Family Group

 

 

 

 

Surname

Thomson

 

 

Arthur Thomson lived in Scotland and was a stone mason.  He and his wife had at least three children: Arthur Reid, Alexander "Sandy" and Gennia.  His wife's name is unknown and both Arthur and his wife died before the younger children were grown.

 

Arthur Reid Thomson, born in Bannockburn, Scotland, was the first in our direct line to set foot on American soil.  He was the son of Arthur Thomson.  After his father died in the 1830's, Arthur and and his brother Sandy were raised by their grandfather in Edinburgh where he ran an inn.

 

March 9, 1843, Arthur Reid set sail for New York, but somehow he ended up going to Canada where he became a woodcutter. On May 9, 1859, he married Margaret Ronald, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Gourley) Ronald, in Wisconsin.

 

Soon after their wedding they journeyed to Nebraska Territory. They operated the Western House in Nebraska City before moving to a dugout on what was called the Nebraska City Ranch.  It was three  and one-half miles east of Palmyra on Steam Wagon Road near the Paisley Church.

 

After a short time, they moved to their long-time home 3 miles east and 1 mile north of Palmyra. They lived for a time in a log cabin, which was replaced by a frame house.  In 1880, the house was enlarged to give the family more space.

 

Arthur and Margaret  were the parents to ten children: Arthur Thomas Ronald [m. Mary (Ellen) Sidles]; Mary Artimsha [m. James Orrison]; William Alexander; Dora Margaret [m. Alfred Wallen]; Genie/Genia Reid [m. George Stilwell]; John Andrew; Margaret McMoreland Ronald; Robert Ronald Baxter; Herbert James; and an unnamed infant that died.

 

​Arthur Reid and Margaret (Ronald) Thomson

Key Locations: Scotland, Canada, Nebraska

                         UK Roots - See where in the UK this name is most common

Cemeteries (All): Rosewood Cemetery

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Arthur Reid Thomson & Children

Front: William, Margaret, Arthur Reid, Gennia

Back: Herbert, Mary, Arthur T. R., Dora, John

Herbert James Thomson, son of Arthur Reid and Margaret (Ronald) Thomson, was born on the family farm near Palmyra, Nebraska.  He met his wife Blanche Klinefelter, daughter of Judge & Emma (Ackermann) Klinefelter, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  They married in Blanche's hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in December 1905.  They lived in Nebraska before spending two years near Stettler, Alberta, Canada where Herbert acquired a farm.  However, they returned to Palmyra where they spent the remainder of their lives.

Herbert and Blanche had eight children: Alexander Joseph; Arthur Klinefelter [m. Verna Wall];  Alfred Ackermann [m. Helen Caddy]; George Ronald [m. Viola Lanning]; Reid James [m. Dorothy Baldwin, Kathryn Pierce]; Faith Mabel [m. Clair Nash]; May Viola [m. Dale Lamb], and Alma Elberta [m. William "Bill" Caddy].

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Herbert and Blanche (Klinefelter) Thomson

 Herbert & Blanche (Klinefelter) Thomson Family

Early Years                                                                                           A Few Years Later

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From left to right;  George, Alfred, May, Reid,                                             Front: Faith, Alma, Reid, May, George

Alma, Arthur, Faith, Alexander                                                        Back: Blanche, Herbert, Alexander, Arthur, Alfred

 

​ Alexander & Donna (Van Allen)Thomson

Alexander JosephThomson, son of Herbert and Blanche (Klinefelter) Thomson, was born on a farm near Palmyra, Nebraska.

 

In 1932, he married Donna Isabelle Van Allen, daughter of John (Warren) and Grinda (Hanson) Van Allen.  Alexander and Donna became parents to six children: Sandra Loree [m. Carl Sykes, Billie Dean Reinwalt, Richard Stickney]; James Van Allen; Vera Elaine [m.William "Bill" Haupt]; William (Howard) [m. Barbara Coulton]; Virginia Christine [m. Kenneth Leith]; and Rachele Elizabeth [m. Paul Johnson, Frederick Wieler, James May, Gale Newbury].

 

 

James Van Allen Thomson

James Van Allen Thomson, son of Alexander and Donna (Van Allen) Thomson, was born near Palmyra, Nebraska. He died at a young age leaving a wife and three children.

Ronald Family History

  Margaret RonaldThomas Ronald was born in Scotland in the 1760's or 1770's.  He married Margaret Stuart in Paisley, Scotland in 1793.

 

Thomas Ronald II, son of Thomas and Margaret (Stuart) Ronald, was born in the 1790's in Scotland.  He married Mary French Gourley in 1820. They had eleven children: Thomas, William Bunten [m. Mary A. Cutshall, Margaret A. Wilson, Ellen Reynolds], Robert, John [m. Margaret Ward], Margaret, Thomas, Mary [m. Joseph Wallace, George Laing, James Thorne],  Agnes, Margaret, Jane [m. William Bunten], and Robert [m. Clara Dougla] before immigrating to America.  All the children except those that died young, immigrated to the United States with their parents. The family initially lived in Wisconsin, where  Thomas died. Margaret moved  with her adult children to Palmyra, Nebraska.

 

Margaret Ronald was born in Paisley, Scotland.  As a young woman, she  immigrated to the United States with her parents Thomas Ronald II and Mary French Gourley.  It was in Wisconsin that she married Arthur Reid Thomson.

​​ Ronald Family

 

Ronald Photo Album

Gourley Family History

 

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Mary Gourley and Mary Barbara Wallace

Robert Gourley was born in the 1770's in Scotland.  He married Margaret Young.  They had at least seven kids: Mary French, Elizabeth, Janet, Margaret, Ann, William, and John.

 

Mary French Gourley, daughter of Robert and Margaret (Young) Gourley, was born in 1803 in Paisley, Scotland.  At age 17 she married Thomas Ronald II in her hometown.  She immigrated to America with her husband and children living in Wisconsin and Nebraska.

 

Thomson Photo Album

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