"I had neither kith nor kin in England, and was therefore as free as air." -- Watson (STUD).

Watson reports (in 1881 or 1882, according to scholarly timelines) that he "had neither kith nor kin in England" (STUD). The absence of his British parents suggests that they had died at some point earlier. And, in fact, Holmes himself later says to Watson, "Your father has, if I remember right, been dead for many years" with which Watson agrees (SIGN).

In 1887 or 1888, Watson comes into possession of his older brother's watch, which suggests that his elder brother had just died and he had received the watch (formerly their father's) as an inheritance. This would also suggest that his brother never had children (and therefore, perhaps, never married).

In SIGN, Holmes correctly deduces that Watson's has an elder brother whose name was the same as their father's (with the initial H. Watson). He also deduces brother H.W. "was a man of untidy habits - very untidy and careless. He was left with good prospects, but threw away his chances, lived for some time in poverty with occasional short intervals of prosperity, and, finally, taking to drink, he died" (SIGN).

His brother must have departed for another land (for travel or residence) before Watson returned from his war experience. Whether he returned is a matter of speculation, but it is possible that H. Watson fell upon destitute times and then traveled or moved out of England. But it is far more likely that elder brother H. Watson was abroad during John's return from the war and then returned to the land of his birth where he then fell destitute, was forced to pawn his father's watch several times, periodically fell into more money, and finally took to heavy drinking after which he died.

Is it coincidence that brother H.W. has the same first initial as John's middle initial? Both the given names Henry and Harry ((a derivative of Henry)) were popular given names during this period). Dorothy L. Sayers (of Lord Peter Wimsey novel fame) has speculated that John's H stands for Hamish (Scottish for James) because Watson's wife calls him James instead of John at one point (also possibly the publisher's typographical error).

Mary Morstan, whom he met in SIGN became his first wife in the spring of 1889 (ENGI). Watson moved out of 221B and in with his wife, not far from Paddington Station. Of her, Watson says, "Folks who were in grief came to my wife like birds to a lighthouse" (TWIS). Sadly, Mary later dies (EMPT) between 1891-1894 (during Holmes' absence). Her death, however, allows Watson to move back into his old boardinghouse with his friend, much to the delight of Mrs. Hudson's cheque-book.

By 1903, however, Watson had moved on again. Holmes writes, "Watson had at that time deserted me for a wife" (BLAN). Therefore, Watson was married at least twice. There are several other references to his wife which cannot be directly attributed to either of these two ladies because of the dates at which the cases are assumed to have taken place do not correspond to either marriage. Because Watson only mentions "his wife" and does not name her (besides the few references to Mary), scholars have been unable to agree on how many times the good doctor was married, with people arguing for one to five marriages.