Mary Scott Watts Gamble to family members, 1835-1840

This series consists of the correspondence of the Breckinridge, Gamble, and Watts families, ca.1794-1850, but chiefly that of Mary Scott Watts Gamble (1814-1840)daughter of General Edward Watts. The name has been changed to Watts family papers as of March 2023. There are many related collections of the Watts family papers. MSS 38-33 Irvine, Saunders, Davis, and Watts families (William Watts daybooks 1768-1786); MSS 259; MSS 653; and MSS 9715 Abram Penn Staples.

Mary Gamble wrote to her aunt, Emma W. Breckinridge, Grove Hill, Fincastle, Botetourt County, Virginia; her mother, Elizabeth Breckinridge Watts and her father, General Edward Watts, Oakland, near Big Lick, Botetourt County, Virginia; her brothers, William and James B. Watts; and her sisters, Ann S. Watts and Letitia G. Watts.

Most of the letters to her immediate family were written after her marriage and move to Welaunee, Florida, located near Tallahassee, except for several to her brother William Watts while he was away at the New London Academy, Campbell County, Virginia. Many of Mary Watts Gamble's letters are to her aunt, Mrs. Cary Breckinridge (Emma W. Gilmer), 1831-1838, and most of them were written prior to her marriage in 1834. All of her undated letters to her aunt appear to have been written before her marriage and are filed at the beginning of the year 1834 as [ante 1834].

Mary Watts Gamble at Flat Creek writes about the purchase of 34 enslaved persons by Uncle Gamble to prepare the ground for cotton. Her letters also describe her experiences of the conflicts with the Osceola and Seminole warriors in Florida (causing her to learn how to load and shoot a gun). She mentions the Second Seminole War in Florida. Robert [Watts?] and Robert Gamble joined the local militia to remove the Seminoles from the swamps and send them out West. (1835)

There are details of her accounts of the interactions of the Seminoles on women, children, and enslaved persons including one on the property of Judge Randall, including the burning of buildings in Magnolia and Hickstown and upon the home, family, and enslaved persons of Mrs. Purifoy, wife of a Methodist minister and daughter of Captain Byrd, just four miles away from Welaunee (April 13, 1838). She mentions the removal of the Apalachicola tribe to the West; the actions of Territorial Governor Richard Keith Call (1792-1862), and the Gambles forced evacuation from Welaunee to Tallahassee for safety. (May 9, 1836) They planned to sail on the Brig Orion from St. Marks to New Orleans, taking a steamboat to Louisville, and then proceeding by mail [coach?] to White Sulphur Springs, [West] Virginia (May 21, 1836).

She also mentions her disapproval of the plans of General [Winfield?] Scott for delaying the pursuit of the Seminole War to a later time. She writes about the recent Texas disasters at [the Alamo?] and the loss of [James Walker] Fannin's detachment at the Massacre at La Bahia (Goliad), including concern about the fate of her acquaintances Burr and John Duval. A website on the history of Texas records that Burr and Duval were captured and executed (April 24, 1836).

Her letters also include the health and news of famly members; her marriage to her cousin James Gamble; her attendance at three days of preaching at the Academy (May 19, 1832); the unpopularity of the Reverend [Gyng?] in Tallahasseethe family's concern for William and Robert over an outbreak of scarlet fever near New London Academy(January 12, 1833); and the illness and death of her grandfather, General James Breckinridge. (May 15, 1833).

Additional subjects include attempts to persuade her her attempts to convince her brother James to begin his law practice in Tallahassee and comments about the presidential election.She describes the romantic affairs of her brother James; her illness and plans to recover in Virginia (May 15, 1837); her stay in St. Joseph [Bay?] for the summer because of her health, reading the works of Hannah More (1745-1833) while staying in St. Joseph, especially The History of Hester Wilmot and description of the area (July 30, 1838); her return to Tallahassee, and her husband's new store (October 22, 1838); and her stay in a boarding house near the store (December 15, 1838).

Correspondents in the folder of general correspondence of the Breckinridge, Gamble, and Watts families include: Robert Breckinridge to James Breckinridge concerning business matters (March 20 and July 23, 1794; n.d.); John Breckinridge to James Breckinridge concerning business matters, his lawsuit with Isaac Robinson, and a reference to the Whisky Rebellion at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania (August 19, 1794); William Breckinridge to James Breckinridge (September 1794); James Breckinridge to Ann Breckinridge discussing the sickness of Lewis and news about others of their acquaintance (January 24, 1819); James Breckinridge to Edward Watts mentions the James River bill and the death of Judge Fleming which left a vacancy on the court (February 22, 1824).

Mary Page Randolph discusses her unexpected trip to Montpelier, Orange County, and Edgehill, Albemarle County, Virginia, with Thomas Jefferson Randolph, and sympathy for Mary S. Watts' "late bereavement" (July 22, 1833); Robert Gamble to Colonel Edward Watts discusses the visit of Mary Scott Watts and the death of his niece Laura (January 13, 1834); Edward Watts to his daughter, Elizabeth B. Watts, announcing the death of Mary Watts Gamble on May 22, 1840 (1840); Emma W. Breckinridge to her niece Letty [Letitia G. Watts?] (December 21, 1850); and John Wickham to James Breckinridge, notifying them of a death which has greatly distressed Betsy (August 14, n.y.).

There are several letters from Nannie Gamble to her cousin, Letitia G. Watts, in which she describes her return visit from New York to Savannah, Georgia by ship (November 13, 1843) furnishes news of the family while in the mountains, near Abingdon, Virginia (January 20, 1845); expresses her sorrow at the news of the death of their friend, Lizzie Peyton, and describes the difficult journey home from Abingdon to Tallahassee which took five weeks (March 4, 1845); mentions the death of Lucy Gilmer (May 31, 1845); and a final letter from Nannie Gamble with a note written by Letitia on the bottom, "The last letter ever received from my darling cousin N.S.G. who is now numbered with the dead" (September 9, 1845).