Catherine Bassett was my gggrandmother on my father's side. I believe she was the daughter of Sir George Bassett who was the son of Sir Richard Bassett of Old Beaupre Castle (actually a fortified manor house) near St. Hillary, Glamorgan Wales.
Catherine loved a Watkins (I believe his name was James). He was a miner and Sir George did not approve of the marriage. James and Catherine ran away to Cardiff and were married. Then they went to Bristol where they caught a ship to Philadelphia. James already had family living in Carbondale, PA.
While living in Carbondale, Hannah (Annie) and her two older brothers and older sister, Esther, were born (Hannah in 1843). I believe James Watkins was working in the Delaware and Hudson mine.
They moved to a farm near Madison, WI prior to the mine collapse in 1846. I know that James Watkins and his two sons joined the Union Army, but since I don't know the boys' names and am unsure of the father's I have no way to track them and find out what happened to them.
Hannah's older sister, Esther, married a mineral broker named Leyson. They were in Silver Reef, Utah when Hannah came out to stay with them. There she met William Stuart Fleming who was a machinist and played the violin (fiddle) in the band at the dance hall. Hannah and William hopped the train to California and were married in Sacramento in 1871.
There's lots more to this story, but I am wondering if any Bassetts out there are descended from one of Hannah's two brothers and have family info to share.
One last note, There was a knight with William the Conqueror in 1066 named Phillip Bassett. He was on the tax rolls South Wales and I believe is the likely source of the Bassetts of Old Beaupre.
