Sunday, September 29, 2019

My Maternal 19th. Great Scottish Grandfather, Sir Thomas Somerville, of Carnwath and Lothian


Preston Mill, East Linton, East Lothian, Scotland


History


In 1066 the Lord of Somerville, Sir Gaultier / Walter de Somerville joined William the conqueror on his invasion of England, for his support Sir Gaultier de Somerville was given land in the North of England.


By the twelfth century, the Somervilles were granted land and title of lord in Scotland and were at one time among the noble families of Scotland. Alternatively, Somerville can also be a Scottish clan surname.


The Irish House of Somerville began when William Somerville came to Ireland in 1690. William was an Episcopalian minister forced to flee from his manse when it was attacked by Covenanters.


William brought his sons William and Thomas with him to Ireland. While the younger William returned to Scotland, his brother Thomas stayed in Ireland.


Thomas would be educated at Trinity College in Dublin eventually earning a BA in 1711. He entered the church of his father and was ordained a minister at Cloyne Cathedral in 1715. It was in 1732 that Thomas was made the rector of Myross and Castlehaven.


It was his son Thomas who by becoming a very successful merchant with Newfoundland and the West Indies was able to build up the Irish house of Somerville to the ranks of landed gentry a class out of which the Somerville clan had dropped for five generations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerville_(surname)



Roxburghshire, Scotland

Name: Sir Thomas Somerville, of Carnwath and Lothian, son of  Walter Somerville and Giles Kerring

Birth: about 1305 in Carnwath, Lanarkshire, Scotland

Married: before 1322 in Elizabeth Douglas in Linton, Roxburghshire, Scotland

Children: (7)
Walter, Eleanor Giles, Thomas, William, John, Elizabeth, and Roger Somerville

Died: 1372 in Linton, Roxburghshire, Scotland

Burial: 1372 in Linton, Roxburghshire, Scotland

Clans of Scotland Map

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