Hawkins grandfather of Davey Crockett

 Ryan McDaniel is a descendant of Nathan Hawkins.  He offered the following information about Rebecca Hawkins and her son, Nathan.  Nathan is the grandfather of Davey Crockett.  If you have questions, Ryan can be reached at ryan.d.mcdaniel@gmail.com

Who Was the Father of Nathan, son of Rebecca Hawkins?

Nathan Hawkins was born 16 Nov 1722 in Baltimore County, Maryland, to Rebecca Hawkins, and died 1781-1783 in Sullivan County, North Carolina (now Tennessee).  He was the ancestor of many of the Hawkins lines that moved south and west, and was the maternal grandfather of Davy Crockett. [1]  His mother Rebecca had been orphaned (with her older siblings) in 1705, and had lived since then with her paternal uncle Joseph Hawkins in Baltimore. [2]  Rebecca was presumably unmarried at the time of Nathan's birth, as she is listed by full name, and his father's name is given in the church records simply as "John." [3] As a result, Nathan's parentage is not entirely clear, but previous research, especially by Jeanne Bornefeld, as well as the advent of yDNA relationship testing, has narrowed things down considerably. [4]

A "Double Hawkins"

In particular, Jeanne noted that "We have the male Hawkins line through the YDNA of Nathan's sons and his mother, Rebecca's, brother's male descendants." [5]  This statement is somewhat unclear, but after discussion with Jeanne, she clarified that "[A] direct male descendant of Rebecca's brother, Matthew ... matches YDNA to Rebecca's son, Nathan," but that "I do not know the strength of relationship between Nathan and a male of Rebecca's kin, his father." [6]

If the yDNA of his descendants matches that of his uncle Matthew, then Nathan's unknown father was also part of Hawkins Family Group #5, and thus a first- or second-generation descendant of John Hawkins I, "Mariner of New England" (died 1675 O.S., Anne Arundel County, Maryland). [7]

Candidates for Nathan's Father

Because Nathan's father has to have been a descendant of John Hawkins I, the list of potential candidates is short.  John I is known to have had 5 sons: John II, Matthew, Augustine, Joseph, and Thomas.  All together, there are 13 known male descendants of John Hawkins I through the second generation. [8]  Of those, 6 can be ruled out immediately as they either were already dead, or were too young at the time of Nathan's conception (abt. Feb 1722) to have been his father.

• John II (uncle, also called John Sr.): roughly 60yo, living either in Anne Arundel County or Baltimore County
  
• John III (cousin, also called John Jr.): about 28yo, living in St George's Parish, northeastern Baltimore County
  
• Joseph (cousin): was only ~10yo in Feb 1722
• Matthew (father): died in 1705
• Matthew (half-brother): about 28yo, living in Baltimore County
  
• Augustine (brother): about 20yo, whereabouts unknown
  
• Augustine (uncle): died in 1700
• had only daughters
• Thomas (uncle): died in 1715
• Aaron (cousin): was ~16yo in Feb 1722, prob. living in Anne Arundel County
  
• Joseph (cousin): was ~14yo in Feb 1722, prob. living in Anne Arundel County
• Joseph (uncle): about 47yo; Rebecca was living at his house in Baltimore
  
• John (cousin): was ~8yo in Feb 1722
• Augustine (cousin): was only 1yo in Feb 1722

Speculation

None of the other candidates can be conclusively ruled in or out based on either age or location, as they all seem to have been living within about 30 miles of Baltimore, where Rebecca was living with her uncle Joseph.  Recalling that the Maryland Births and Christenings database listed Nathan's father simply as "John" (see Note 3), there are two possibilities:

1. If the database is accurate, then Nathan's father must have been either Rebecca's cousin John III/John Jr., or perhaps less probably, his father John II/John Sr.
2. If the database is wrong, and "John" was just a random name, then Rebecca's uncle Joseph is probably the most likely candidate, as the two were living in the same household.  One of her brothers could be Nathan's father -- it was after all a descendant of her half-brother Matthew whose yDNA provided the match for Nathan's descendants -- but (purely subjectively) that seems less likely than for Rebecca to have become pregnant by her uncle.  In any event, Rebecca's cousins Aaron and Joseph seem the least likely options, as they were both the youngest, and lived the farthest away.

Summary

Nathan Hawkins's father was a close relative of his mother, Rebecca Hawkins, and was one of 7 men, all descendants of John Hawkins I the Mariner.  Any specific identification is speculation unless and until yDNA can conclusively establish that one male line is a stronger match to Nathan's descendants than the others.

Notes:

[1] Robert W. Barnes, Baltimore County Families, 1659-1759 (Baltimore: Clearfield, 1996), 323.  Jeanne Bornefeld, "Family group #5," Hawkins DNA project, 23 Jun 2019, https://hawkinsdna.blogspot.com/2019/06/family-group-5.html.   Jeanne Bornefeld, "Family Group #5," Hawkins DNA project, 8 Feb 2015, https://hawkinsdna.blogspot.com/2015/02/family-group-5.html.

[2] Bornefeld, "Family group #5," 2019.

[3] "Maryland Births and Christenings, 1650-1995", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HYGJ-QRPZ : 12 February 2020), Nathen Hawkens, 1722.  NB: This is a database entry only; no original image was available and the author has not checked the physical repository to verify the information.

[4] On this website, see Bornefeld, "Family group #5," 2019.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Jeanne Bornefeld, email correspondence with the author, 7-8 Nov 2021.  Note Jeanne's use of the word "matches" should not be read as "is exactly equal to," but rather as "is familially related to."  The author's understanding, based on this correspondence, is that all of Group 5 is potentially ruled in as Nathan's father, and there is insufficient genetic data to explicitly rule out any Group 5 male of the appropriate age.

[7] See "Outline Trees, History, and Photos / Family Group-05," Hawkins Worldwide DNA Project, 14 Oct 2021, http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~hawkinsdnaproject/genealogy/tree_g-1.html#Group-05.

[8] Barnes, Baltimore County Families, 321.  Bornefeld, "Family group #5," https://hawkinsdna.blogspot.com/2019/096/family-group-5.html.  "A John Hawkins Hiding in the Records of Colonial Maryland," White Hat Descendant, 16 Aug 2014, http://whitehatdescendant.blogspot.com/2014/08/.

Family group #4

 I just moved MD Williams into family group #4.  He is a clear match to Phil Hawkins.  Phil is the reason we now have a Hawkins yDNA project!  He started our project and has maintained the website since the first days of yDNA....back in the days when we could only test 12 or 25 markers.  

Family Group #4 consisted of a hardworking, serious, family members.  I spent many hours looking at them before the yDNA confirmed that they were not matches to my own family group #1.  But I do a lot of Quaker research and often Phil's Hawkins line was living quite close to one of my Quaker families.  In Penn, Virginia, SC, and Ohio.

James Hawkins, Parish, Montford, Couchman in Kentucky before 1813

 A good buddy sent something she had found about a James Hawkins who had died before 1813 thinking perhaps it was about my own James Hawkins who did not die until 1834 in Fleming County, KY.  But I thought I would put this on the blog in case it helps someone else.

Bedford County Hawkins marriage bonds

There is a list of Hawkins marriage records in Bedford County, Virginia in the Hinshaw Encyclopedia available on Ancestry.
 

Family Group #1

I am not sure if this is Bret in the photo? Bret I have lost your e-mail address will look for it soon

Kenneth Hawkins posted a comment to another blog post on this site that grabbed ,my attention.  Kenneth has done yDNA testing and he does match family group #1.  His comment was that his son looked a bit like Bret Hawkins.  I thought it would be fun to compare the two photos.  Here is Kenneth's son:

I can not find a quick photo of Bret....so I'll get back to this ....but Kenneth sent me some more information about his family line that I don't want to loose so I'll add it before I quit for the day.

Here is information for Kenneth's family:

My great great grandfather was James C. Hawkins from Lawrence county Alabama. He was born in 1838 and was married to Artimissa Barbee, the daughter of James Barbee a captain the War of 1812. I think Barbee may have received a land grant for his military service in Alabama.

Their children are names as follows: 

JOSEPH B HAWKINS B: 1867
James W -HAWKINS B: 1854
Henrietta Hawkins B: 1850
Reuben T Hawkins B: 1852
Sarah Laurenia Hawkins B: 1856
Mary Elizabeth Hawkins B: 1850
Ida Blanch -HAWKINS B: 1858
Willie Hawkins B: 1868
John B Hawkins B: 1855
Francis Hawkins B: 1847
Joseph Branon Hawkins

My grandfather was Joseph Branon Hawkins. He died in McNairy County Tennessee and his grave stone can be seen at the the Pleasant Hill Cemetery site.
The names are similar to others on this blog, but there is no listing for the parents of James C Hawkins. 

here is the find a grave link for Joseph Branon Hawkins

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11818265/joseph-branon-hawkins

Family Group #20

The researchers who are connected to family group #20 via dna have been talking.  And they shared with me the fact that one of the members of the group is now deceased.  John Maurice Hawkins who was participant  #183264 died 22 May 2020.

You can read his online obituary at:  https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/john-hawkins-obituary?pid=196263424&page=2

Family Group #20

The author of the below information warns:  "The story told below lacks hard data.  The courthouse with William Henry's records was destroyed in the Civil War.  I feel certain that Robert Hawkins is William Henry Hawkins' (b 1766) great grandfather.  Circumstantial evidence leads me to believe Gregory is his father.  I would welcome input from others that would support or negate this working theory"

map from:  http://www.sonofthesouth.net/revolutionary-war/maps/maryland-map.htm

 When William Henry "Robert" Hawkins was born on February 20, 1766, in Harford, Maryland, his father, Gregory Farmer Hawkins, was 32 and his mother, Elizabeth Matson, was 26. About 1776 William's father, Gregory, moved with his family to Fayette, Pennsylvania. About the same time two of Gregory’s cousins, William H Hawkins b. 1749 and Thomas Hawkins b. 1745 moved the same area in Pennsylvania. They were the founders of the "Hawkins Church" near Brownsville, Pennsylvania. Gregory and his cousins, William and Thomas, were grandsons of Robert Hawkins Sr. b. 1691 d. 1761. 

The writer of this story, Alan Arthur Hawkins b. 1944, who is a descendant of William Henry "Robert" Hawkins, has 5 DNA matches with individuals having ancestry going back to Gregory Farmer Hawkins and 15 DNA Matches with individuals with ancestry going back to Robert Hawkins Sr b. 1691. This Robert Hawkins Sr. b. 1691 is the great grandfather of William Henry "Robert" Hawkins b. 1766. William's father, Gregory, remained in Pennsylvania until about 1799. He then moved to Kentucky. William Henry "Robert" Hawkins resided in Pennsylvania until about 1803 or shortly after the death of his wife, Cassandra in 1802. William H. Hawkins b. 1749, who was married to Cassandra Wells, remained in Pennsylvania until about 1790. He and some of his older sons went to Ohio where they prepared for the arrival of the rest of the family who arrived sometime later. Because William Henry "Robert" Hawkins and William H Hawkins had similar names, and whose wives were named Cassandra, and both being involved with the Methodist Church, some of their historical events and records have been intermingled. A brief account of the "Hawkins Church" is given as an example. Even though William H Hawkins b. 1749 was the founder of the "Hawkins Church", many historians have credited William Henry "Robert" Hawkins b. with the event. William H Hawkins b. 1749 acquired a 95-acre farm by means of a work contract with Jacob White of Centerville Borough, Washington County, Pennsylvania from 1783 to 1788. On June 9, 1790 William H Hawkins b. 1749 and Cassandra Wells sold the 94 acres to William Taylor for 140 Pounds. They also deeded a 1-acre plot containing the church building to the Methodist trustees. These events took place at the time of William H Hawkins' move to Ohio where their descendants lived and prospered. William Henry "Robert" Hawkins, while living in Pennsylvania, married Cassandra Roberts in about 1785. They had eight children together. After Cassandra Roberts died in 1802 following the birth of Isaiah Hawkins b. 1802, William took his eight children, together with his sister Ruth, and moved to Mongolia, Virginia. He then married Catherine Brumage and they had three children together. Catherine died in 1814 after giving birth to Josiah L Hawkins b. 1814. William remarried in 1816 and had two sons and two daughters with Martha Snodgrass. Martha died in 1841. Martha is buried next to William Henry "Robert" Hawkins in Minister's Cemetery 1.6 miles up Ministers Run Road (County Road 25/26) from Baxter on Moses Cox farm. This cemetery was cleared by Harry Denzil Hawkins who left it in good condition in about 1988. The following headstone readings were done by Flora Kisner Williams, 1988: Hawkins, William (Rev.) 1766 5 Nov 1885 (89 yrs) Martha Snodgrass 16 Apr 1782 2 Feb 1841 3rd wife William Henry "Robert" Hawkins died on 5 Nov 1855 in Marion, Virginia, having lived a long life of 89 years.

While doing a google search for the maps shown above, I found the following website with information about this family line.  I do not have information about how correct the information is, but it was easy to read.  You might like to look for yourself:

http://sites.rootsweb.com/~lacorrigan/rhawkinsdesc1.html

Family Group #22

I have been trying to establish a link between Jesse Hawkins (born in the 1780s in North Carolina, died in Pike County, Ga., in the 1840s) and earlier Hawkinses.  

One of his sons, William Hawkins, came to Talbot County, Ga., in the first decades of the 19th century. 

A "Hawkins" cousin did the "Y" test three or four years ago (at my urging), and the results were quite revealing.

In short, it seems that there is no doubt that our branch of the family "springs" from Godfrey Spruill, who was an early physician in Maryland and North Carolina.  In Tyrrell County (N.C.), there were Spruills and Hawkinses in the county (or the immediate vicinity) as early as the late 1600s/early 1700s.

The administrator of the Spruill (Sproul?) family project has given assurance, based on "Y" results, that my Hawkins line is, in fact, a Spruill line.

This information is from Roger Harris:  rogerharrisnyc@aol.com

Roger added the following link June 2023:  https://www.ncgenweb.us/tyrrell/HWKN1755.HTM

Family Group #5

The following information is from a lady with whom I have chatted for quite a few years.  Here is what she says about her Hawkins family:

Benjamin C.(Carter)Hawkins was born approximately 1800 in Orange County, Virginia.  Parents are unknown.  Family lore says his middle name was Carter and that middle name was given to descendants in the Hawkins and Hammer family.  He married in 1827, in Orange County, Susan Lee, daughter of William H. Lee and Sarah Terrill of Orange County.(dna proven). The family moved sometime after 1840 to Rockingham County, Virginia and settled near McGaheysville. 

Between 1850 and 1860, accordingly to family lore, he left to visit his relatives and disappeared, never to be heard from again. His wife, Susan remained in McGaheysville and died in 1873 and is buried in the OLD Peaked Mountain Cemetery.

*Uncle and I have dna tested.  We show a match to Hawkins Family Group #5.

Children:

Vernangus Hawkins born 1827 maried in Rockingham County, Virginia in 1847, Henry Conrad Hammer(my ancestor)

Philip Carter Hawkins born 1831 and died 1853.

William Carter Hawkins born 1834 and died 1861 married Frances Leap, before 1858 in Rockingham County, VA

Robert Garnet Hawkins born 1836 married in Rockingham County, Virginia Lucinda F. Meadows in 1876

John Harvey Hawkins born 1840 married 1.  Elizabeth A. Nestor in Rockingham County, Virginia in 1868, 2.  married a 2nd time in Georgia(cannot find name of spouse)when he was very old and wife took all his money, a substantial sum.  Died 1914 in Rome, Georgia.

Linda Keefer

I also have a Facebook page Hammer and Allied Families of Rockingham County, Virginia.

Linda can be reached at SiameseC@aol.com

For information about Benjamin C. Carter's move to Orange County, Virginia in the early 1700s, which Linda and I talked about in 2013 go to my main blog at:

https://marshamoses.blogspot.com/2013/02/benjamin-carter-hawkins-and-wife-susan.html

You can see the location of Rockingham County on a modern map in the illustration below.  It is the square county that sits in North Carolina above Greensboro and on the Virginia State line.