Joseph Hawkins of Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, who died on September 28, 1770, has been traced back to Baltimore County, Maryland. There he married on May 19, 1744 to Sarah, whose surname was recorded as McDaniells in the register of St. Pauls parish. She was the widow of James McDaniel, who she had married in 1739 and had a daughter named Ann. Sara was the daughter of Joseph Jones and Patience Beale(s).

Maner L. Thorpe, Ph.D., thoroughly and diligently researched this family and traced the lineage back to John and Mary Hawkins, of Anne Arundel Co., Maryland - the Progentiors of this Hawkins family. After careful review and investigation of all known and discovered facts, Maner L. Thorpe, Ph.D. theorized that Joseph Hawkins was the grandson of John and Mary Hawkins through their son Thomas Hawkins. Although the facts lined up and Thomas indeed had a son named Joseph, Harry E. Long, a fellow researcher of the Hawkins family, elucidated this connection and it has been concluded that Joseph Hawkins of Shenandoah Valley was not the son of Thomas Hawkins. Ironically, the Joseph Hawkins son of Thomas Hawkins was indeed a cousin of Joseph Hawkins of Shenandoah Valley and was apparently the witness to a bond that he filed at court in Virginia relating money that he borrowed from Nathaniel Giles of Baltimore County, Maryland.

Moreover, with the advent of DNA testing as a genealogical tool, a descendant of Joseph Hawkins of Shenandoah Valley recently participated in the DNA project on the Hawkins family and the results were astonishing! Out of the entire Hawkins worldwide DNA Project, there are currently seventeen (17) groups, which represent distinct family clusters or segmentations of the overall family tree.

DNA, which stand for Deoxyribonucleic Acid, is a nucleic acid that carries genetic information, which is passed down from generation to generation. Although all cells in our bodies, except red blood cells, possess a copy of our DNA, only the Y Chromosome is utilized in genealogical testing since it is transmitted from father to son, then son to grandon and so on. The DNA segments that host this genetic code are called genes. We have all heard of genes. We inherit our particular genes from our parents and ancestors.

DNA evidence indicates that the Hawkins family of John Hawkins - the Mariner of New England, who settled in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland are not connected in any way to any other Hawkins family in maryland but do descend directly from the Scot/Viking YDNA, I1b. The DNA results also have confirmed that Joseph Hawkins of Shanandoah Valley directly descends from John Hawkins - the Mariner, who married Mary, of New England and Maryland. The descendant of Joseph Hawkins that participated in DNA testing is number 73395, which has been grouped as Family Group-05. Within this group, there are currently eleven (11) participating descendents and cousins in the Hawkins DNA Project.

Furthermore, through documented pedigrees and DNA testing, all DNA participants of Family Group-05 have been genealogically linked to the various children of John Hawkins - the Mariner and Mary, except Participant # 73395 and descendant of Joseph Hawkins of Shenandoah Valley, which ancestral connection been concluded to have been the son of John Hawkins, Jr., and grandson of John Hawkins, Sr. - the Mariner and Mary.

The purpose of the HAWKINS Worldwide Genealogy DNA Project is to assist in the confirmation of collected historical data. Participants in the project submit samples from light scrapings/combings from the inside cheeks of their mouth. These combings are tested for the number of repeats (or alleles) of selected markers of the Y-chromosome (the y-chromosome is passed from the father to the son each generation, and are unchanged for many generations). The alleles (12, 37, or 67) are entered into a database for comparison to all other participants. Surname participants with the matching markers are descendants of the same male ancestor.

Knowing what proven Hawkins line that you descend from will allow you to concentrate your efforts on that line, not wasting time with an unrelated group of Hawkins; it will help keep you out of that proverbial blind alley. Joining our project will help all Hawkins in the search for our history.

Hawkins cousins are indicated when, using the 12-marker test, there are at least 11 matching markers; using the old 25-marker test, it would require 23 matches, and using the 37-marker test it would requir 35 matches. If you were to match on 11 of the 12-marker test, we would recommend that you have an additional 25 tested to insure that the relationship exists. For this reason , if it is affordable, I recommend the 37-marker test to start with, or the 67-marker test.