The Thomson Family

Ada Muriel Thomson

known as "Muriel"

Birth: 8 January 1888

Baptism: 2 February 1888, in Bombay, Maharastra, India

Father: Henry John Phipps Thomson

Mother: Caroline Ada (Plumbe) Thomson

Death: 5 August 1982

Sources:

Agnes Jane C. Thomson

Birth: 31 May 1844, at the Cottage, Ottery St Mary, Devon, England
Rootsweb Cornish-L Archives 14 June 1844 BMDs
At the Cottage, Ottery St. Mary, on the 31st ult., the wife of the REV. HENRY THURSTON THOMSON, Chaplain Priest, of a daughter.

Father: Henry Thurston Thomson

Mother: Agnes Elizabeth (Phipps) Thomson

Census:
1881: King's College, Shoreditch Road, Taunton, Somerset

Sources:

Agnes Thomson

Birth: 1847, in Thanet district, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Elizabeth (Payton) Thomson

Death: 1847, in Thanet district, Kent, England

Notes: John was a twin to Agnes

Sources:

Alfred Osmond Gascoigne Thomson

Birth:1887, in Taunton district, Somerset, England

Father: George Osmond Lees Thomson

Mother: Louisa Elizabeth (Plumbe) Thomson

Death: 1899, in Bicester district, Oxfordshire, England, aged 12

Buried: 1 February 1900, in Merton, Oxfordshire, England

Sources:

Alice Thomson

Birth: 9 April 1838, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Elizabeth (Payton) Thomson

Death: 1892, in Thanet district, Kent, England, age 54

Census:
1881: 38 Spencer Sq, Ramsgate, Kent

Sources:

Alice Joan Thomson

Birth: 12 November 1893, in Bridge district, Kent, England

Father: Samuel John Thomson

Mother: Isabella Gordon (Cowie) Thomson

Sources:

Annetta Mary Edith (Thomson) Bowers

Father: Henry Shepherd Thomson

Mother: Annie (Bailey) Thomson

Baptised: 11 February 1883, in St John The Baptist, Margate, Kent, England

Married: Arthur Fitzgerald Bowers

Sources:

Archibald Frank Thomson

Birth: 1886, in Thanet district, Kent, England

Father: Henry Shepherd Thomson

Mother: Annie (Bailey) Thomson

Married: Caroline

Death: 1935, in Durban, South Africa, aged 50

Notes: Archibald had no children.

Sources:

Arthur Henry Leverson Gower Thomson

Birth: 21 August 1894, in Taunton, Somerset, England

Father: George Osmond Lees Thomson

Mother: Louisa Elizabeth (Plumbe) Thomson

Married: Dorothy

Occupation: Accountant

Death: 1970's

Sources:

Bessie Sarah Thomson

Birth: about 1841

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Elizabeth (Payton) Thomson

Death: 1849, in Thanet district, Kent, England

Sources:

Dorothy Isobel Thomson

Birth: about 1888

Father: Samuel John Thomson

Mother: Isabella Gordon (Cowie) Thomson

Notes: Dorothy illustrated the frontispiece of her father's book "The Real Indian People: Being More Tales and Sketches of the Masses" (1914), with a drawing of the hill town of Kilani, in India.

Sources:

Edith Violet Thomson

known as "Edie"

Birth: 14 March 1889

Baptism: 25 April 1889, in Malabar Hill - Bombay, Maharastra, India

Father: Henry John Phipps Thomson

Mother: Caroline Ada (Plumbe) Thomson

Death: 18 August 1970

Sources:

Edward Cusack Thomson

Birth: about 1858

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Margaret (Plumbe) Thomson

Death: about 1866, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Sources:

Elizabeth Thomson

Birth: 9 September 1817, in Hartingleigh, Kent, England

Baptism: 2 December 1817, in Hartingleigh, Kent, England

Father: Henry Thomson

Mother: Mary Ann Pittock

Sources:

Ethel Mary (Thomson) Plumbe

Birth: 1870, in India

Father: Henry John Phipps Thomson

Mother: Sarah (Wagstaff) Thomson

Married: Philip Algernon Plumbe in 1903 in Portsmouth district, Hampshire, England

Children: Death: 1944 or 1951, at 42 Kingsfield Road, Bushey, Watford, Hertfordshire, England

Census:
1881: King's College, Shoreditch Road, Taunton, Somerset

Sources:

Frances Thomson

Baptism: 25 August 1821, in Hartingleigh, Kent, England

Father: Henry Thomson

Mother: Mary Ann Pittock

Death: 4 May 1831, in London, England

Buried: May 1831, in St Vedart, Foster Lane

Sources:

George Osmond Lees Thomson

Title: Reverend

Birth: 29 June 1842, in Kentisbeare, Devon, England
Rootsweb Cornish-L Archives 8 July 1842 BMDs
At Kentisbeare, Devon, on the 29th ult., the lady of the Rev. Henry Thurston THOMSON, of a son.

Father: Henry Thurston Thomson

Mother: Agnes Elizabeth (Phipps) Thomson

Married: Louisa Elizabeth Plumbe on 18 December 1884, in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. The couple were engaged in August 1884.

Children: Occupation: Schoolmaster
George matriculated from Magdalen Hall, Oxford on 1 November 1861, aged 19. He was an Exhibitioner at Exeter College, Oxford from 1863 to 1866, obtaining a B.A. in 1865 and an M.A. in 1869. He was Second Master at St. John's College in Hurstpierpoint, Sussex from 1867 to 1880, and in 1880 became Headmaster at King's College in Taunton. Afterwards he was of the Merton Vicarage in Bicester.

Death: 1909, in Bicester district, Oxfordshire, England, aged 67

Buried: 12 August 1909, in Merton, Oxfordshire, England

Notes: George's second name "Osmond" might be after Osmond G. Phipps, presumably a relative of George's mother, with whom his father collaborated in musical composition.

Census:
1881: King's College, Shoreditch Road, Taunton, Somerset

Sources:

Henry Thomson

Title: Reverend

Birth: 9 February 1780, at Cliffords Inn, Fetter Lane, London

Father: John Thomson

Mother: Elizabeth Thurston

Education: Charterhouse School, then Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was awarded a B.A. in 1801 and an M.A. in 1810.

Married: Mary Ann Pittock on 25 November 1809, in St. James, Westminster, London, England. Mary was born about 1780, in Eastry, Kent

Children: Occupation: Clergyman. Henry was ordained a deacon at Westminster on 13 June 1802, and appointed curate of Little Hardres, Kent the same year. He was ordained a priest in 1803, and from 1806 to 1809 was curate of Eastry with Worth in Kent. From 1817 until 1823, Henry was curate of Hastingleigh with Elmstead in Kent. 

Death: 11 May 1835, at Charlton near Woolwich, Kent, England

Buried: 21 May 1835, in Charlton Churchyard, Kent, England

Sources:

Henry Thurston Thomson

Title: Reverend

Birth: 26 June 1812, in Exning, Suffolk, England

Baptism: 26 June 1812, in Exning, Suffolk, England

Father: Henry Thomson

Mother: Mary Ann (Pittock) Thomson

Education: St Paul's School (admitted 2 March 1821, aged 8), then Magdelene College, Cambridge where he was awarded a B.A. in 1837.
Admission Registers of St. Paul's School from 1748 to 1876 (Gardiner, Robert Barlow, 1884) p264
Mar. 2. [1821] Henry Thurston Thomson, aged 8, son of Henry T., clerk, Hastingleigh, Kent.
Pauline Exhibitioner, 1831; Magdalene College, Cambridge (Scholar): B.A. 1837; Chaplain Priest of Ottery St. Mary Devon, 1842; died 1855; author of Sermons; Esther, a Poem, &c.

Alumni Cantabrigienses
Adm. sizar (age 18) at MAGDALENE, June 21, 1831. [2nd] s. of the Rev. Henry (above), of London [of Hastingleigh] (and Mary Ann Pittock). School, St Paul's. Matric. Michs. 1831; B.A. 1837. Chaplain-Priest of Ottery St Mary, Devon, 1842-8. C. of Crewkerne, Somerset, 1852-3. C. of Chard, 1854-5. C. of Cudworth, 1855. Author, Sermons; Esther (a Poem), etc. Died Dec. 13, 1855, aged 43, at Chard. (St Paul's Sch. Reg.; Clergy List; G. Mag., 1856, I. 432.)

Married: Agnes Elizabeth Phipps in 1840, in Thanet district, Kent, England. Agnes was baptised on 30 December 1813 at St James, Paddington, the daughter of William Window Phipps and Frances Saffrey.

Children: Occupation: Schoolmaster, clergyman. Henry was schoolmaster at Redruth, Cornwall from 1837 to 1839. He was then Chaplain-Priest of Ottery St Mary, Devon from 1842 to 1848, Curate of Crewkerne, Somerset, from 1852 to 1853, then Curate of Chard, Somerset from 1854 to 1855, and Curate. of Cudworth in 1855.

Esther's Song
Illustrated Music Cover for Esther's Song written by Henry Thurston Thomson and Osmond G. Phipps.
from The Sheetmusic Warehouse
Notes:
Henry was the author of Esther, a Sacred Poem, in Three Cantos, which was set to music by Osmond G. Phipps and published as Esthers Song. Land of my Fathers. Thy Glory is Faded, dedicated to the Reverend William Sykes, vicar of Collumpton, Devon. (Osmond was presumably a relative of Henry's wife, Agnes Phipps)
West-country Poets (Wright, William Henry Kearley, 1896) p444
REV. HENRY THURSTON THOMSON, B.A. (1812-1855).
MR. THOMSON (born at Exning, Suffolk, 1812) was the author of 'Esther, a Sacred Poem, in Three Cantos,' brought out in three parts and printed at Truro (1837); also some hymns and other poetical works. He was a schoolmaster at Redruth in 1837-39 and subsequently curate of Chard, where he died in 1855.

Death: 13 December 1855, in Chard, Somerset, England, aged 43

Sources:

Henry John Phipps Thomson

known as "Harry"

Birth: 1840, in Tiverton, Devon, England

Father: Henry Thurston Thomson

Mother: Agnes Elizabeth (Phipps) Thomson

Married (1st): Sarah Wagstaff

Children: Married (2nd): Caroline Ada Plumbe on 18 March 1884, in Cookham, Berkshire, England

Children: Death: 1907, in Portsmouth district, Hampshire, England, aged 66

Notes: Henry's children with Sarah were born in the "East Indies" giving some clue as to his whereabouts and possible occupation, but I have not yet found substantiation in the Indian records.

Sources:

Henry Albert Richardson Thomson

Birth: 1843, in Thanet district, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Elizabeth (Payton) Thomson

Married: Clara Roberts

Death: 1878

Sources:

Henry Shepherd Thomson

Birth: 4 June 1854, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Margaret (Plumbe) Thomson

Married: Annie Bailey in 1881, in Hackney district, Middlesex, England

Children:
Grave of Henry Shepherd Thomson
Grave of Henry Shepherd Thomson
in Maitland Cemetery, Cape Town, South Africa
The inscription reads:
IN LOVING MEMORY
OF
MY BELOVED HUSBAND
HENRY SHEPHERD THOMSON
DIED 19th JULY 1899
AGED 46 YEARS
-------------
DEEPLY REGRETTED BY HIS
SORROWING WIFE & CHILDREN
photo by Gael Howell
Occupation: Solicitor

Death: 19 July 1899, in Cape Town, South Africa, aged 46. Henry was hit by a locomotive while working in the Cape Town Harbour, and died instantly. His wife Annie Thomson wrote in the inquest that he had not been well, and was feeling weak. It seems likely that he fell, and was then hit by the train.

Buried: 21 July 1899, in Maitland Cemetery, Cape Town, South Africa

Notes:
Henry was a cricketer and played two matches for Kent in 1876. He was a left handed batsman, and left arm (round arm) fast bowler. He played vs. the MCC at Canterbury on 10 August 1876 and vs Hampshire in Faversham on 17 August 1876 but that was extent of his first class career.

Census:
1881: 38 Spencer Sq, Ramsgate, Kent

Sources:

Henry Wagstaff Thomson

Birth: 1873/4, in East Indies

Father: Henry John Phipps Thomson

Mother: Sarah (Wagstaff) Thomson

Census:
1881: King's College, Shoreditch Road, Taunton, Somerset 

Sources:

Henry John Egerton Thomson

Birth: 1883, in Thanet district, Kent, England

Father: Henry Shepherd Thomson

Mother: Annie (Bailey) Thomson

Death: 1957, in Durban, South Africa, aged 74

Sources:

John Buck Thomson

Baptism: 19 October 1810, in St. Mary's, Newmarket, Suffolk, England

Father: Henry Thomson

Mother: Mary Ann Pittock

Married (1st): Elizabeth Payton on 12 November 1833, in St Peters, Thanet, Kent, England. Elizabeth was baptised on 7 June 1807, in St Peters, Thanet. Probably the Elizabeth Thomson who died in Thanet district in 2Q1850.

Children: Married (2nd): Margaret Plumbe on 11 December 1851, in St Georges, Ramsgate, Kent, England

Children: Married (3rd): Mary Anne Knight on 12 October 1875 in Chatham, Kent, England. Mary was born in 1838/9, in Bekesbourne, Kent, the daughter of John Knight. She was a nursemaid in 1861.

Children: Occupation: Surgeon & GP. John was a member of the Royal College of Surgeons.

Census:
1881: 38 Spencer Sq, Ramsgate, Kent

Death: 22 October 1887, at Kenfield Lodge, Thanet district, Kent, England, aged 77. (Note: I can find no record of Kenfield Lodge, but assume that it might be related to Kenfield Hall, near Petham, in Kent)

Sources:

John Thomson

Birth: 1847, in Thanet district, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Elizabeth (Payton) Thomson

Death: 1849, in Thanet district, Kent, England

Notes: John was a twin to Agnes

Sources:

Katherine (Thomson) Benstead-Smith

known as "Kitty"

Birth: 9 August 1888, in Taunton, Somerset, England

Father: George Osmond Lees Thomson

Mother: Louisa Elizabeth (Plumbe) Thomson

Married: B. Benstead-Smith

Children: Sources:

Lilian Mary (Thomson) Windeatt

Birth: 28 November 1890, in Taunton, Somerset, England

Father: George Osmond Lees Thomson

Mother: Louisa Elizabeth (Plumbe) Thomson

Married: _____ Windeatt

Sources:

Margaret Emma (Thomson) King

Birth: 1855, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Margaret (Plumbe) Thomson

Married: Charles Thomas King (his third wife)

Death: May 1951, in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, aged 96

Census:
1881: High Street, Cookham, Berkshire

Sources:

Marguerite Shepherd Thomson

Birth: 1860, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Margaret (Plumbe) Thomson

Death: 1897, in Maidenhead district, Berkshire, England, aged 37

Census:
1881: High Street, Cookham, Berkshire

Sources:

Margaret Maud Thomson

Birth: about 1886

Father: Samuel John Thomson

Mother: Isabella Gordon (Cowie) Thomson

Sources:

Mary Ann Thomson

Birth: January 1816, in Deal, Kent

Father: Henry Thomson

Mother: Mary Ann Pittock

Married: Christopher Mends Gibson. Christopher was born 22 February 1796 and baptised 22 March 1796 at Batter Street-Presbyterian, Plymouth, Devon, the son of Archibald Burt Gibson and Ann. He died in 1872, in Truro district, Devon, aged 76. Christopher was a clergyman.

Children: Buried: St Clement, Truro, Cornwall, England

Sources:

Mary Elizabeth Thomson

Birth: about 1833

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Elizabeth (Payton) Thomson

Sources:

Mary Ann Christina Thomson

Birth: 25 December 1876, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Mary Ann (Knight) Thomson

Occupation: Music Teacher

Census:
1881: 38 Spencer Sq, Ramsgate, Kent

Sources:

Reginald Gresham Thomson

known as "Reggie"

Title: Captain

Birth: 1 August 1896, in Taunton, Somerset, England

Father: George Osmond Lees Thomson

Mother: Louisa Elizabeth (Plumbe) Thomson

Education: St Edmund's School, Canterbury, and R.M.C., Sandhurst

Occupation: Served in the King's Shropshire Light Infantry, 3rd Battalion. Served in Gallipoli and Mesopotamia. Reggie was a Lieutenant and Acting Captain. Awarded the Military Cross.

Brie British Cemetery
Brie British Cemetery where Reggie Thomson is buried
from Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Death: 18 September 1918, aged 22

Buried: Brie British Cemetery, Somme, France. Grave I.B. 5

Sources:

Richard Edwin Toker Thomson

Birth: 1861, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Margaret (Plumbe) Thomson

Occupation: Clerk, Bank of England

Death: 1914

Census:
1881: 38 Spencer Sq, Ramsgate, Kent

Sources:

Richard Edward J. Thomson

Title: Lieutenant

Birth: about 1891, in India

Father: Samuel John Thomson

Mother: Isabella Gordon (Cowie) Thomson

Notes: Richard served, and died, in World War I with the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs

Caberet-Rouge British Cemetery
Caberet-Rouge British Cemetery where Richard Thomson is buried
from Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Death: 19 May 1915

Buried: Caberet-Rouge British Cemetery, Souchez. Grave XVII. C. 4

Sources:

Samuel John Thomson

Title: Colonel, C.I.E., C.B.E.

Birth: 17 January 1853, at 38 Spencer Square, Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Margaret (Plumbe) Thomson

Married: Isabella Gordon Cowie on 23 July 1885 in St. Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta, Bengal, India.

Children: Occupation: Surgeon (M.R.C.S England) who served in the Indian Medical Service both in millitary and civilian capacities. Later he became a hospital administrator in Birmingham. He also authored a number of books on his experiences in South Africa and India. The books he authored include: Death: 27 February 1936, in Merton, France

Notes:
Samuel's obituary claims that "in 1880 he was one of the medical officers in the famous forced march of Lord Roberts for the relief of Kandahar" during the second Anglo-Afghan war. Samuel did not actually take part in General Roberts' famous march from Kabul, but did march to the relief of Kandahar in a second column under General Phayre from Quetta over the Bolan Pass that, besieged by transport, sickness and bandits, didn't get there in time, arriving a couple or so days after Roberts had already defeated Ayub Khan. This conclusion has been reached by Samuel's own account in The Silent India (page 102) "It was a relief, therefore, when one day a yellow envelope marked "State Urgent" was handed to the writer. Its contents were laconic. The defeat at Maiwand had just occurred, and the telegram ran, "Join - regiment marching to Morar." A second one later in the day from the commanding officer, stated that we were to join the field force for the relief of Kandahar, and a week later we were blundering over the stones in the dismal Bolan Pass on our way to the front. But that, as Kipling would say, is another story." and the help of Garen Ewing of the The March to Kandahar Project.

Obituary:
The Times: 5 March 1936


COLONEL THOMSON
LEPROSY AND PLAGUE IN INDIA
Brevet-Colonel Samuel John Thomson, C.I.E., C.B.E, who died at his home at Menton on February 27 at the age of 83, was one of the best known members of the Indian Medical Service of his day and made valuable contributions to sanitary science and epidemiological research.

A son of Mr. J. B. Thomson, of Ramsgate, he was born on January 17, 1853, and after being at St. John's College, Hurstpierpoint, studied medicine at St. Mary's Hospital, London, becoming M.R.C.S. England, and later he gained the diploma in public health of Cambridge University. He was also gold medallist and Herbert memorialist at Netley. He entered the Indian Medical Service 59 years ago, in good time to serve in the second Afghan War, and in 1880 he was one of the medical officers in the famous forced march of Lord Roberts for the relief of Kandahar. After transfer to the civil side of the Service he devoted special attention to Indian epidemics. He was a member of the Commission which in 1890 explored the incidence of leprosy in India, and his plague and famine investigations and practical work led to his being made C.I.E. in 1893. Early in 1902 he was deputed to South Africa to be Director of the Burgher Camps of the Transvaal, and was mentioned in dispatches. He wrote an account of these camps, which were a subject of much political controversy in this country at the time. He rose to be Sanitary Commissioner of the United Provinces, and he gave the fruit of his experiences and studies in "Sanitary Principles, More Especially as Applied to India."

After retirement from the I.M.S. in 1908 Thomson found many opportunities for the further pursuit of his profession, while giving rein to his liking for authorship in such works as "The Silent India" and "The Real Indian People" In the War he was from June 1915, Commandant of the 2nd War Hospital, Birmingham. In 1920 he was made C.B.E. for this service and was appointed Medical Superintendent, Ministry of Pensions Hospital, Hollymoor, Birmingham. He married in 1885 Isabel Gordon, daughter of Surgeon-General A. J. Cowie, Bengal. They had a son and four daughters. Mrs. Thomson died in 1925, and thereafter he made his home at Menton.

Sources:

Sarah Jane (Thomson) Hillier

Birth: 5 May 1836, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Elizabeth (Payton) Thomson

Married: James Thomas Hiller. James was born in 1826/7, in Broadstairs, Kent. He was a General Practitioner.

Children:
Census:
1881: 4 Chapel Place, Ramsgate, Kent

Sources:

Thomas Henfield Thomson

Birth: 1847, in Honiton district, Devon, England

Father: Henry Thurston Thomson

Mother: Agnes Elizabeth (Phipps) Thomson

Sources:

Thomas Kenelm Thomson

Birth: 6 October 1899, in Chartham, Kent, England

Father: Samuel John Thomson

Mother: Isabella Gordon (Cowie) Thomson

Sources:

Winifred Mary Thomson

Birth: 9 November 1889, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: Samuel John Thomson

Mother: Isabella Gordon (Cowie) Thomson

Sources:

Unnamed Thomson

Birth: 3 July 1898

Father: George Osmond Lees Thomson

Mother: Louisa Elizabeth (Plumbe) Thomson

Death: 3 July 1898

Notes: This baby was stillborn

Sources:
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