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Guild of One-Name Studies

One-name studies, Genealogy

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Thomerson One-Name Study

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Study details

Study: Thomerson   

Category:  1 - A study where research using core genealogical datasets and transcriptions is in its early stages.

Website: www.thomerson.org.uk

Contact: Mr Peter Langford


About the study

The THOMERSON one-name study is about genealogy and putting the 'flesh on the bones' of our ancestors with this surname in the sense of identifying where they lived, what they did, the hardships they suffered and the pleasures they enjoyed. It aims to pull together all connected strands of the family worldwide and to identify and inter-link as far as possible those strands that currently exist outside of the main family tree. It seems probable that a name change from THOMASON to THOMERSON started the name and this has occurred at least once in the UK (in Essex), with a possible second occurrence in Scotland. In the USA, immigration and further changes of Thomason to Thomerson seem to be responsible for the presence of the family name (this research is work in progress).

My interest in the Thomerson name came about when my mother related a much-repeated assertion from her mother that if she were ever to meet another Thomerson, then that person would be related to her in some way. My mother continues the story with a description of the time that she met an airman named Thomerson in East Africa towards the end of World War 2. She was a nurse and treated him for a few days for burns received when his plane crashed. She remembers writing a letter for him to send to his mother, his hands being badly burnt. What she never found out was whether or not that airman was related to her. In 1990, this was the question that challenged me.
I was able to find that airman, living in Canada. He was related to my mother - they were fourth cousins - and was able to meet my mother again when he next visited the UK. Unfortunately, he didn't remember my mother at all!

I am very happy to receive enquiries from anybody about the Thomerson name and it is my intention to respond in under a week (usually 1 or 2 days) with the only exception being when I am on holiday. Please e-mail me.

Variant names

The name under research is THOMERSON. Research is extended to Thomason where this name links into the family, but all Thomasons are not included in this one-name study for the simple reason of volume of information.

Name origin

The origin of most UK occurrences of the name can be traced to the area around Saffron Walden in Essex and this includes branches of the family that have emigrated to the USA, Canada, South Africa and Australia.
Also, in the USA, there seems to be a clustering of the name in Kentucky and Texas with some occurrences in Indiana and North Carolina; it is probable that the name started there independently from the UK and further research is on-going. Any offers of help gratefully received.

Thomerson probably came about as 'Thomason' pronounced with a regional accent and recorded by someone who was not a native to that accent.
Thomason almost certainly means 'son of Thomas'.
There is a belief that 'Thomas' comes from the Aramaic (one of the Semitic languages) term for 'twin.'

Historical occurrences of the name

The Thomerson name appears very infrequently in the media and historical contexts; probably this frequency is consistent with the general low frequency of the existence of the name.
That said:
Tim Thomerson is a current USA actor of moderate fame (see http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0859772/) who has appeared in several films and TV programmes including 'Baywatch', 'Ally McBeal' and 'Sabrina, The Teenage Witch.'
Carol Thomerson is well know for her upholstery books as any internet search will identify.
Jamie E. Thomerson is professor of biology at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (USA). He has published numerous articles on neotropical freshwater fishes.
Several Thomersons in the UK have been builders and were responsible for building a large number of houses in Hackney and Bethnal Green. Others were architects, cabinet makers and zinc workers to mention a few.

Name frequency

The Thomerson name occurs in the UK census as follows:
1841 - 50 persons
1851 - 38
1861 - 53
1871 - 112
1881 - 53
1891 - 67
1901 - 97
1911 - 110
 in the USA census as follows:
1820 - 9
1830 - 11
1840 - 19
1860 - 188
1870 - 119
1880 - 262
1900 - 418
1910 - 345
1920 - 419
1930 - 369
1940 - 256
in Canada as follows:
1911 - 84
1921 - 2

Distribution of the name

Occurrences of the Thomerson name have been found in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and South Africa. Almost certainly, there are Thomersons living in other countries but are not yet researched.
In the UK, the Electoral Roll shows that the largest grouping of Thomersons remains in the Essex and East London areas with others now living in other parts of the UK including Dorset, Surrey, Kent, Norfolk, Yorkshire, Hampshire, Buckinghamshire and in Scotland.
In the USA, the telephone directory shows Thomersons living in Kentucky, Texas, Indiana, Georgia, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Florida, California and North Carolina.
In Canada, telephone directories show Thomersons living in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.

Data

I have information extracted from public records from many sources including: USA and Canadian census and telephone directories; UK birth, marriage and death indexes (from 1837); UK electoral roll; UK telephone directories; Pallot's Marriage indexes (1780 to 1837); UK Parish Registers; some UK and USA newspaper reports; Commonwealth War Graves; Ellis Island and some Canadian immigration indexes.

Links

Distribution map of Thomerson surname from the USA 1840-1920 federal census:
http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=thomerson

Society of Genealogists:
http://www.sog.org.uk

Further information from my Thomerson web site:
http://www.thomerson.org.uk

Contact Details

Mr Peter Langford

General Search Results

Occurrences of the surname Thomerson in the Guild Indexes
(Click on the number to view the search results in each index. Indexes marked by * are only accessible by logged in Guild members.)
  • Global Marriages (public)  166
  • Global Marriages (members)* 205
  • Inscriptions Index  1
  • Datastores  523

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