Thruston Family Register

Much of what we know about the Thruston family comes from the Thruston Family Register, a book that was started by John Thruston (1606). He used the book to document important events in his lifetime: births, christenings, marriages, deaths, and burials of his family members.

John Thruston's entry on June 1st, 1656:

This first day of June 1656

about 12 of y Clocke

at noon being Sunday my

wife was delivered of a ----

daughter wch makes my

24th child 12 sons & 12

daughters. Shee was baptized

the 6th day of the same

mounth & names Sara

my cosson James Thruston

my cosson Sara Bridges

& Mrs Bringdon Gossops

Ancestry of the Thruston-Phillips Families, by Gen. Gates Phillips Thruston; Nashville, Tennessee, Brandon Print. Co., 1909, Plate I (after page 2). PDF retrieved from the Library of Congress

John Thruston's son Edward Thruston (1638) inherited the family register upon his father's death and continued the practice of documenting family events.

Edward Thruston's (1638) first entry in the book on April 8th, 1675:

This 8th day of Aprill 1675 my

ffather Mr John Thruston (being

Chamberlain of this Citty of

Bristoll 11 years & 11 months)

Departed this life & was buryed

the 12th instant in St Thomas

Church yard on the South side of

my mother who Departed this

life the 30th of November 1647 as

before specified. ____________

Ancestry of the Thruston-Phillips Families, by Gen. Gates Phillips Thruston; Nashville, Tennessee, Brandon Print. Co., 1909, Plate II (after page 4). PDF retrieved from the Library of Congress

Edward Thruston (1638) would eventually pass this book down to his son, Edward Thruston, Jr. (1679). This tradition of passing the book from father to son would continue for many generations of Thrustons.

The Thruston Family Register made its way from Bristol, England, to Virginia, Kentucky, and Texas. The last known Thruston descendant in possession of the book was John Dean "Jack" Thruston (1894-1958), son of Charles Mynn Thruston (1868). Jack Thruston (1894) had two sons: Charles Mynn Thruston (1921) and Merrill Bryson [sic?] Thruston (1926).

The Thruston Family Register, by Jerry Long, Owensboro, Kentucky, 1988. PDF retrieved July 6, 2024.

John Dean "Jack" Thruston (1894-1958) eventually moved to Berkeley, California. He died on December 8, 1958. In his obituary it was reported that his only surviving son was Merrill Thruston, also of Berkeley.