Waters Genealogy - Western NC

Marty and Karla Grant

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Waters Genealogy - Western North Carolina

Welcome to my Waters genealogy pages. I am interested in the Waters surname in Western NC. That area of interest may expand once I’ve learned more about my ancestors.

The Waters surname is generally of English, Scottish or Irish origin. Germanic ancestry also exists, with the surname having been Wasser or Wasserman before being Anglicized to Waters.

The name can also be spelled Watters, though in my branch Waters is more common. Walters is an ancient variation, but generally speaking Walters and Waters are not used interchangeably more recently except as typos or misinterpretations of handwriting. It can sometimes be quite difficult to tell a Walters from a Watters on an old document unless the T is clearly crossed.

Waters was the 455^th most common surname in the United States in 2000. By 2010 it had dropped to 491^stmost common. Watters didn’t make the Top 1000 either time.

As a child I was told that my ancestor Dulcenia Waters Wright was “Black Dutch.” There are many alternative theories as to what that actually means. “Dutch” can mean from the Netherlands, or it can also mean German ancestry. I believe that her Black Dutch ancestry, if indeed she has any, is via her paternal grandmother’s side of the family, and not via the Waters line. The grandmother I’m referring to was a Fouts, and of Germanic ancestry. Of course it’s possible the Waters themselves were of Germanic ancestry.

My most recent Waters ancestor is my great great grandmother Annis Dulcenia Waters (1862-1918) who married Aaron Alexander Wright in 1876 in Macon Co., NC where she resided. He was from Cherokee Co., NC which is where they lived after marriage. She is a proven daughter of:

Jacob Jackson Waters (1842-1923) and Emily Tanner. Jacob was named for his two grandfathers, Jacob Fouts and Jackson Waters. Jacob was born in Macon Co., NC and lived nearly his entire life there excepting a short stint in Oklahoma. He is a proven son of:

Michael Jackson Waters (c1815-c1846) and Rebecca Fouts. Jackson was born in either Mecklenburg Co., NC or Haywood Co., NC. He married Rebecca in 1838 in Macon Co., NC which is where he died ca 1846. Afterward, Rebecca married to Reuben Evans. Jackson Waters is a proven son of:

Michael Waters (c1765/70-c1838) and Emelia Stewart. I don’t know where Michael was born, nor who his parents were. He married Emelia Stewart ca 1790s in Mecklenburg (now Cabarrus) Co., NC where her family lived at the time. Afterward the Waters resided in Mecklenburg until the mid or late 1810s when they moved to Haywood Co., NC, then later to what became Macon Co., NC where he died in the late 1830s, and she in the 1840s.

Revised: March 28, 2026

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