William Watson (merchant)
William Watson (died 20 November 1559) was an English merchant and shipowner living in London in the reign of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. He was the royal purchasing agent in the Baltic from 1538 to 1559, chiefly tasked with supplying the English fleet with masts, cordage and other naval stores.[1][2]
William Watson | |
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| Born | |
| Died | 20 November 1559 |
| Occupation | merchant |
| Years active | 1531–1559 |
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| Children |
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Early life
He was born in Shropshire, the son of John Watson.[3] He had two brothers, Richard and Roger and two sisters: Blanche (d. 1563), who married 1. Richard Reynolds (d. 6 May 1542); 2. Robert Palmer (d. 1544); 3. William Forman (d. 1546); and Elizabeth, who married Richard Mawdley.[4][5][6]
Career
Watson was a member of the Worshipful Company of Drapers.[3] In 1538 Watson was appointed royal purchasing agent in the Baltic.[1] He had been a Baltic merchant since at least 1531.[1] His brothers, Richard and Roger worked with him.[4][5] In 1544 William Watson wrote to Duke Albrecht of Prussia from Danzig: "My brother Richard asked me in a letter to send some English dogs to Your Grace. I have ordered some, and they have been put on board a vessel. Of these three one jumped overboard; the other two can be fetched from Jurgen Rudloff, the skinner. In case Your Grace wanted more, it would be well to let me know if You want them young or old. I shall then willingly order them." He also offered to procure court dresses or dress material for the Duke.[4]
William's brother, Roger, who lived in Danzig and acted as his agent there, married, before 1550, Margarethe von Schwarzwald, the daughter of Hans von Schwarzwald (1468–1521), alderman of Danzig and his third wife, Margarethe von Reesen.[1][5][7]
In 1546, through William Watson's mediation, Henry VIII negotiated with the Danzig city council for the purchase of masts, cordage and other naval stores and in 1558 Mary I negotiated with the king of Poland, Sigismund II Augustus, to allow Watson to export essential materials for the English fleet from Danzig free of customs duty.[8]
William Watson was briefly succeeded as Crown agent in Danzig by John Borthwick in 1560 and then from 1561, the London leather merchant, Thomas Allen, who was later a member of the Eastland Company.[9]
Marriages
Watson married three times. By his first (unidentified) wife, he had a daughter:[6]
- Barbara, married Thomas Haselfoote.
His second wife was Jane Stanney (d. c. 1547), with whom he had a son and two daughters:[6]
- John (d. 19 Dec. 1574).
- Blanche (d. 24 April 1593). Married 1. Dunstan Walton (d. 19 March, 1571); 2. (John) Lambert 14 October 1572; 3. Thomas Skinner (d. 16 July 1569), Master of the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers, alderman and later Lord Mayor of London.
- Anne (d.18 Oct. 1574), married Thomas Ducke on 5 March 1564.
His third wife, Anne Lee (d. 1561), was the daughter of Thomas Lee (d.1527) and Elizabeth Rolleston (d.1556), the daughter of Thomas Rolleston of Swarkestone in Derbyshire and widow of William Whitlock (d.1520).[10] With Anne he had two sons and four daughters:[6]
- William (1553–12 Oct. 1624)
- Thomas (1555–1592), poet and translator.
- Elizabeth (d. 1582)
- Mawdelin
- Mary (b. 1557), married Robert Wylforde on 11 July 1575.
- Elizabeth (b. 1559)
Death
Watson made his will 10 November and died at his home in Mark Lane, London on 20 November 1559.[3][11] He was survived by his third wife, Anne, who died in 1561.[12] His heir, William, was then aged "6 years 6 months and more."[11]
Notes
- Lloyd 1991, p. 290.
- Fudge 2006, pp. 204–220.
- "The National Archives: PROB 11/43, ff. 26-7 (Will of William Watson)" (PDF). The Oxford Authorship Site. Transcribed by Nina Green. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- Fischer 1903, p. 46, n. 1.
- Fudge 2006, p. 204.
- Alhiyari 2006, p. 149 (Appendix A).
- "Schwartzwald". Genealogische Tafeln zu Familien aus Danzig sowie aus Westpreußen und Hinterpommern. Verein für Familienforschung in Ost- und Westpreußen. 2020. (in German)
- Zins 1972, p. 26.
- Zins 1972, pp. 26, 101.
- Chambers 1936, p. 256.
- Fry 1896, pp. 191-211.
- "The National Archives: PROB 11/43, ff. 26-7 (Will of Anne Watson)" (PDF). The Oxford Authorship Site. Transcribed by Nina Green. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
References
- Alhiyari, Ibrahim (2006). Thomas Watson: New Biographical Evidence and His Translation of Antigone (PhD). Texas Tech University. hdl:2346/8391.
- Chambers, E. K. (1936). Sir Henry Lee; An Elizabethan Portrait. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. OCLC 748493.
- Fischer, Thomas Alfred (1903). The Scots in Eastern and Western Prussia: A Sequel to "The Scots in Germany: A Contribution towards the History of the Scot Abroad". Edinburgh: Otto Schulze. OCLC 1084860883.
- Fry, G. S., ed. (1896). "Inquisitions: 2 Elizabeth I (1559-60)". Abstracts of Inquisitiones Post Mortem For the City of London: Part 1. London: British Record Society. pp. 191-211. British History Online. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
- Fudge, John D. (2006). "Documents". The Mariner's Mirror. 92 (2): 204–220. doi:10.1080/00253359.2006.10656994. S2CID 220330105. (subscription required)
- Gosse, Edmund (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 413.
- Lee, Sidney (1899). . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 60. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 34–37.
- Lloyd, T. H. (1991). England and the German Hanse 1157-1611: A Study of Their Trade and Commercial Diplomacy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 290. ISBN 9780521404426.
- "Rhesen". Genealogische Tafeln zu Familien aus Danzig sowie aus Westpreußen und Hinterpommern. Verein für Familienforschung in Ost- und Westpreußen. 2020. (in German)
- "Schwartzwald". Genealogische Tafeln zu Familien aus Danzig sowie aus Westpreußen und Hinterpommern. Verein für Familienforschung in Ost- und Westpreußen. 2020. (in German)
- "The National Archives: PROB 11/43, ff. 26-7 (Will of William Watson)" (PDF). The Oxford Authorship Site. Transcribed by Nina Green. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- "The National Archives PROB 11/43, ff. 26-7 (Will of Anne Watson)" (PDF). The Oxford Authorship Site. Transcribed by Nina Green. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- "Watson". Genealogische Tafeln zu Familien aus Danzig sowie aus Westpreußen und Hinterpommern. Verein für Familienforschung in Ost- und Westpreußen. 2020. (in German)
- Weichbrodt, Dorothea (1986). Patrizier, Bürger, Einwohner Der Freien Und Hansestadt Danzig in Stamm- Und Namentafeln Vom 14.-18. Jahrhundert. Bd. 1. Klausdorf/Schwentine: Rosenberg. OCLC 180573477. (in German)
- Zins, Henryk (1972). England and the Baltic in the Elizabethan Era. Translated by H. C. Stevens. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 0719004713.