Evan WATKINS

General Notes

m. to Sophia WADE
widowered < 14 Jun 1819, mentioned in will of father-in-law John WADE, although his wife Sophia is not

Mary Ann Wade: Evan Watkins wife Sophia Wade died, so he was left $1 in John Wade's will.

(...) The Wade and Watkins families lived close together in Monongalia
County, Virginia. This may have influenced them to both go to Nelson County, Virginia, which became Washington County, Kentucky.    Also, John Waid was listed in 1787 Census of Virginia in Youghigeny County. The Wade family moved to southwestern Pennsylvania (then claimed by Virginia) right after the Revolution, and stayed there until moving south across the border to Monongalia County. John Wade probably loaded his family on a flatboat and went down the Monongahalia and Ohio Rivers to Louisville, and then eastward on the Wilderness Trail to Washington County, Kentucky.

(...) Evan's brother Andrew Watkins was a witness in his friend's (Joseph Wade and Barbara Jordan) marriage in Nelson County, June 2, 1789. Joseph Wade married Barbara
Jordan, daughter of JOHN JORDAN, in Nelson County, Kentucky, June 2,
1789. The Bond was signed by John Jordan and Andrew Watkins. Andrew's brother Evan married Joseph Wade's sister Sophia.

(...) One more thing, the Watkins and Wade families were very close friends and neighbors in VA/PA. Joseph Wade's friend Andrew Watkins was at his wedding to Barbara Jordan. Andrew Watkins married Easter Hopkins, daughter of Henry Hopkins, bond: December 3, 1700, surety: Jesse Watkins; consent of the father of the bride; December 2, 1700, witnesses: William Kirkkpatrick and Robert Jennings; married: December 224, 1799 by Rev. Owen Owens in Washington County, Kentucky I:29:7; R-I:34:9   By the way, Owen Owens was the father of James Owens, husband of Sarah Wade. Perhaps the following info on Evan Watkins might help you:

     Evan Watkins Jr., son of Evan Sr. and Prudence Watkins, was born at Watkins Ferry, Frederick County, Virginia (now Berkeley County, West Virginia) on January 19, 1772. he died at his farm near Smithfield, Henry County, Kentucky on October 11, 1819.
     His father, Evan Watkins Sr., had been born April 18, 1744 at Watkins Ferry, where his father (also named Evan Watkins) had operated a ferry across the Potomac River since about 1739. Evan Watkins Sr. inherited the ferry and surrounding lands when his father died in July 1764, and had operated the ferry since then.
     The date of Evan Jr.'s birth is based on an application in 1935 for membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution by his great granddaughter, Mrs. Gertrude Blaydes Stamler, where she shows his date of birth as 1772, based on a family bible of the family of Evan Jr.'s sister, Sarah Teresa Buchanan. Since his brother John was born January 19, 1772, and younger brother Isaac was born November 19, 1773, it seems highly likely that John and Evan Junior were twins.
     On August 12, 1772, his parents, Evan Senior and Prudence, sold most of their land in the Watkins Ferry area and moved west into a wilderness area along the western frontier claimed by both Virginia and Pennsylvania. Their family, consisting of Evan Junior, John and older brother Andrew, born about 1770 (and possibly another brother William, although there is much doubt about this), were among the first to move into an area where Indian raids still occurred, and "civilization" was far behind.
     Evan Junior's father served in the Virginia army in 1774 during Lord Dunmore's War (against the Indians on the western Virginia frontier), and later served in the Virginia army during the Revolutionary War.
     Evan and Prudence Watkins continued to live in the same area of Pennsylvania until 1787, and during that time seven children were born into the family. in February 1787, Evan bought 310 acres on Scotts run in Monongalia County, Virginia, just across the state line from his Pennsylvania home. The family lived there until the winter of 1791-1792, when they moved by flat-boat down the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers to the falls of the Ohio, at present day Louisville, Kentucky. From there, they traveled south to Nelson County, in the Kentucky territory of Virginia. Apparently the Wade Family traveled with them.

Kentucky Marriages to 1850:
Wade, Sophia Watkins, Evans 17 Jan 1793 Kentucky Washington County

Longtime Wade family researcher Mary Ann Wade confirms that this is the correct marriage.

Click here for details of Evan's family with Sophia WADE