Thomas Logan Williamson has found us at last.

Thanks to similar research being done by another branch of newly-discovered descendants of Thomas Logan Williamson and Elizabeth McKenzie, we have discovered the origins of Thomas. 

My family is descended from Thomas and Elizabeth's daughter Elizabeth (married Robert Leathart), and our new-found cousins, Vida and Lois, are descended from - or are married to descendants of - Thomas and Elizabeth's  daughter Julia, who married Finlay McLean*.  Their family research had also led them to the brick wall of Thomas's origins.

I had deduced that he would probably be Scottish - and maybe even have some Scottish connections with the McKenzies through location or similar interest - based on two pieces of evidence: 

1. On 15th May, 1847, an article in "The New Zealander"   included Thos Williamson as a subscriber (5 pound donation) towards the establishment of a Presbyterian church in Auckland. Our Thomas was already placed in Auckland at this time, so I had strong suspicions that this was him. 

2. It was about the time of the marriage of Thomas to Elizabeth McKenzie, who was definitely from Scotland and could be expected to be Presbyterian or "Free Church of Scotland".  If Thomas  himself wasn't a church-goer it could have been a gesture to his prospective in-laws of his worthiness for their daughter (although, there is no indication that Elizabeth's parents donated to the cause - or could afford to . . . ) Also, would Elizabeth - and her parents - be more inclined towards a Scots suitor? 

Anyway, the most grateful thanks goes to the Julia-McLean-born-Williamson family-member Lois, who searched out the ownership papers of Thomas's ship "Favourite" at the New Zealand Archives. 

So . . . drum roll . . . . . 

Thomas Logan Williamson was born in Thurso, Caithness, in 1817, in the very north of Scotland. Definitely a Highlander! He's much younger than I had thought, which means  he was only 49 years old when he was lost at sea in 1866. Through that one piece of information, we have been able to track his ancestry back several generations - all spent in Thurso, it would appear. 


Follow this link to the Thurso Heritage Society to find out more about Thurso past and present. It's an interactive site with lots of photos and information. You will certainly get an idea of where our Williamson connection came from. 

Thurso Harbour - 19th Century - no doubt after the time of our Thomas, but includes steamers, schooners and fishing boats. Enough to give us an idea. From: thursointeractive

See what Thurso looked like in the 1870s - after the time of our Thomas, but near enough to get an idea. 

* See book called The McLeans of Birdgrove - A Family Portrait, based on research by Lois MacLean.