Looking for Information - William Thomson, b. Lanarkshire, Scotland, 1830's
Hi,
First of all I'm new to this site and to Genealogy in general, so forgive me if I make any beginner mistakes, or anything like that!
I have some information about my family tree that goes back as far as my gr-gr-Grandfather and gr-gr-Grandmother on my mother's side. I'm interested in going back as far as I can on my gr-gr-Grandfather's side of the tree. So to start with, I would like to know more about the origin of William Thomson, my gr-gr-Grandfather.
The information I have on William is quite small unfortunately. I hope it is enough to illicit some possible responses from those in the know. The info I have is as follows:
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Name: William (Middle Name Unknown/Non-Existent) Thomson
Born: His Year of birth is listed as 'c1834/38'
Died: 25th of September, 1907 (Myrniong, Victoria, Australia)
Birthplace: Lanarkshire, Scotland. My info notes that his family may have been associated with 'Hazelbank' or 'Gartlea', both of which are towns in the region of Lanarkshire. So he may have been born/grew up in one of those towns.
My info notes that 'William is believed to have arrived in Vic (Victoria) in 1857'. So he would have been 23-27 years old when he moved to Australia.
The info notes that William spent 7 years in Collingwood, Victoria as a contractor, as well as 10 months in New Zealand (doing what I don't know). After this he moved to Myrniong where he took up farming, and by 1880 he had 625 acres of land.
Of interest to note is that William was a breeder of Clydesdale Horses. He was known and respected in this field. He may have got his knowledge of Clydesdales from his time living and growing up in Lanarkshire Scotland. He was believed to have brought out Clydesdale's from Scotland to Australia.
In 1871 William married Elizabeth Pattinson, an Australian born woman of possible Irish ancestry (Her parents were George and Margaret Pattinson (n. Butler) if that helps). Together they had 10 children - my gr-Grandfather, gr-Uncles and gr-Aunts. I am descended from his 3rd oldest Son, William Bernard Thompson.
You may note that I spelled my gr-Grandfather's surname as 'Thompson' instead of 'Thomson'. This is not a typo. Apparently, after William and Elizabeth got married, Elizabeth had William change the spelling of Thomson to Thompson, as that was the Irish way of spelling the name and she liked that better. That is what I have heard anyway!
Also interesting to note - I believe William Thomson named his property 'Hazel Bank'. This could be the reason behind the association of him and the town of Hazelbank in Lanarkshire, Scotland.
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So, that's all the info I have on Mr. William Thomson at the moment. If I find anymore possibly helpful info I will post it in this topic.
To sum up, I am interested in knowing more about William Thomson. I would mainly like to know about his family - who his parents were, and his siblings if he had any. I would also be interested in knowing where William grew up. I am interested in replies on this board from people who:
- Knew William Thomson, or know ABOUT him and his background somehow.
- Are related to William Thomson in some way or form, and who may be able to help me in my search.
- Don't know anything about him, but can help me by giving me advice on how to go finding some more information about him.
I think that's about it, sorry if I have missed anything, I am quite new to this. Thanks in advance for any replies, I'll check back here regularly to check for replies and post my own.
Thanks,
MWebb
More Replies:
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Re: Looking for Information - William Thomson, b. Lanarkshire, Scotland, 1830's
ALFRED TURNER 10/03/12
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Re: Looking for Information - William Thomson, b. Lanarkshire, Scotland, 1830's
Dick Williams 10/02/12