What is a "one name study"?
According to Wikipedia, a one-name study is "a project researching a specific surname, as opposed to a particular pedigree or descendancy". Such studies can vary in scope and scale, with some only looking at one geographic area or a particular time period, whilst others may collect all surname occurrences world-wide.
Background - Why publish a "one name study"?
I am descended from the Wontner family on my paternal side and caught the genealogy bug when I was still at school. Over the past few years, most of my research has been focused on my grandmother's family line, but I also remain extremely interested in my Wontner heritage.
The Wontner surname is of ancient lineage and is believed to date back to the time of William the Conqueror in the 10th century in England. William the Conqueror granted land to the ancestors of my line of Wontner's who lived in Herefordshire.
Although the exact line of descent cannot be totally confirmed from William the Conqueror's time downwards, what is known is that my branch of the Wontner family is descended from Thomas Wontner (1696 - 1757), owner of the "Golden Lion" in Leominster. Two Wontner branch families descend from Thomas Wontner and both branches are listed in Burke's Peerage (including my own branch) and have subsequently been listed on the Peerage website.
I have also long been aware that there are other people in the UK sharing the same Wontner surname, who whilst not directly related in recent generations, can also trace their family lines back to the same area of Herefordshire and Shropshire. It is not known whether these families share a common ancestor with the Wontner family listed in Burke's Peerage or not.
As a sideline to researching my own family tree, some time ago I therefore started a tree of other families and individuals with the Wontner surname, in the hope of maybe determining some "new" records which might be able to confirm a link or not (so far unsuccessfully)
If there is sufficient interest from others, I would also be intrigued to explore DNA testing as part of this "one name study" which might confirm an elusive common ancestor of the different Wontner family branches.
Whilst I still haven't found a common link or ancestor, this research has made me more curious about the Wontner name and its variants much more widely worldwide. For instance, I am curious about the origins of the Wontner family name in Sweden and other people living in Australia and Canada.
Family branches
People bearing the "Wontner" surname can be divided into the following three branches:
- Branch 1: Descendants of William Wontner
- Branch 2: Descendants of Konrad Wontner
- Branch 3: Descendants of Thomas Wontner (also including Smith and Wontner-Smith descendants referenced in separate indexes)
Do you belong to or know anything more about any of these family branches? Are you willing to share any relevant information or pictures about your side of the Wontner family line?
Disclaimer
I am by no means the first and only person researching the Wontner name. My research so far is very much based on what others have found out before me, however I have expanded on the research thanks to new resources more easily available online over recent years. For data protection reasons, I am also not listing, as far as possible, full details of living individuals.
Get in touch
Do contact me if you have any connection with any of the Wontner names that are part of this study.
If you want to know more about "one name studies" generally then you can contact either the Guild of One Name Studies or The Surname Society.
