Andy and Ian and the Watts Family, 14 September 2019

                                Andy and Ian and the Watts Family, 14 September 2019

                                                                                               

What an amazing experience. The last three days were a culmination of my experiences with the Watts House in Scappoose, Oregon. Two of the descendants, Andy and her son Ian spent three days here discovering a place where her ancestors once lived.

The first day we went out to dinner and then spent about four hours on our computers. We worked on the family, DNA matches and GLO records for maps of the Watts' family DLC lands.

After living here for four years I was able to establish the boundaries for a drive by tour, which we did first thing the next morning. It is amazing trying to view a place where their ancestors lived and imagine how it looked when they first arrived in 1852. We drove Dike Road, which is the flat lands out close to the river, where the family had timber lands. As we came to the highway Andy mentioned the cemetery, so we stopped there for a few minutes. It really is in a lovely place overlooking lower Scappoose.

Next we spent a couple of hours at the Watts House where they had a tour of all three floors. Then we had a wonderful desert and visit with four of the members. It is amazing all that is contained in the house and the stories that it holds. After that I returned home and they went to Sauvie Island for a hike. It was perfect weather for seeing the wildlife and surroundings. When they returned we ate the delicious dinner provided by my husband, David.

Then yesterday after they had been for a hike on the Scappoose/Vernonia trail, we met at the Columbia County Courthouse in St. Helens, Oregon and spent about three hours at the County Museum. Tricia Oberndorf, who instigated and supported my work at the Watts House, spent most of the time with us looking at the museum's collection on the Watts family. Then we proceeded to the Plymouth Pub and had a nice, relaxing dinner.

When I landed back at home I was exhausted, but thrilled to have accomplished so much. My sincere thank you to Andy for all she has shared with us in the research on the Watts family. She is an earnest researcher and a delight to work with. Ian was very patient and such a gentleman. This journey with the Watts family is so beyond anything I even remotely considered when I began the work three years ago.