Joseph Thomas Watts

Joseph was the second son of Arthur and Sarah Ann Watts who had five children: William Henry b. abt 1883, Joseph Thomas birth registered 1885 J/F/M Basford, Arthur b. abt 1888, Lily b. 1890 (J/A/S Basford) and Percy birth registered 1893 J/F/M Basford. Percy died on 5 March 1895, death registered 1895 J/F/M Basford. The death register gives his age as 2 years old and this would match the date of registration of his birth although the headstone in Beeston cemetery gives his age as 3 years. However, the headstone is not contemporaneous with his death and a mistake might have been made. Arthur was a hosiery maker and from 1881 to 1911 he and his family lived at 14 City Road, Beeston. In 1901 all four surviving children - William Henry (17) a cycle hand fitter, Joseph T (16) a cycle hand fitter, Arthur (12) and Lily (10) - were living at home with their parents. The eldest son, William Henry, married Gertrude Annie Spafford in 1908 (marriage registered J/F/M Basford). Gertrude's family was from Beeston - in 1901 they were living at 136 Queen's Road - and her father, William, was a cycle packer, presumably working for the same company as his future son-in-law. In 1911 William Henry (27), a cycle maker, and Gertrude (27) were living at 14 Humber Avenue, Coventry, in the household of her widowed father, now a carpenter/joiner, and an unmarried sister, Louisa Ellen (30). William's parents and siblings - Joseph, Arthur and Lily - were still living at 14 City Road, Beeston, at the time of the census. Joseph (26) was working as a cycle plater, Arthur (22) worked for a telephone company (Ericssons) and Lily (20) was a French polisher, working for the same telephone company as her brother. Joseph's father, Arthur, died on 9 January 1920 aged 58 and his mother, Sarah, on 25 May 1949 aged 87. His brother Arthur died on 2 May 1957 aged 69