This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
Surnames: Cawthorne, Cawthorn, Cothern, Cauthen
Classification: Query
Message Board URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/GJI.2ACIB/105.1
Message Board Post:
According to Manyline Cauthen Westenhaver, who published 'The Cauthen Family
History' in 1980, the spelling of the name evolved from 'Cawthorne', the
English form used by our common ancestor in Essex County, Virginia, in 1670. After 1700,
the 'e' was dropped, and Cawthron appeared. Other variations soon followed, for a
variety of reasons. One, writing with quill pens was not precise and two, the
'scribe' often wrote what he 'heard', thus 'Cawthron' --
pronounced with a drawl -- became 'Cawthern, Cothern, Cauthen, etc.
So yes, there are many variations.
But if we accept that our line traces back to Richard Cawthorne, whose son, Richard
Cawthorne III, was 'the Immigrant' who settled in Essex County, Virginia, about
1670, and from whose sons many of us trace our ancestry, then it follows that by
choosing 'Cawthorne' as the name of the Family Site, we pay respect to our common
ancestor.