Linlithgow is a former royal burgh known for its impressive palace, which is the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots. I have passed the town cemetery on the train countless times, but I recently made my first visit and found the grave of the Watson family. The headstone is modest compared to the resting places of the town’s wealthier residents. Thomas Watson died on November 3 at the age of fifty-two after a five-day battle with influenza. On the same day, his son John also passed away at the age of twenty-three. The following day, influenza claimed the life of his fifteen-year-old son, James. Tragically, on Halloween, sixteen-year-old Robert also succumbed to the illness. As I mentioned earlier, multiple deaths within a single household were sadly common during the Spanish flu pandemic.
Thomas Watson was born on August 13, 1866, in Carrington, Midlothian. He was the second son of William, a miner, and Janet (née Sinton). By 1871, the Watson family had moved to West Lothian and was living at Barracks Cottages in the Parish of Livingston. Since Thomas’s birth, the family had grown to include two daughters, Catherine and Margaret. Ten years later, the Watsons still resided in West Lothian but had relocated to Bathgate. The family continued to expand with the births of Janet, Elizabeth, Agnes, and William Jr. At this time, Thomas was fourteen years old and had left school to work as a shale miner.
On December 31, 1885, Thomas married Ann McAlpin Walker, a domestic servant, in Uphall. The couple settled in Linlithgow. By 1891, they had four children: two daughters and two sons. Their son John was born on October 19, 1895, in Linlithgow, following the births of his sisters, Agnes and Maggie, who had arrived earlier.
In 1901, the Watson family resided at 56 Philpstoun Rows in Linlithgow. Their family continued to grow with the addition of two daughters, Christina and Elizabeth. Robert was born in 1902, followed by James the next year. By 1911, Thomas and Ann had two more sons. At that time, John, like his father, had left school to work in shale mining, while Robert and James were still attending school. Before the tragic events of autumn 1918, the family moved to 70 Bridgend.
On November 15, the West Lothian Courier published an obituary summarizing four deaths in a brief paragraph.
The depth of Ann’s grief from losing her husband and three sons within days is unimaginable. I expect others in the Watson household also had influenza, but thankfully they recovered.
By 1921 Ann still lived at 70 Bridgend with her daughters Annie and Mary, son David, and granddaughter Elizabeth. She eventually died on October 10 1933, at the age of seventy-one, and was laid to rest with her husband and sons, as well as Kate and Izzie, who died in infancy – I expect these were her and Thomas’ daughters.
Sources: Ancestry, British Newspaper Archive, Scotland’s People
Broken Columns 