While Col was writing his very detailed message, I’ve been working on the same thing ie looking for reliable evidence for the birthplace of Edward Watterson’s paternal grandfather. I’ll paste below what I’d written so far.

Working backwards and looking at census entries:

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1910

Ancestry’s transcription:

Name: Edward Waterson
Age in 1910: 21
Birth Year: abt 1889
Birthplace: Alabama
Home in 1910: Brogdon, Johnston, Oklahoma
Street: Sec 14
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Son
Marital Status: Single
Father's name: James W Waterson
Father's Birthplace: Georgia
Mother's name: Elizabeth Waterson
Mother's Birthplace: Georgia
Native Tongue: English
Occupation: Farm Laborer
Industry: Home Farm
Employer, Employee or Other: Wage Earner
Attended School: No
Able to Read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Out of Work: N
Number of weeks out of work: 0
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
James W Waterson 66
Elizabeth Waterson 59
Edward Waterson 21
Burney Waterson 17
Jerry Waterson 18
Martha Waterson 17
Maud Waterson 4

Notes:
JWW 66 farmer b Georgia/father United States/mother United States
EW 59 b Georgia/father South Carolina/mother South Carolina
3 sons, 1 daughter-in-law and one granddaughter.

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1900
Ancestry’s transcription:

Name Edward Watterson
Age 12
Birth Date abt 1888
Birthplace Texas
Home in 1900 Township 2, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory
Race White
Relation to Head of House Son
Father's Name Jos Watterson
Mother's Name Elizabeth Watterson
Household Members Name Age
Jos Watterson 52
Elizabeth Watterson 46
Clare Watterson 27
Hannah Watterson 18
Edward Watterson 12
Jerry Watterson 10
Barney Watterson 7

Notes:
Jas Watterson farmer b March 1847 Nth Carolina/father Nth Carolina/mother Mississippi
Elizabeth Watterson b May 1853 Georgia/father So Carolina/mother Nth Carolina.
“Clare” is a son, probably Char Watterson b Jan 1873 Alabama

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1880

Ancestry’s transcription:

Name J. W. Waterson
Age 35
Birth Year abt 1845
Birthplace Georgia
Home in 1880 Orion, Pike, Alabama
Race White
Gender Male
Relation to Head of House Self
Marital Status Married
Spouse's Name Lizzie Waterson
Father's Birthplace Georgia
Mother's Birthplace Georgia
Occupation Farmer
Household Members Name Age
J. W. Waterson 35
Lizzie Waterson 25
Charlie Waterson 8
Willie Waterson 6
Janies Waterson 3
Jinnie Waterson 14

notes:
JWW 35 farmer b Georgia/father Georgia/mother Georgia
LW 25 b Georgia/father Georgia/mother Georgia
3 sons all b Alabama
1 niece b Alabama

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So what I surmise from those entries is that James W Waterson was probably born in Georgia circa 1844 and that he wasn’t sure which states his parents were born in, but that they were definitely born in the US. Supposing that JWW’s father had been a young man when JWW was born and that he himself had been born in the US to a young father who had recently emigrated, the latest birth year for the Manx/Irish/English ancestor would have been circa 1804. I suspect that it was probably much earlier than that. Without something like an old family bible turning up, it’s hard to see that this will ever be resolved.

As for “DNA evidence”, I confess to being a sceptic. I believe that people attach undue importance to it. When getting a match from someone who was connected 6 or 7 generations back, how can we be sure exactly which, of the many possible family lines, is the one which is giving that match ?

Jean C