The Masterton Family
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Each of us carries about with us something of the spirit of every man and woman in the line of our descent. |
Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. |
The music accompanying the Masterton images in this video is Chopin's Mazurka 41, Op 63 No 3 played by Heikki Mesterton.
This site is intended to provide a knowledge bank for a small community of interest - the present day successors of those who have shared common roots.
There are a number of Masterton researchers who have freely exchanged information. The wonderful aspect of giving knowledge is that we are not diminished by the giving - and if we receive in return, we are enriched. Special mention should be made of David Masterton of Whippany, New Jersey. His work provided the foundation of most of the family trees. I have only expanded upon it.
The site is dedicated to all who came before us, each unique in different ways, but who collectively have created the surroundings and the culture that we all enjoy, or tolerate, today. Our civilisation today is shaped by the sum of all their actions.
Masterton links to Historical Events
This timeline identifies some of the Mastertons who were involved in landmark incidents in history, rarely as key players, almost always as incidental victims of circumstances - as are most of us.
Click and drag on either bar to navigate around the timeline and locate events between 1140 and the present day. Click on the events to find out more. Follow the hyperlinks within the events for more detailed background information on Mastertons connected with the events. Works best with Google Chrome Browser.
Search the Family Trees |
This site uses The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding("TNG") for displaying genealogical data. Tips: Search by spouse name, if you can, rather than "Masterton" - the list of options will be smaller. When reviewing the results of your search, especially if the list is long, remember to look at the top and bottom of the list for names containing middle names or initials. After your first search, you can refine by using various selection fields. My name is Gordon Masterton. If you are a Masterton, or have Masterton connections, and would like to receive a note of when updates are made to this site, then please email me with a request. I have a great deal of information about Mastertons yet to be posted. Until I get more information uploaded onto the site, I will be happy to assist with any enquiries. Just click on "Contact Us" in the footer. Please sign our Guestbook. Here are some useful links for researchers. |
Searching for our Sense of Place
The desire to understand our origins and our roots is a pervading drive in many of us. We cannot help being curious, and some of us get mildly obsessed with building the picture of our ancestors and their successes and failures. The interest starts with the fun of researching some unknown names from previous generations, linked by the accident of birth. It develops into an interest in the social and historical context of their place in the evolution of our modern civilisation.
Below are 4064 Mastertons, sorted across 33 groupings that I've found in this journey of exploration:
"Records not linked" will take you to a miscellany of records of births, marriages and deaths of 880 of the Mastertons, some in isolation, some in mini-trees, but none yet linked to the other 32 trees. Here is a link to pages with some of those Masterton Strays. Why not try to help bring them into the fold and make a suggestion on where they may be linked in to an established tree?
Some Mastersons recorded as Masterton
Masterson is a distinct and different family name, probably originating in Ireland. But sometimes the names get confused in error. These trees contain a mix of Mastertons and Mastersons in the records. My view is that the families from Athelstaneford and Leith should be Mastersons, and may have come to Scotland from Ireland.
The tree labelled Wexford has 18 Mastertons and spouses mainly in Victoria, Australia, but the records show that the original emigrant was Michael Masterson, son of Henry Masterson a farmer in Wexford, Ireland, who married Ellen O'Driscoll in Victoria in 1868. Subsequently, for whatever reason, the surname adopted by the family in Australia was Masterton.
| Athelstaneford | Leith | Liverpool | Wexford |
The trees are based on registration or other documented information, but making connections for people who died before 1855 involves making some judgements. Clues such as age at marriage, neighbourhood, and consistency with Scottish Naming Pattern all help, but no guarantees can be given. Sources are provided and users must take their own view of whether my deductions (or those on whom I've relied) are the most rational. I'm perfectly happy to receive challenges, queries and new information that might improve the value of the site. In the early records there are many deviant spellings of "Masterton" (I have found 96 - all of them are listed under Spelling). I have, for the convenience of researchers using search engines, converted these consistently to the modern spelling. The original spelling is referred to in notes attached to the trees.
