The Jemison surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,797 people carried this name — #8,653 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 77,500 people counted. That is up 5% from 3,608 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Jemison surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of James’.

His entry covers Jimpson, Jimison and Jemison.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 432 · public domain.

In print

Jemison in American newspapers,
1872–1912.

Newspaper page from East Oregonian : E.o carrying the name Jemison
East Oregonian : E.o 1912-11-12
Newspaper page from Public Ledger carrying the name Jemison
Public Ledger 1872-08-05
Newspaper page from The Cheyenne Daily Leader carrying the name Jemison
The Cheyenne Daily Leader 1891-01-31

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 5,652 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Jemison in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1990s.

1,159 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Jemison. The most, 218, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 6.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 948
New South Wales 144
Victoria 27
Queensland 16
Western Australia 12
Tasmania 6
ACT (Canberra) 5

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Jemison.

Who carried it

People named Jemison,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Mary Jemison
    Mary Jemison 1741–1833 · frontiersman
  • Mary Jemison
    Mary Jemison 1743–1833 · frontiersman
  • Robert Jemison, Jr.
    Robert Jemison, Jr. 1802–1871 · politician
  • Edwin Francis Jemison
    Edwin Francis Jemison 1844–1862 · soldier
  • Cherokee Mims Jemison 1838–1903
  • Robert Jemison Sr. 1853–1926

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Jemison,
in the records of 3 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States204 records

204 records of the Jemison name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 104
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 40
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 24
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 24
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 7
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Hudson Jemison

    Born 1914 in Alabama. Enlisted 1942 at Camp Blanding, Florida; construction laborer. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1973, buried at Barrancas National Cemetery, Florida.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Charles Jemison

    Born 1932; from Lorain County, Ohio. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1952 in North Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary-Anne Jemison

    Arrived at New York in 1850 aboard the Asburton from Liverpool, aged 22; seamstress. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 204 records for Jemison in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia24 records

24 records of the Jemison name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 15
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 4
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 3
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Jemison

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Recovery, arriving 1823; certificate of freedom 1829.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John R. Jemison

    Station overseer of Beeac, Victoria; died 1950.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jane Jemison

    Arrived in Victoria in 1887 aboard the Oroya, aged 30.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 24 records for Jemison in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Jemison name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record William Jemison

    Married 1876 in Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Catherine Jemison

    Born 1872 in Rear Lake Ainslie, Inverness, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Jemison.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Jemison is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Jemison volume
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