Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

Crest—A cubit arm erect, vested gules cuffed
argent, holding in the hand five ears of wheat or.
Motto—In lumine lucem.
The family of Thompson in Kent spelled
the name Thomson, and the change to
the present form was made in America.
Thomas Thompson, of Sandwich, County
Kent, merchant, had a son, Thomas.
Thomas Thompson, of Sandwich, married
a daughter of a Mansfield. Arms were
granted to him in 1600. He had children :
Henry, Anne, and Thomas.
Henry Thompson, named above, had
sons, John, Anthony, and William.
Thomas Thompson, named last in the
paragraph above, also had sons, John,
Anthony, and William. These names
found together in the Thompson family
of County Kent, and the fact that three
brothers, William, Anthony, and John,
came from England to America, make it
seem highly probable that the Thompsons
of America descended from the family of
Thompson (or Thomson) of Kent, England.
There has been much controversy
on this matter, but extensive research has
failed to settle the point, and almost all
of those who have investigated the Thomp-
son pedigree concede the probability of
descent from the family of Kent.
The name Thompson stands twenty-
first in a roll of common surnames, being
rarer than Edwards, but more common
than White. Thomson or Thompson
signifies a son of Thomas. Bardsley, in
his surnames gives : Eborard fil Thome,
County Cambridge, 1273 ; Abraham fil
Thome, County Bedford, 20 Edward I,
1291 ; Richard fil Thome, County York,
1291 ; Petrus Thome, son, County York,
1379; Johannes Thomasson, of County
York, 1379.
There are large families of Thompson
in both Ireland and Scotland. Baron
Haversham, created baron in 1696, was a
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
44
descendant of Maurice Thompson, of
Cheston, County Herts. This baronetcy
became extinct in 1745. A Thompson was
Lord Mayor of London in 1737, and
another in 1828. Richard Thompson was
treasurer of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin,
in 1582. Baron Sydenham, Governor-
General of Canada, was a descendant of
the Thompsons of County Surrey.
(I) Anthony Thompson was born in
England, and died in New Haven, Connecticut,
in September, 1648. Three
brothers, Anthony, John, and William
Thompson, left England with the party
led by the Rev. John Davenport and The-
ophilus Eaton in the "Hector" and arrived
in Boston, Massachusetts, June 26, 1637.
In April, 1638, they settled in the vicinity
of what is now New Haven, Connecticut,
on September i, 1640, when the settlement
was called New Haven. Anthony
Thompson, with a family of four persons,
was one of the list of first settlers. He
was a member of the band of soldiers
organized to protect the settlers from the
Indians. He mentions his family and
brothers, John and William, in his will
of 1647. He married (first) in England.
He married (second) Catherine, who mar-
ried (second) Nicholas Camp. Children
of first marriage: i. John, of whom fur-
ther. 2. Anthony, born December, 1634,
died December 29, 1654. 3. Bridget, born
in 1636, married the Rev. John Bowers.
Children of second marriage : 4. Hannah,
baptized June 8, 1654; married a Stanton.
5. Lydia, baptized July 24, 1647 ! married
Isaac Crittenden. 6. Ebenezer, baptized
October 15, 1648; married Deborah
Dudley.
(II) John Thompson, son of Anthony
Thompson, was born in England, in 1632,
and died June 2, 1707. He was called
"mariner" and is mentioned frequently in
deeds, etc., owning land in New Haven.