Perth Courier, March 30, 1877
Bigamist—Mr. James Watson, shoemaker, formerly of Perth , was recently married to Miss Avery, Seaforth , Ontario . Mr. George Curry, detective of Perth , being informed of the event, telegraphed to Seaforth on Wednesday to have Watson arrested for bigamy, as he has a wife and child in Perth . For the past five years, Watson has neglected to support his wife in any way and now has taken himself another. The friends of Mrs. Watson in Perth have gone to testify against the inhuman husband and he will no doubt have his just reward.
So what caused Mr Watson to become a bigamist? I found him on a military list on the Lanark County Genealogical Society list from 1866, when a company of men were on duty at Fort Wellington. Perth had two or three distinct militia companies in the old days, and the history of the one recorded here belongs to the company officered by Captain Edmond Spillman, Lieut. Moffatt and Ensign Douglas.
- Pte. James Watson, shoemaker, brother of the late Wm. Watson, who ran a shoe repair shop for years in the Clements Block; whereabouts not now known.
Well if you ask me Pte. James Watson did not go missing– he just hightailed it back to Perth where he not only reestablished a shoe cobbling business but also dabbled in the wife-gathering business. Being on duty must have been stressful along the St. Lawrence seaway– well one must assume:)
lindaseccaspina 