My father is James Thomas
My grandfather is James Thomas
My great grandfather is James Thomas
My great great grandfather is William Thomas
My great great great grandfather is James Thomas
My great great great great grandfather is John Thomas
My great great great great great grandfather is James Thomas
With the exception of William born in 1834 and John born in 1769 there has been a James Thomas in every generation of my direct line since 1731. And if we look at all the children of my direct line ancestors, there has been a James Thomas in EVERY generation since 1731.
They did live in different places so that should make it easier to distinguish them, right?
My father is James Thomas, b. 1935 in County Durham
My grandfather is James Thomas, b. 1894 in County Durham
My great grandfather is James Thomas, b. 1864 in County Durham
My great great grandfather is William Thomas, b. 1834 in Cornwall
My great great great grandfather is James Thomas, b. 1808 in Cornwall
My great great great great grandfather is John Thomas, b. 1769 in Cornwall
My great great great great great grandfather is James Thomas, b. 1731 in Cornwall
Not so much.
They had different occupations by which to distinguish one James from another…
With the exception of my father and grandfather, all were coal miners.
That didn’t help.
And Thomas is a rare surname in Cornwall, right?
An article from Who Do You Think You Are? magazine cites a study commissioned by the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site (CMWHS) and done by genealogist Stephen Colwill into the spread of Cornish surnames around the UK.1 Stephen Colwill concluded that, “The three most common Cornish surnames are Williams, Richards and Thomas.”
It’s certainly an interesting experience researching my Thomas roots in Cornwall and County Durham. I have to admit I kind of love that there is a James Thomas in every generation. And I am not one to buck tradition. So I named one of my sons…James.
This post was written for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Week 25 prompt: Same Name.
- Rosemary Collins, Who Do You Think You Are? (http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/news/your-surname-cornish : accessed 23 June 2018), “Is Your Surname Cornish?” ↩
KindredPast 
James was definitely a popular name! My Cornwall Thomas’s are all from the St. Agnes area. Did your Thomas’s stay in Cornwall? My direct line moved from Cornwall to Wales and then settled in County Durham.
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I to have James in every generation of my Thomas family. It’s great how they carried names forward. The furthest back I have gone in my direct line is to Robert Thomas baptised 1762 in St Hilary, Cornwall. I believe he had an elder brother James. These were the children of James and Grace Thomas.
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