Hello Rosalie Lovely to hear from you. I'll give you a "potted" family history of my Wathens. My grandmother was a Wathen (the last of that name in our line). She was actually born in Staffordshire where her family owned potteries.(She also married "down"& moved to South Wales). Her grandfather (Obadiah Paul Wathen) moved to Staffs. from the Cotswolds on his marriage to Esther Venables in 1806. The Wathens in Glos. were a family of long-standing who owned wool weaving mills way back to at least the early 1600s. The information at the church at Robeston Wathen leads us to believe that they had moved from that area to Glos because of their connection with the wool trade. However, I have yet to find a connection. As its back in the 1500s and records in Wales at that time are almost non-existent its unlikely that I shall ever find it. It seems probable that the Wathens in West Wales are descended from the original family, and certainly the Bristol Wathen are connected to my line somewhere. Sir Charles Wathen, my grandmother's uncle, was 6 times Lord Mayor of Bristol & was part-owner of the company Bristol Uniforms who are still in business. I have heard that the firm is still in the family, although the name has changed through marriage. As you are 'on the spot' why not get in touch with someone there & see what you can discover. Its one of those things I have been meaning to do but haven't yet found the time. I was hoping they had email so I could just whip off a query, but haven't found a website for them. If you get any further information I would love to hear from you. Its encouraging to at last get a reply through the list. I was beginning to wonder if it was worth continuing with it. Say hello & thank you to your mum for me. Cheerio, Peggy Beckett, Melbourne, Australia