Next month, I'm excited to be leading a pilgrimage through England, Wales, and Scotland, visiting some of the most significant Catholic sites across Great Britain. Highlights will include London, Walsingham, Lindisfarne, Edinburgh, York and (to my great delight) Herefordshire, the likely birthplace of John Wathen.
As I've been learning more about English history and geography, I've been revisiting the question of where the Wathens had their roots. A few years ago I discovered evidence that a paternal ancestor of the Wathens was near Birkrigg Commons, Cumbria, around 2,000 B.C., but where were they from 2,000 B.C. to 1670, when John Wathen sailed from Bristol, England?
As it turns out, I discovered some new evidence last week about later paternal ancestors of the Wathens, this time around 100 B.C. In this post, I'd like to outline what Family Tree DNA Ancient Connections suggests about where the male ancestors of John Wathen lived in Britain.
Birkrigg Common (2450 - 1800 BCE)
Family Tree DNA's Ancient Connections allows test takers to compare their DNA with that of ancient people whose remains have been found and analyzed. Back in 2023, when this Family Tree DNA feature was first released, we discovered that an ancient man buried in Birkrigg Common, Cumbria, sometime between 2450 and 1800 BC carried a rare Y-DNA mutation that is also found in John Wathen and his direct male-line descendants.
Here's what Family Tree DNA says about this man, dubbed "Birkrigg 20997":
Birkrigg 20997
2450 - 1800 BCE
Shared Ancestor 2050 B.C.
You and Birkrigg 20997 share a common paternal line ancestor who lived around this time.
Rare Connection
1 in 8,800
Only 82 customers are this closely related to Birkrigg 20997.
Birkrigg 20997 was a man who lived between 2450 - 1800 BCE during the Early Bronze Age and was found in the region now known as Birkrigg Common, Cumbria, England.
He was associated with the Bronze Age British Isles cultural group.
His direct maternal line belonged to mtDNA haplogroup X2b4a.
Reference: I20997 from Patterson et al. 2022
The DNA findings suggest that Birkrigg 20997 was either a direct male ancestor of John Wathen or a very close relative of John's direct male ancestor. Because the ancient man was buried in Birkrigg Common, Cumbria it's very likely that John Wathen's patrilineal ancestors were in or near around 2050 B.C.
The people who lived in Birkrigg Common at that time were part of the Early Bronze Age Bell Beaker culture, whose ancestors had migrated westward from the Eurasian Steppe and eventually reached Britain around 2500 B.C. The Beakers were highly mobile shepherds and farmers who are believed to have built the Birkrigg Stone Circle. They are called "Beakers" by archaeologists because of the distinctive bell-shaped pottery vessels found with many of their burials.
Wetwang Slack (400 - 50 B.C.)
Just last week, Family Tree DNA's Ancient Connections revealed another genetic clue: A young boy buried in Wetwang Slack, East Riding of Yorkshire carried a rare Y-DNA mutation that is also found in John Wathen and his direct male-line descendants.
Here's what Family Tree DNA says about this man, dubbed "Wetwang 31004":
Wetwang 31004
400 - 50 BCE
Shared Ancestor 100 BCE
You and Wetwang 31004 share a common paternal line ancestor who lived around this time.
Rare Connection
1 in 34,000
Only 21 customers are this closely related to Wetwang 31004.
Wetwang 31004 was an 8-9 year old boy who lived between 400 - 50 BCE during the Middle Iron Age and was found in the region now known as Wetwang Slack, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
He was associated with the Arras cultural group.
His direct maternal line belonged to mtDNA haplogroup K1c1.
Reference: I31004 from Olalde et al. 2026 (bioRxiv)
Notice that this ancient connection is even rarer than the previous one - 11 of the 21 customers who share this mutation are Wathens or Warthens - which suggests that the patrilineal ancestors of John Wathen were in the Yorkshire area by around 100 B.C.
The people who lived in Wetwang Slack at the time were part of the Arras culture, an Iron Age Celtic society. Archaeological evidence suggests that they used vibrantly dyed wool and linen clothes. They were master craftsmen with beautiful La Tène-style art, iron tools and swords, and bronze mirrors. The culture is famous for burying some of their people, presumably those of higher status, in wooden chariots.
Welsh Border (Late Middle Ages)
So far, we've seen evidence that the male-line ancestors of John Wathen were in Cumbria around 2050 B.C. and were in Yorkshire around 100 B.C., but the "Wathen" name probably developed in Welsh-speaking territories in the late Middle Ages. The Dictionary of American Family Names says "Wathen" is Welsh in origin, "possibly from the personal name Gwaiddan." In the first UK-wide census in 1841, the Wathen surname is concentrated in Gloucestershire (about 498 Wathens) and Herefordshire (about 122) in England and in the neighboring Monmouthshire in Wales (about 44). All three of these counties are right along the border of England and Wales, where the Wathen name may have originated.
We know for sure that the Southern Maryland John Wathen sailed in 1670 from Bristol, England (not far from the Welsh border), but we don't know for certain where he was born. Evidence suggests that he was Catholic, not Anglican, which makes it more likely that John was from Herefordshire or Monmouthshire: The 1676 Compton Census (which does not include names) shows that recusant Catholics were concentrated in Herefordshire and Monmouthshire but were more scarce in Gloucestershire.
The Big Picture
Putting all of this information together, it seems that the male-line ancestors of John Wathen were near Cumbria around 2050 B.C., were near Yorkshire around 100 B.C., and were later near the Welsh Border Counties where the Wathen name probably developed by the late Middle Ages. As more Y-DNA evidence emerges, we may be able to get an even clearer picture of where the Wathens came from!
Note: The cover image for this article was generated by Google Nano Banana 2.