Lt. William J. Thompson

A Patriot of the American Revolution for VIRGINIA. DAR Ancestor #: A114675

http://www.cragun.com/brian/thompson/11-1.htm

Descendants of William Thompson of Tazewell

William Thompson was born in 1722 in County Down, Ireland, the son of William and Sarah (Evans) Thompson from Scotland. He emigrated along with his first wife, Jane Buchanan (b. 1732) to the Virginia area and settled in Tazewell county. He later married Lydia Graham (b. 1743). There were twelve children, the first three probably from the first marriage:

(Col.) John Thompson b. 27 Feb 1863 md. (1) Levicie Bowen

md. (2) Mary Walker

(Major) Archibald Thompson b. 10 Jul 1764 md. Rebecca Peery

Jane Thompson

Nancy Thompson b. 4 Apr 1773 md. William T. Ward

Andrew Thompson b. 1776/1781 md. Rebecca McCorkle

(Lawyer) James Thompson b. ca. 1760 (1) Jean Doak (unmarried)

(2) Sally Justice (unmarried)

Rachel Thompson b. 2 Oct 1779 md. James Robert Doak

Annis Thompson b. ca. 1782 md. John Mitchell

Lydia Thompson b. 1796 md. John Doak

William (Roane Bille) Thompson b. 10 Apr 1785 md. Louisa Gillespie

Alexander Thompson b. ca. 1793 md. Sarah Reader

Mary (Polly) Thompson

William first purchased 200 acres between the Rich and Clinch Mountains in 1792. That general area later became known as Thompson Valley. He later purchased 1300 acres of land along the Maiden Spring Fork of the Clinch river (present day Tazewell) in 1789. He was a commissioner of the Peace for Wythe County in 1790. He was Sheriff of Wythe in 1797, and deputized his sons James and Andrew.

That Andrew is not to be confused with our Andrew. That Andrew moved with his family to Union County Kentucky in 1811. His children were Poluxna Thompson, Sarafina Thompson, Mariah Thompson, Malvina Thompson, Andrew James McCorkle Thompson (b. 14 Feb 1816 in Union County, Kentucky), Rebecca Thompson, and Andrew Randolph Thompson.

William Thompson and his descendants have been extensively researched by Judy B. Anderson [Anderson, Virginia Connections]. Her book details over 8,000 descendants of William, and the allied Ward families. I have reviewed the book at length, and spoken to the author personally, but can find no connection to our Andrew and his descendants.

The only exception I know to this is the 24 Dec 1889 marriage of Thomas Benton Thompson (b. 16 May 1866, Tazewell) to Melissa Adeline Thompson (b. 4 Oct 1868, Bland). Thomas Benton was the son of James Benton and Floanna (Crabtree) Thompson. James Benton (b. 7 Sep 1837) was the son of George Washington and Mary "Polly" Shannon (Buchanan) Thompson. George W. (b. 7 Sep 1837) was the son of (Lawyer) James Thompson and Sally Justice. Melissa Adeline Thompson is found in the listing of descendants of Andrew in Appendix B of this book. (As you can see, I have an interest in both the William Thompson and Andrew Thompson line, since I am a great-grandchild of Thomas Benton and Melissa Adeline (Thompson) Thompson.)

The Thompsons who appear in the 1810 and 1820 Wythe censuses, but do not fit into Andrew's family, are possibly descendants of William.

Anderson cites a paperback about the Thompson Family (published by the Genealogical Research Institute in Arlington, Virginia) which states "that the Thompson name was common in Dumfriesshire and Roxburgshire, Scotland, and was then carried by the Scotch Presbyterians into Ireland, and that many of their descendants brought the name to America." She then cites Andrews who says that the Thompsons probably emigrated to Ireland in the early 1600's, remained for about 100 years, then migrated to America because of religious differences. This scenario fits our Andrew's situation as well, both in timing and apparent religious background. Hopefully research of other Thompsons will help extend Andrew's line back across the ocean.

Name: William Thompson

Military Place: Virginia, USA

State or Army Served: Continental Troops

Rank: Captain

Bickley, in his history of Tazewell County, says nothing about the coming of the Thompsons to the Clinch Valley; and the male descendants of the pioneers of that name who are now living in the county seem to have little knowledge of when their ancestors came here and what they did after they became settlers. From Mrs. George W. Gillespie, of Tazewell, who is a great-granddaughter of William Thompson, a pioneer; and Mrs. C.W. George, of Albany, Missouri, who is a great-great-granddaughter of the said William Thompson, I have procured very satisfactory information. With this, and such data as the county records supply, I will do the best I can in preparing a sketch of the Thompsons who were of the pioneers.
The Thompsons are of the Scotch-Irish people, who migrated from Ulster and settled in Pennsylvania. They came from that province to the Valley of Virginia, and thence to the Clinch Valley. In the Surveyors "Plot Book" of Fincastle County, which book is now kept with the records of Montgomery County, at Christiansburg, I find that Captain Dan Smith, assistant surveyor of Fincastle County, in the year 1774 surveyed for one William Thompson a tract of 229 acres of land, situated "on the north waters of the South Fork of Clinch River, Beginning at a black walnut at the foot of Morris' Knob." The date of this survey indicates that William Thompson certainly came to the Clinch VAlley as early as 1774, and possibly previous to that date. If he ever lived on this tract, which he purchased from the Loyal Company, there is no evidence now in existence of his having such residence. He did, however, acquire under a settlers' right a large boundary of valuable land in the present Thompson Valley, six miles above Morris' Knob and built his home at the place where Milton Thompson, his great-grandson, now lives, about six miles south of the town of Tazewell.

It appears that William Thompson, the first, was twice married. He had two sons, John and Archibald, by his first wife; and three more sons by his second wife. On of the sons by his second wife was known as "Lawyer James Thompson". He was eccentric, but a man of ability, and was the first Commonwealth's Attorney for Tazewell County. Another son of the second family was named William. He was called "Roan Billie", because of the peculiar color of his hair, which was red and gray in spots, somewhat similar to the hair of a roan horse. A third son of the second marriage was Andrew. He lived at the old home place after his father's death; and he erected the tombstones that mark the grave of his father and the graves of other kindred in the Thompson family graveyard. One of these stones records the fact that William Thompson was born in the year 1722, and died in 1798; and another stone gives the date of the birth and death of "Lawyer James Thompson.".

John Thompson, son of William, married Louisa Bowen. She was the daughter of Lieutenant Rees Bowen, who was killed in the battle at King's Mountain. Archibald, his brother, married Rebecca Peery, a daughter of George Peery, who settled in Abb's Valley, and who was one of the justices of the first county court of Tazewell County.

John Thompson, after his marriage, settled in Thompson Valley, about 3 miles below Plum Creek Gap. He had four sons, William, James, Archibald, and Walter, and several daughters. William, son of John, married Matilda Witten, daughter of James Witten, the famous scout. This William Thompson established his home at the foot of Clinch Mountain on the old wagon road which crossed the mountain to Poor VAlley, and thence down through Laurel Gap, by Broad Ford, and on to Preston's Salt Works. His three brothers had their homes above his place on the road that then passed up the valley to the Plum Creek Gap. They each had large and valuable boundaries of land, most of which still remains in the possession of their descendants.

Archibald Thompson, son of the first William, after his marriage with Rebecca Peery settled in the upper section of Thompson Valley, at the place where Joseph Neal now lives. Archibald had four sons -- William, George, John and James. He acquired an extensive boundary of land in the head of the valley, which he divided between his son, William, George and James. Nearly all this land is still owned by his descendants. In 1813 he purchased from Captain James Patton Thompson, a tract of three hundred acres of land in Burke's Garden, and gave it to his son John. The tract embraced the greater part of the four hundred acre boundary upon which James Burke built his cabin in 1753 or 1754. Rufus Thompson, grandson of Major Archie, as he was called, now owns and lives upon this noted and valuable farm.

Occupier: William Thompson
Residence Location: Down, Down, T/Downpatrick/Bridge Street

Source Information: Title- Ireland, Griffith’s Valuation, 1847-1864 Author- Heritage World Family History Services Publisher- Ancestry.com Operations Inc Publisher Date- 2008 Publisher Location- Provo, UT, USA

Capt William J. Thompson VI: Find- a- Grave Memorial

Name: Capt William J Thompson

Birth Date: 1722

Birth Place: Northern Ireland

Death Date: 1796

Death Place: Washington County, Virginia, United States of America