Researching Preston Watson
Delve into the history of Preston Watson using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
 | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 69469 people with the Watson surname? In that year Watson was ranked number 31 for popularity in the UK. |
Records of Preston Watson on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of Preston Watson in your family tree. Many large databases are available to search covering from births, deaths and marriages, military records, census records and immigration records with many other smaller collections too. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for Preston Watson. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for Preston Watson. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for Preston Watson. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for Preston Watson. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for Preston Watson. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. If you are lucky then you may find some previously undiscovered Watson ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Watson Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for Preston Watson and the Watson Family History
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Watson Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources below you will be able to find a birth record and, from that, a birth certificate can be ordered which lists the names of the mother and father, taking you back another generation in your tree. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Watson family tree.
Check out Parish Records for Preston Watson at Find My Past.
Check out for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of Preston Watson using the FreeBMD database.
Look at Genealogy Bank for Preston Watson records.
Check out MyHeritage for Preston Watson information.
Look at the LDS Database for records about Preston Watson.
Research the Watson surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Watson Military records.
| Did you know that there are currently 87553 people with the Watson surname in the UK? Watson is now ranked number 36 for popularity in the UK. |
Watson Genealogy Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Check out the WikiTree database for user contributed records for Preston Watson.
Study MyTrees for information on the Watson family and people looking to contact living Watson relations.
Check out One Great Family for Watson records submitted by people who are already researching the Watson Family Tree.
Find Preston Watson from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Watson Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Watson surname using Genealogy.com forums .
| Did you know that there are currently 312939 people with the Watson surname in the USA? Watson is ranked number 61 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Watson Databases
Check out the Ellis Island Database for information on Preston Watson. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called Preston Watson
Preston Watson
Preston Albert Watson (17 October 1880 – 30 June 1915) was a Scottish aviation pioneer, who conceived his own original method of controlling an aeroplane in flight. This was his rocking wing method of lateral control, which consisted of a secondary smaller wing mounted above the main wing on an A-frame that could pivot about its longitudinal axis. Watson's method of lateral control was applied by him in three different aeroplanes; the first was built in late 1909, the second in July 1910 and his third in 1913.
On 16 March 1915, Watson gained his Royal Aero Club Certificate No. 1,117 (equivalent of a pilot's licence) with the London and Provincial School at the London Aerodrome, Hendon, having sought a commission with the Royal Naval Air Service with the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. On 30 June 1915 he was killed when the Caudron G.3 aeroplane he was flying disintegrated in flight and crashed in Dunlye Field, a few miles from the Cross-in-Hand Hotel near Heathfield, Sussex. Watson is buried in Dundee's Western Cemetery.
Preston Watson's achievements have been clouded by erroneous claims of powered flight before the Wright brothers. This originated from his younger brother James Watson, who brought it to the public's greater attention in an article published in the Manchester Guardian newspaper in December 1953. There was an article in The Scots magazine in October 1953 released by one J.D. Leslie, but it is dismissed owing to inaccuracies. Since then, Preston's name has been associated with this false claim and his actual work in promoting aviation is often overlooked.
This claim has been repeatedly proven to be false, but the myth frequently reappears in Scottish newspaper articles and most recently in a book published in 2014 with the support of the Dundee Museum of Transport titled The Pioneer Flying Achievements of Preston Watson by Alistair W. Blair and Alistair Smith.
Source: Preston Watson, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Watson
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Wade_johnson Wadeson Wadkens Wadkin Wadkins Waitzman Watkin Watkins Watkinson Watsam Watsham Watson-Brown Wattisham Wattson Weddigen Wedeking Wetjen Whatson Whetcombe Whetson Whitcomb Whitcombe Whitcome Whiteson Whitkanack Whitson Whitsun Widdecombe Widdicombe Widdison Widdowson Widzinski Witcomb Witcombe Witson Wittekind Wittkamp Wituszynski Witzand Witzenburger Wodzinski Woodeson Woodhousem Woodison Woodsmall Woodson
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