Searching for the Stephens
How exciting! Several years ago when I was new to genealogy research (before I joined the Ardiente Genealogy Club and Generations Connection and before I upgraded my account at Ancestry and before I took any online genealogy classes), I discovered that my ancestor Stephen Watkins had served in the American Revolutionary War.
My information at first glance showed that Stephen was born in 1735 and had multiple wives. He would have been 41 when he enlisted. As I kept looking, I found that Stephen Watkins was born in 1763. If this was a different Stephen, this would have made him 13 at the time of enlistment. All of a sudden, I started seeing the name Stephen Lee Watkins, sometimes with the birth date of 1763, sometimes with different birth dates. Okay, true confession time…I was relying on other people’s trees and confusion reigned. It appeared to me as I began examining the “facts” on these trees that people mixed up the different Stephens and just indiscriminately added these “facts” to their trees without any supporting documentation, then other people copied those trees and misinformation abounded. As my skills and access to information improved I’ve been sorting out the actual facts and verifying my discoveries.
Between family knowledge and research that I could corroborate, I am very confident in tracing my ancestors to my 3rd great grandfather, Joseph Hanslep (Hanslap) Watkins. Then the Stephens come into play.
The first record that I find of Stephen in my direct line is Stephen who was born in 1735. Stephen married Elinor Boyd. His parents were John Watkins and Mary Warman. Stephen’s brother John married Ester Belt and they named one of their children Stephen. Stephen (my 5th great grandfather) and Elinor had nine children including a son named Stephen (my 4th great grandfather) who married Frances Hanslep Warman in 1784. He later married Sarah Miller. (Some people claim that he was also married to Alice Woodward but I have found no evidence of that; in a DAR application it states that “no proof patriot was the correct husband of Alice Woodward.”)
Continuing with searching for Stephens, I branched out to Joseph Hanslep Watkins, the only son of Stephen and Frances. Joseph had seven half siblings (children of Stephen and Sarah). One of the brothers was named Stephen Clemens Watkins (this is the first instance where I find a middle name for a Stephen). This Stephen also had a son that he named Stephen Clemens. Another of Joseph and Stephen’s brothers, James had a son in 1831 that he named Stephen Lee and this is the first evidence that I found with a Stephen who had the middle name Lee.
Stephen (son of Stephen and Elinor) enlisted in the American Revolutionary War in 1776. According to Maryland Marriage Records, Stephen and Frances Hanslep Warman married on May 18, 1784 (she may have died in 1792 though I have not verified this date). He married Sarah Miller on June 26, 1804. He applied for his pension in 1820 and died on July 2, 1828.
The big problem that I have discovered with this Stephen is his birth date. On Ancestry in the Maryland, U.S., Births and Christenings Index, 1662-1911, it shows:
| Name: | Stephen Watkins |
| Gender: | Male |
| Birth Date: | 3 Feb 1763 |
| Birth Place: | Saint James Parish, Anne Arundel, Maryland |
| Father’s Name: | Stephen Watkins |
| Mother’s Name: | Elenor |
| FHL Film Number: | 13280 |
This is text only data, not the original document. The original data can be found in “Maryland Births and Christenings, 1600–1995.” Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009, 2010. Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records.
The year 1763 is not logical because it would have made Stephen 13 when he enlisted in the war (the official enlistment age to fight in the Revolutionary War was 16, 15 with parental consent, though soldiers could sign up as old as 55). Nonetheless, this date is repeated on Find a Grave and in multiple online trees. However, the Revolutionary War documents indicate a birth date of 1753. In the Partial List of American Officers and Soldiers at the Battle of White Plains, October 28 – November 1, 1776 it states the birth date as 1753, “Watkins, Stephen MD 1753-1838 Pvt. 4th Regiment, Maryland Line WV in the Am Rev.” Additionally, Stephen applied for his pension on June 27, 1820 when he was 67 years old. This implies that he was born in 1753. When Nettie Watkins Ullum applied for DAR membership, the data cover sheet states Stephen’s birth date as 1753 but I’m not sure what documentation she used for this.
At some point, I am considering checking into applying for DAR membership. If Stephen seems too complicated, I can always check into Thomas McElroy who has an interesting story. He was an Irish immigrant who enlisted in the American Revolutionary War. (I also found an ancestor named Timothy Smith who I have not researched, but with such a common name I assume documentation could be a problem.)
Also, as I “branched out” to answer some of my questions, I discovered more to ponder. Joseph Hanslep Watkins (Stephen’s oldest son) married Margaret McElroy (daughter of Thomas McElroy) and they had eight children. Their son, Samuel, had a son, John Calvin, who was my great grandfather. Joseph and Margaret had another son, William, who also had a son named John Calvin (who was Nettie Watkins Ullum’s grandfather) and appears to have gone by J. C. I’m sure there is story here, but I have no idea what it is.
I put more credence in the pension application information than the birth index. Over the years I have found many transcription errors on indexes. Just today I saw one where numbers had been reversed, completely contrary to every other record. How old were Stephen’s parents in 1753 vs 1763? That may help you decide. Good luck!
Thanks for the advice, Barbara. It makes sense that the pension info would be more accurate. I hadn’t thought to check the age of his parents but I will do so. So much of genealogy research seems like detective work 😏.