John Thomson (1735 - 1811)

Born 6 Nov 1735 in Avoch, Ross-shire, Scotland

Husband of Mary (Robertson) Thomson — married 20 May 1765 (to 13 Sep 1768) in Scotland

Husband of Margaret (Clunes) Thomson — married 28 Sep 1770 (to 19 Jul 1772) in Scotland

Husband of Christian (Mackenzie) Thomson — married 5 Nov 1776 in Scotland

Died 12 Jun 1811 at age 75 in Durness, Sutherland, Scotland, United Kingdom

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Biography

Birth

John Thomson was born on 6 November 1735 in Avoch, a Parish on the SE coast of the Black Isle in Ross-shire, Scotland. ^[1]

Life

Early Years

placeholder for marriage of parents and a list of their children

Later Years

Divinity Milestones

• Schoolmaster, Golspie ^[2]
• 13 September 1763, licensed by Presbytery of Dornoch
• 1 November 1764, ordained at Tongue Parish, Sutherlandshire and assigned to be Minister of neighboring Durness Parish, Sutherlandshire

First Marriage

• John Thomson, a batchelor, was 29 years old when he married Mary Robertson on 20 May 1765. ^[3]
• Mary Robertson was a daughter of Rev. Francis Robertson, Minister of Clyne Parish, Sutherlandshire. ^[4]

Children

1. Janet Thomson (1766-1785)
2. Kenneth Thomson (1766-1794)
3. Francis Thomson (1768-1768)

Death of first wife

Mary Robertson died on 13 September 1768, two weeks after the birth of her third child. ^[5]

Second Marriage

• John Thomson, a widower with two children, was 34 years old when he married Margaret Clunes on 28 September 1770. ^[6]
• Margaret Clunes was a daughter of John Clunes of Neilstown, East Renfrewshire in the central lowlands of Scotland. She was 29 years old when she married John Thomson.

Children

1. Margaret Gordon Thomson (1771-1771)
2. Robertson Thomson (1772-1773)

Death of second wife

Margaret Clunes died on 19 July 1772, three weeks after the birth of her second child. ^[7]

Third Marriage

• John Thomson, a widower with two children, was 40 years old when he married Christian Mackenzie on 5 November 1776. ^[8]
• Christian Mackenzie was 23 years old when she married Rev. John Thomson. She was a daughter of Kenneth Mackenzie, a tacksman at Inchnadamph, Assynt Parish, Sutherlandshire.

Children

1. Sybella Thomson (1777-deceased)
2. Elizabeth Thomson (1779-deceased)
3. Ann Helen Thomson (1781-1783)
4. Georgina Thomson (1783-deceased)
5. Mackay Thomson (1783-1803)
6. Mary Thomson (1790- deceased)
7. Elizabeth Fairley Thomson (1794-deceased)

Memorabilia Domestica

placeholder for two excerpts: [1] narrative on page 30; [2] page 40: "And what is poor Mr. Thomson doing among you?" asked Mr. Nicolson of Rob Donn. "Why, parson," replied the poet, "Mr. Thomson is doing what you never did - he is doing his best." ^[9]

Statistical Account

Rev. Thomson was author of a statistical account of Durness Parish, published in 1791. placeholder for more details

Death of third wife

Christian (Mackenzie) Thomson died on 2 April 1804. She was 50 years old. ^[10]

Death and Legacy

Rev. John Thomson, Minister of Durness Parish, died on 12 June 1811 in Durness. He was 75 years old. ^[11]

Parish Register of Durness

placeholder for paragraph from Hew Morrison

Research Notes

1. FamilySearch ID - MSRM-QGZ Note, multiple stranded profiles of John Thomson were recently (21 April 2024) merged into this single unified profile on FamilySearch.
2. Searched ScotlandsPeople for any marriage of a male named John Thomson (with phonetic matching) anywhere in Scotland in a date range that started one year before each marriage and ended one year after the date of each marriage. These three searches returned zero matches for a parochial record of any of John Thomson's three marriages.

Sources

1. ↑ John Thomson born at Avoch, Ross-shire, 6 November 1735, page 102, Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae : the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation, Volume VII, editors Scott, MacDonald, and MacDonald, published 1928, Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, digital image of printed book, https://archive.org/details/fastiecclesiaesc00scot/page/102/mode/2up, accessed 16 April 2024.
2. ↑ Rev. John Thomson, divinity milestones, page 102, Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae.
3. ↑ John Thomson and Mary Robertson marriage, 20 May 1765, page 102, Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae.
4. ↑ Mary Robertson daughter of Francis Robertson, Minister, Clyne Parish, Sutherland, page 102, Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae.
5. ↑ Mary Robertson death, 13 September 1768, page 102, Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae.
6. ↑ John Thomson and Margaret Clunes marriage, 13 September 1768, page 102, Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae.
7. ↑ Margaret Clunes death, 19 July 1772, page 102, Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae.
8. ↑ John Thomson and Christian Mackenzie marriage, 5 November 1776, page 102, Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae.
9. ↑ Rev. Donald Sage, A.M., Minister of Resolis, second edition, printed at Wick, published by John Menzies & Co., Edinburgh, 1889, digital image of printed book, https://archive.org/details/memorabiliadome00sagegoog/page/n59/mode/2up, accessed 21 April 2024.
10. ↑ Christian Mackenzie death, 2 April 1804, page 102, Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae.
11. ↑ John Thomson death, 12 June 1811, in Durness, page 102, Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae.