Author Topic: Common Sense  (Read 7186 times)

Thomas Thompson

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Common Sense
« on: May 14, 2008, 09:08:14 AM »
               

     A couple asked why have a Clan Thompson?  They had been told that: “THOM(P)SON IS (name deleted)” and that many of the (deleted surname) had changed their name to Thomson and was therefore the  source of Thomson.  As an answer to the question and hopefully end the debate I will offer a couple of quotes and some uncontestable facts.
   “As regards septs, I would think you were justified in including the names in the ‘official’ Campbell list which in fact mean the same as (deleted) – or son of Thomas – but making it plain, if you can, That this ONLY applies to those who come from Argyll; it is patently ridiculous to suggest that all those who are sons of various Thomases or Toms all descend from the same stock when in fact the name is to be found all over England Wales and Ireland, let alone Scotland, from a myriad unrelated forebears of the name.”
    From a 25, August 1992 letter written by Alastair Campbell of Airds, Unicorn Pursuivant, addressed to a certain man seeking assistance in matriculation as Chief of a separate clan or Chieftain of Clan Campbell.
   “ On the armorial evidence there is a strong case to be made for the Thom(p)sons as a group sui generis and totally independent of Campbells, MacThomases,( Deleted), MacCombies and the rest, Lots of Thomson coats of arms were illustrated in a recent forum thread, and they are nothing like the arms of the chiefs of the clans that would claim Thomsons as theirs.  See also the article ‘Thomson, Thoms and MacThomas’ in the 1995 edition of The Double Tressire.” John Gaylor, Heraldry-Scotland post Feb 20, 2008.     
    “No one can say what is what with clans.  It is up to the Chiefs and the clansmen.  If you are not a (deleted), I would suggest that you are unlikely to have anything to do with each other.  As for the heraldry of the (deleted), I don’t know.  I thought that they used to have a Campbell coat in the first quarter and changed that recently.  They used to be seen as part of Clan Campbell and perhaps historically this is a more accurate way of looking at them. You will have to read the articles about Thomson/(deleted) to understand the difference, but essentially the (deleted) name is for descendants of one particular son of Thomas. No other Thomson can be certain that they descend from that Thomas.” Letter dated January 9, 2008, by Alex Findlater.
    Early 1700 tax roll lists ONLY 17 (deleted) names in all of Kintyre – home of the (deleted) 1300 acre farm.  This is 93 years before they were officially recognized as a clan and nearly 200 years after Clan Thomson was officially recognized as a clan by the Scottish Parliament in 1587.
    In the official census, the number of (deleted) families had grown to 742 in all of Scotland, the majority of whom were from the Statherrick region.  In the same 1861 census, There were over 32,000 Thomson families.
    Less than 1,000 compared to 32,000 is about .03%. Two or three changing their names is like 'Adding a  wee drop of  water to a barrel of fine Scotch; it does not dilute the whiskey nor change the name to Canadian Club no matter how it is bottled."


Tom
     
« Last Edit: May 14, 2008, 11:15:30 AM by Forum_mgr »