. 117
George Waters. Waters’ Addition, 11 acres. SO Dividing Creek p. 117
John Waters. Salem, 490 acres. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
John Waters. New Rumney, 43 acres. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
John Waters. Jones’ Chance, 100 acres. SO Rewastico p. 58. MSA S1161-9-11. 1/4/5/52
John Waters. Tubmanns Lott, 37 1/3 acres. SO Rewastico p. 58. MSA S1161-9-11. 1/4/5/52
John Waters. Quantico, 27 acres. SO Rewastico p. 58. MSA S1161-9-11. 1/4/5/52
John Waters. Dormans Delight, 250 acres. SO Rewastico p. 58. MSA S1161-9-11. 1/4/5/52
John Waters. Shiles’ Choice, 220 acres. SO Rewastico p. 58. MSA S1161-9-11. 1/4/5/52
John Waters. Downs Chance, 60 acres. SO Rewastico p. 58. MSA S1161-9-11. 1/4/5/52
Littleton Waters. Envy, 408 acres. Notes: Heirs. SO Great Annamessex p. 109
Littleton Waters. Partnership, 125 acres. Notes: Heirs. SO Great Annamessex p. 109
Richard Waters. Flat Land, 840 acres. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
Richard Waters. Friends Kindness, 116 acres. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
Richard Waters. Waters River, 525 acres. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
Richard Waters. Conveniency, 80 acres. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
Richard Waters. London Gift, 50 acres. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
Richard Waters. Security, 52 acres. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
Richard Waters. Envy, pt, 70 acres. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
Richard Waters. Millers Choice, 70 acres. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
Rose Waters. Waters’ Addition, 136 acres. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
Rose Waters. Waters’ River, 352 1/2 acres. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
Sarah Waters. SO Great Annamessex p. 109
Spencer Waters. Cager Island, 700 acres. Notes: Heirs. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
Spencer Waters. Teagues Addition, 78 acres. Notes: Heirs. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
Spencer Waters. TD in the L: Choice, 26 acres. Notes: Heirs; Tract name is difficult to read. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
Thomas Waters. Last Purchase, 300 acres. SO Wicomico p. 76
William Waters. Walterton, 97 1/4 acres. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
William Waters. Wilsons Lott, 20 acres. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
William Waters. Beach & Pine, 50 acres. SO Great Annamessex p. 107
William Waters. SO Great Annamessex p. 109
