On 6th May 1786 Jesse Watts-Russell was born to Jesse Russell.
On 29th January 1811 Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 24] and Mary Watts [aged 19] were married. She the heiress of a welthy wine merchant.
In 1812 [his son] Jesse David Watts-Russll was born to Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 25] and [his wife] Mary Watts [aged 20]. He married 4th June 1835 Mary Nevill Wright.
On 29th July 1816 [his father-in-law] David Pike Watts [aged 62] died. His daughter [his wife] Mary Watts [aged 24] and her husband Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 30] inherited Ilam Hall, Staffordshire.
On 28th March 1817 Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 30] took the name of Watts before Russell by Royal Licence.
In 1819 Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 32] was appointed High Sheriff of Staffordshire.
Memorials of Francis Chantrey RA in Hallamshire and Elsewhere Part V London Life and Works. The interest of my visit to the mausoleum containing this affecting piece of sculpture, was considerably enhanced by the appearance of a most exquisite stone cross, which had just been erected in the adjacent village, by the benevolent proprietor [aged 32] of Ilam, in memory of his wife [aged 27], the lady above mentioned, one or two of whose children, with their father, the clergyman of the place, and Mr. Derrick, of Oxford, the architect, were at the moment inspecting the newly-finished work. This out door incident formed a touching commentary on the monument in the church! I have always understood that the elegant residence of Jesse Watts Russell, Esq., owes something of its architectural beauty to the taste of Chantrey [aged 37], who certainly designed the Parsonage House adjacent.
Before 21st June 1820 Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 34] was elected MP Gatton which seat he held until 1826.
After 21st June 1820 Jesse Russell died. During his life he was described as a soap boiler, of Goodman's Yard, Minories, London and Walthamstow, Essex. His son Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 34] received a half-share of estates in Essex and a third-share of the residue of personalty sworn under £500,000; see PROB 11/1632/437; IR26/836/679. The date 21st June 1820 is based on his son Jesse Watts-Russell taking a fortnight's leave from Parliament on account of his father's illness
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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In 1821 Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 34] commissioned James Trubshaw to build a Ilam Hall, Staffordshire to designs by John Shaw. Construction was completed in 1826.
On 31st May 1831 [his son-in-law] Thomas Knatchbull [aged 22] and [his daughter] Mary Watts-Russell were married.
On 4th June 1835 [his son] Jesse David Watts-Russll [aged 23] and [his daughter-in-law] Mary Nevill Wright were married. They had nine or more children.
In 1840 [his wife] Mary Watts [aged 48] died.
On 20th June 1843 Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 57] and Maria Barker were married.
On 30th October 1844 [his wife] Maria Barker died.
On 22nd November 1862 Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 76] and Martha Leach were married.
On 3rd September 1874 [his daughter] Mary Watts-Russell died.
On 28th March 1875 Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 88] died. He left Ilam Hall, Staffordshire, which he had had rebuilt 'in the Gothic style' in the 1820s, and which Dyott deemed 'most magnificent' and 'splendidly furnished', together with estates in Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, to his eldest son, Jesse David Watts-Russll [aged 63].
[his daughter] Mary Watts-Russell was born to Jesse Watts-Russell and Mary Watts. She married 31st May 1831 Thomas Knatchbull, son of Thomas Knatchbull and John Honywood 1466-1534, and had issue.