via the Rootsweb GENBRIT newsgroup and Else Churchill comes sad news of the death overnight Monday-Tuesday of widely respected British genealogist Chris Watts. Chris was a former chair of the Society of Genealogists, former employee of The National Archives and subsequently volunteer with their Friends organization. He was also author with his brother Michael of several monographs on genealogical topics.
Chris enjoyed genealogical travel. In June he was in Canada speaking at the OGS conference in Kingston, a city where his army ancestor had stayed briefly early in the 19th century, and spoke at BIFHSGO's 2008 annual conference.
He was also my DNA cousin. It is a bad week for death in my life.
2 comments:
This is sad news indeed. Chris was an excellent researcher, writer and lecturer .... informative and entertaining at the same time. I met Chris several years ago, our shared interest in military records bringing us together. In August 2009, he took a friend and me on a wonderful behind the scenes tour of TNA in London; the three of us were together again, just recently, at the OGS Conference in Kingston ... we shared a meal, reminiscences, research stories and laughter. He was truly a gentleman and a scholar and the genealogical community, on both sides of the Atlantic, has lost one of its best and brighest.
Thanks John for the sad news. Like Glenn I had met Chris a couple of times on his trips to US conferences. A good writer, researcher and speaker who will be missed.
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