A brief History of the Damerons

 

Dameron/Damron Family Newsletter

Volume 1, Fall, 1981

A Brief History of the Damerons/Damrons

by Leonard L. Damron

The Dameron name has been an honorable one, tracing its origin past the 14th century.

Furgeson, an authority on surnames, places the derivation on the Dameron to a compound of

two old German words, dam (judgement), and run (wisdom). The origins of the coat of arms

was Flanders, which is now known as Belgium, and the original spelling of the name was

Damerin, as was the French spelling of the name, various other spellings of the name exist,

including Damrell, Damrun, Damerson, Damison, Dammron, Damren etc. It is not uncommon to find

the name spelled several ways on the same document, because court clerks and census takers

often spelled the name as it sounded to them. Damron is probably the most common

variation of the name today, but we must bear in mind that no matter the variation, those of

us in America can in all probability be traced to a common Dameron ancestor.

The coat of arms consists of a yellow shield, fixed on this is a black chevron and three red

circles, two above the chevron and one below. This coat of arms is registered in the

Armorial Registries of France and England as well as the Library of Congress. Described in

heraldic terms, it reads as follows:

(Reitstap, Armorial General, 1887): Argent, a chevron sable accompanied by

three torteaux gules. In France it is registered as Damerin. Flandre.

D’arg, au chev. De sa., acc., de trios tourt. De gu.

The date of the first Damerons in this country is proven at 1614 and was probably a few

years prior to that. At that time there were less than one thousand Europeans on these shores.

Damerons can claim a relationship to some of the most illustrious in our country’s history,

including George Washington, they also entered Kentucky with Daniel Boone, and were with

him upon his entry to Tennessee. Some were with Boone when he was in Missouri. He

performed a marriage for one of my ancestors while he was a magistrate there.

A number of Dameron descendants have engaged in the study of the Dameron/Damron

genealogy, the most notable being Helen Foster Snow, who has compiled several hundred

pages on not only the Dameron/Damrons, in this country, but in England as well. I

understand that Helen has suffered a stroke and is no longer engaged in this work. This is a

loss to us all. Helens works were not completely indexed, and are difficult to use a ready

reference, but without them I would be back near square one.

Most of the Dameron/Damrons in this country are descended from either Bartholomew or

George Dameron, sons of Lawrence Dameron. Although they settled first in Virginia, they

soon enlarged their area to include West Virginia and North Carolina, spreading rapidly into

Kentucky and Tennessee and from there to Illinois, Ohio Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas and

California, but they are found in every state, including Hawaii and Alaska.

The Civil War found Dameron/Damrons on both sides, several even switching sides.

Many of the Damron west of Virginia supported northern views, with dire consequences to

some. Several North Carolina Damerons died in this war and confederate Damerons in

Missouri died in Union prisons.

Today’s Dameron/Damrons can be found in all walks of life, including medicine, law and

other businesses and professions, as well as blue collar workers and those in government

service. There is estimated to be six thousand Dameron/Damrons of voting age, with several

times this amount in their descendants.

1st page of the 2nd volume of the DDFA newsletter 

Dameron-Damron Family Newsletter, Volume 2, Spring 1982

Your Start in the Mystical Science of Genealogy

Genealogy is a science and is a professional occupation that should not be dabbled in by the

layman, furthermore, it is expensive and the information required is not available to the novice.

Bunk…………..

Genealogy is as expensive as you want it to be. It can become quite expensive, that is if you

hire your work done, or perhaps you don’t care to wait for the postman to deliver the response to

a query. From personal experience I can attest to the possibility of some pretty large phone bills.

Presently I rely on the guy with the grey suit and although I use quite a few stamps each month, I

accomplish the same thing.

It helps of course if you have a little coaching from the sidelines, so if you are a beginner in

this mystical science, listen to the old coach.

Where do you go to get the information about a family, a library, of course. Now this is not

your everyday run of the mill library, but a library that deals in genealogical data, it may or may

not be in conjunction with your main library, having a separate section containing genealogical

data. Several libraries in the United States have extensive genealogical sections, among these is

the library in Seattle, Washington, San Bruno, California, and Houston, Texas, Austin and Forth

Worth, Texas, also have considerable information. Perhaps your first step, however, should be to

let your fingers do some walking in the yellow pages. Look for the Church of Christ of the Latter

Day Saints. This is of course the Mormon Church, but don’t let that bother you in the even

you’re not Mormon, they don’t bite and I’ve received every consideration from them. What you

can expect is, a librarian who is familiar with genealogical data. Census reports, from all the

United States. This is usually confined to pre 1900 Census reports, as in most cases family record

will show data after this period. A section containing books with a genealogical history of a

particular family or families, and a section devoted to each of the states and territories as well as

data on some foreign countries. Also ask about their bookstore, these stores have all types of

genealogical forms that you may require, I prefer plain paper as it takes so much less space, but it

may be advisable to the beginner to use a ready-made form until you get the hang of it. If you

don’t find the LDS library in the yellow pages, look in the white pages, it will be under Church of

Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, your City Genealogical Branch Library.

Following is a list of a few sources of information the event you want to keep in the closet your

delving in the black and mystical arts of genealogy. I don’t think they come in a brown wrapper,

but what the heck, only your postman will know.

National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. “Is that Lineage Right?” 1776 D

Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. I don’t know what the current charge for this item is, but it’s

nominal and is excellent for the beginner.

Research in American Genealogy… Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, Utah.

“Genealogical Helper”, Logan Utah

Inquiry to the latter two sources will provide you with other helpful material, as well as price lists

for various genealogical material.

Organize – – your material should be organized so as to provide quick reference. Many people

use 3×5 index cards for this purpose, these are cross referenced to other substantiating material. I

think everyone eventually evolves their own particular systems.

Ancestor hunting can be fun, and sometimes surprising. I recall one lady who found a skeleton

and not wishing to declare his death exactly, reported that he died in a fall from a platform during

a public gathering.

In conclusion let me add – If you’re not sure, or don’t have proof that an individual is an

ancestor, say so. If you preface your study with “I think” your idea and theories will be known,

but additional research my other parties will not be retarded, thinking this person was someone

else. Good Ancestor Hunting – – – LLD