Ridley Watts (1817-1892)
of New York City & Nice, Côte d'Azur; Treasurer of the American Geographical Society
He lived with his family at 27 East 20th Street, New York City. He was married at 17 Bond Street in 1851, in the same year that his conspicuous father-in-law, Henry Grinnell, became the 1st President of the American Geographical & Statistical Society, and Watts was appointed its Treasurer. After the U.S. Civil War, it can be assumed that he fell on hard times and he and his family moved permanently to their villa in Nice in the South of France where, at that time, life was considerably cheaper. In 1877, his daughter, Fanny, had her portrait painted by their family friend, John Singer Sargent, which was described by the painter's father as his "first serious work."
