The ancient roots of the Jonstom family are found in the Scottish-English border region where the name was first used by the people of the Boernician tribe. The Jonstom family lived in Dumfries (now part of the region of Galloway), where they held the barony of John's Town.
The surname Jonstom was first found in Dumfries where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Jonstom research. Another 158 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1174, 1296, 1732, 1799, 1807, and 1869 are included under the topic Early Jonstom History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The name Jonstom, appeared in many references, and from time to time, the surname was spelt Johnston, Johnstone, MacIain (Gaelic) and others.
Notable amongst the family name during their early history was Sir Richard Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone (1732-1807), 1st Baronet of Hackness Hall in the North Riding of the County of York...
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Jonstom Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Jonstom family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The New World beckoned as many of the settlers in Ireland, known as the Scotch/Irish, became disenchanted. They sailed aboard the armada of sailing ships known as the "White Sails" which plied the stormy Atlantic. Some called them, less romantically, the "coffin ships." Amongst the early settlers who could be considered kinsmen of the Jonstom family, or who bore a variation of the surname Jonstom were Archibald Johnston settled in Barbados with his two sons and servants in 1680; George Johnston settled in New England in 1685; Alexander, Arthur, Charles, Cunningham, David, Francis, George, Henry, John, Joseph, Nathan, Robert, Thomas, and William Johnston, all arrived in Philadelphia between 1800 and 1865.