The common ancestor of our West Tennessee Watlington, George
W. Watlington (ca.
1785-1865) was
the son of William Watlington (d.
1806) of Dinwiddie Co., Virginia. Our search for more details of this
William W. of Dinwiddie has confirmed that William and John
Watlington of Dinwiddie County were brothers
. An Edward
Watlington , who was in Dinwiddie Co., Va.,
prior to 1784, is recorded as ``an heir of John'' and for this and
other reasons we believe him to be a son of John Watlington of
Petersburg, Va., who died there in 1785, and who owned land in the
county prior to 1761. This would make Edward a nephew of our William,
and a cousin of George W. Watlington of West Tennessee.
Court records show that this Edward Watlington and wife Sarah were residents of Gloucester Co., Virginia in 1787, when William Watlington was serving as administrator of John's estate in Petersburg. The discovery that he went from Dinwiddie Co. to Gloucester Co., Va., north of the York River, gives us an excellent clue to trace him further and perhaps to connect him and our William to the known Paul Watlington families of Gloucester County. It is possible, however, that any relationship in Gloucester Co. might be through his wife Sarah, or his mother's family rather than the Watlingtons. We believe there is also a connection between John and William to one Francis Wadlington on a tax roll in nearby Prince George Co. in 1782-83.
We have not given up on the ``oral tradition'' that our Watlington lineage ``came through Bermuda.'' One of the most confusing parts of this tradition is that many other Watlington lines share that same tradition. While we have presumed that our lineage came through Bermuda in the 18th Century, it is entirely possible that the earlier families also came through Bermuda in the early 17th Century.
Greater work will need to be done in identifying the early Watlingtons we now know were present in Northumberland, Gloucester, York, Prince George and Accomack Counties of Virginia in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Though we do not have an exact indication of their ages, John Watlington of Dinwiddie owned land there previous to 1761, and William, his brother, would be of a proximate age. George W. (b. ca. 1785) may not have been his older child, in fact he may have been the younger son who lived near him until his death ca. 1806.
We believe that John S. Watlington of East
Tennessee was a son of a brother of George W. We need more
documentation of the relationship, but we do have evidence of a blood
relationship. Mrs. Polly Phillips has traced the descendents of John S. and his
wife Julia Ann York. We also have considerable records of the branch
of the family that went to Marengo Co., Alabama about the time that
George W. and his wife Catherine Tabler came to West Tennessee with
their young family. We encourage you to help us search for our
Watlington Connections.
-- Feb. 1989