|
THE ANCESTRY OF MARY LAWSON
Wife of John Hogan
LINEAGE
MARY LAWSON, born about 1849, married John Hogan on 20 July
1866 in Mullagh, County Clare, Ireland
Research has not been completed.
Notes on the Lawson Name: The
surname Lawson is taken from 'Law' and denotes someone who is the 'son of
law'. The most likely source of the name is either from the name Lawrence
believed to have originated from a person who lived near a laurel tree or from
the Old English word hlaw meaning a hill and therefore a person 'the son of
who lived on or near the hill
Records indicate that the earliest use of the Lawson name was documented in
the 14th century in Upper Littondale, Yorkshire, an area close to the present
day villages of Litton and Arncliffe on the River Skirfare, a tributary of the
River Wharfe. Surnames or 'add-on' names can generally only be traced back to
this time in history when they were adopted in order to distinguish
individuals of the same forename. From that time the surname was handed down
from father to son and occasionally from mother to son.
It is believed that the Lawson name spread from this area to the remainder of
Yorkshire and throughout several adjoining Counties in Northern England.
Records also indicate that the Lawson name existed in Scotland from 14th
century where it was most commonly found in Lowland Eastern Counties. In
Scotland Lawson families have links with the McLaren Clan.
It is probable that more than one original source of the name exists. The
Lawson name today is found commonly in all English speaking countries. There
is evidence that the Lawson name was adopted from the European (mostly
Scandinavian) name Larsen and similar surnames when emigration to the British
Isles took place.
Possibly the best way in which to study the distribution of the name is to
study the records of births during the earliest years after civil registration
was introduced. This is by no means an absolutely accurate way of studying
statistics because in this period not all births were recorded but the figures
would represent a comparative value as presumably recording throughout the
whole of England and Wales would have followed similar trends. The comparison
again would be slightly distorted by virtue of the fact that some parts of a
particular County would fall in a registration district which belonged in the
main to another County. However, for the purpose of the study, the results do
show definite trends and are therefore considered to be of value.
from the Lawson One-Name Study Project
| 
