For decades, the ancestry of James Hanson Wathen – the forefather of most St. Mary’s County Wathens – has been a mystery, puzzling genealogists since at least the 1920s! As I prepare for the publication of my next book, Wathen’s Adventure: The Genealogy & History of John Wathen of Southern Maryland, I’d like to share what I’ve discovered over the past few years.
While researching for my previous book, The Wathens of Southern Maryland: Their Genealogy & History, I discovered that James Hanson Wathen had a brother named John Francis Warthen, the ancestor of the Warthens of Frederick County, Maryland. John Francis moved from St. Mary’s County to Frederick County after the Revolutionary War and had several sons, including one whom he named James Henson Warthen.
More recently, I’ve found evidence that James Hanson Wathen and John Francis Warthen had a third brother named Hudson, who seems to have remained in St. Mary’s County. You can read more about him in my upcoming book.
Through Y-DNA testing, I discovered that James Hanson Wathen and John Francis Warthen shared a unique Y-DNA mutation, SNP A15638, which they must have inherited from their father. Over the past few years, I’ve been methodically recruiting Wathens from across the country to take Y-DNA tests, in hopes of identifying who passed on SNP A15638 to James and John.
Y-DNA tests thus far have conclusively ruled out the following individuals as possible fathers, because their male-line descendants lack SNP A15638:
- John Wathen
- John Jr. (John1)
- Ignatius Sr. (John1)
- John (Ignatius2, John1)
- Henry (Ignatius2, John1)
- Barton (John2, John1)
- Clement (John2, John1)
I’ve also been diving much more deeply into the available records concerning John Wathen and his descendants, hoping to identify the most likely parents of James Hanson, John Francis, and Hudson. Documentary evidence makes these additional candidates unlikely:
- James (John1) – His 1723 Virginia will names only a daughter, and he died well before the birth of the three brothers.
- Henry (John1) – He died in Charles County around 1738, long before the brothers were born.
- Bennett (John2, John1) – Court records provide a complete list of his children, which does not include the three brothers.
- Joseph (John2, John1) – He lived in Charles County, and evidence suggests that he was unmarried and had no children.
- John III (John2, John1) – He lived in Charles County, and evidence suggests that he was unmarried and had no children.
- Wearing (Ignatius2, John1) – He moved with his brothers to Montgomery County after the Revolutionary War, and there is no evidence that he was married with children.
- William (Ignatius2, John1) – He died in St. Mary’s County in 1784 with a will that names his children, and the three brothers are not among them.
- Leonard (Ignatius2, John1) – He died in Montgomery County in 1782 with a will that names his children, and the three brothers are not among them.
- Ignatius Jr. (Ignatius2, John1) – He moved with his brothers to Montgomery County after the Revolutionary War, where he died in 1804. He had several children who lived near him in Montgomery County, but there is no evidence that he was the father of James Hanson, John Francis, and Hudson.
As I ruled out each Wathen who couldn’t be the father of James Hanson, John Francis, and Hudson, I kept wondering: Who’s left? A few months ago, I came across evidence that Henry Wathen (John1) had a son named James. This James appears to have moved from Charles County to St. Mary’s County around 1752, around the time he sold land once owned by Henry Wathen. I missed him in my earlier work, The Wathens of Southern Maryland: Their Genealogy & History, because Henry’s children are not named in his probate records. You’ll find more about Henry and James in my upcoming book.
Here's a chart of John Wathen and the first two generations of his male descendants. The Wathens in black have been completely ruled out by Y-DNA data, and the Wathens in gray have been largely ruled out by available records:
Looking over all the data, I’m convinced that James Wathen (Henry2, John1) is the father of James Hanson Wathen, John Francis Warthen, and Hudson Wathen. While there isn’t definitive genetic or documentary proof yet, every piece of evidence points in this direction. All other potential fathers have been ruled out by Y-DNA tests or available records, and the recurring use of the name “James” neatly links the generations.
If you'd like further information about all of the Wathens discussed in this blog post, be sure to pre-order my upcoming book, Wathen’s Adventure: The Genealogy and History of John Wathen of Southern Maryland! I'll lay out my argument in fuller detail and include all of the relevant information about these Wathen ancestors!