The Thomerson family has its roots in Essex, England and has
been traced back to Richard Thomason who was born sometime around 1590,
though more research is still required on these early generations.
Most of our forebears moved towards London in the first half
of the 19th century, residing in Hackney and Bethnal Green.
Many were connected with the building trade as master builders,
labourers and architects. William Thomerson, born
1799, has this written about him in a book describing the development
of South Hackney, now part of London:
William Thomerson. Developer of the SW corner of the Parr Estate,
Hackney, including Balcorne Street.
Details:
December 1850, Thomerson concluded an agreement with John Parr (the
land owner) for the laying out of New Church Road (now Balcorne Street)
and for the demolition and rebuilding of "two ancient messuages*" on
the site. In the following year, Thomerson took 90 year leases of some
40 houses facing each other east and west across the street of which
numbers 25-35, complete with pediment**, are all that is left to
demonstrate the scale and charm of the street as it must have
originally been. The remaining half dozen are typical, with the
exception of the eight houses south and west of the eastward swing of
the road which were envisaged as having only 3 rooms, the stipulated
minimum otherwise being five.
*
"messuage" = a dwelling-house with its outbuildings and the adjacent
land assigned to its use.
** "pediment" =
the triangular part crowning the front of a building in the classical
style, usually situated over a portico.
The present family is
dispersed, living in many
parts of England. Some have emigrated to South Africa, USA, Canada and
Australia and some of the family still live in Hackney and Bethnal
Green. It is
likely that one or more branches of the name originated in the USA
separately from the Essex family -
this is ongoing research.
A little over 300 Thomersons have been born in
the UK since 1837 and many of them and their descendants have married in the UK. The marriages
have involved the following names:
My
name is Peter Langford, a
direct descendant of the Thomerson family. I have been researching the
Thomerson name for some time and I am a member of the Society of
Genealogists and a member of the Guild Of One-Name Studies. If you
would like to know more, or would like to exchange information, then
please contact me on:
or visit
my profile page at the Guild of One-Name Studies: