Lister – Surname Saturday

Name Origin

The surname “Lister” is an occupational name coming from the term “to dye” or a “dyer.”  It was used principally in East Anglia and northern and eastern England.

There is an alternate source of the name as meaning “son of the arrow maker” taken from the Gaelic, “Mac an Fhleisdeir” and being Anglicized. I haven’t determined an immigrant ancestor yet, so the source of our Lister surname is still not definitive.

Variations of “Lister” include Laster, Lidster, Litster, Leister, and Lester.

Geographical

Lister is most common in England, where nearly 12,000 individuals have the Lister surname, while it is most frequent in Bermuda, where one in 1,280 people have the surname.

In the US, Lister is most common in Utah (one in 8,812) and has the greatest number of Listers live in Texas (over 1,500).

Direct Lister Ancestors

• 1^st Great-Grandmother: Marada Mae Lister(1867-1932) Born in Indiana.
• 2^nd Great-Grandfather: 22. Nimrod Lister(c. 1826-c. 1890) Born in Ohio.
• 3^rd Great-Grandfather: William Lister (1802-?) Born in Maryland.

Historical

1920

In 1920, Marada Alice Lister had been married for 27 years and lived on her farm in Turman, Sullivan County, Indiana, with her husband Joel Clinton Barnes and three of her six children. Her father, Nimrod, died in 1888.

1880

In 1880. Marada Alice Lister was 13 years old and was living in Gill Township, Sullivan County, Indiana. In the household are her parents, Nimrod and Melinda, plus three of her eight siblings. I haven’t had a chance to research her grandfather’s life yet. (He’s number five on my Roberts Research list.)

39 individuals lived in Indiana during the 1880 Census with the surname Lister; 9 of them lived in Gill Township. All nine were related to Marada and Nimrod.

1840

Nimrod Lister was born in 1824 in Ohio and lived in Ohio until he located to Indiana in 1859, so I presume he was living in Ohio with his parents in 1840. The 1840 Census included 12 households headed by Listers and two Williams, both in Ross County. I anticipate that I’ll know more about Nimrod’s youth and his father when I research William Lister.

Lister Descendants

My 3rd great-grandfather, William Lister (1802-?) married (??) about 1826 in Pickaway County, Ohio.

They had four known children

•                         Nimrod – Researched somewhat.
•                         Sarah – Not researched.
•                         William M- Not researched.
•                         James – Not researched yet.

Nimrod Lister has 162 known descendants that I know of, including individuals with the surnames  Lister, Roberts, Childers, Adkins, Barnes, Gerow, Perry, Burton, Smith, Taylor, and others.

Sources:

• Ancestry Surname Page: https://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts
• Forebears Surnames Page: https://forebears.io/
• Genealogy Bank Page: https://www.genealogybank.com/last-name-meaning
• Ancestry – Don Taylor’s Roberts-Brown tree on Ancestry/

Followup:

William Lister is currently number 5 on my Roberts Research plan.

1. Joel Barnes (1790-___) – Beginning to feel a bit like a brick wall.
2. Lucy Wilson Taft (___-1939)
3. Joel Cruff Taft (1800-1849)
4. Fanny Southerland (1796-1864)
5. William Lister (c. 1802-___)