 Genealogy of the Thompson Family 
(version July 16, 2018)
Please email corrections to Mike Clark
POTENTIAL PARENTS of JOEL THOMPSON - LINEAGE A
David Thompson (c.1704-1800) was probably born about 1704 in Scotland, as he is referred to in some family histories as a Scottish settler, but we have not found an official documention of this. The first recorded mention of him is on May 26, 1732 in the Guilford, Connecticut church records when he married Jane Doude/Dowd (c.1712-1779), with the local justice of the peace James Hooker presiding. Jane was the daughter of Cornelius Doude (1680-1727) and Jane Hand (1686-1747) of Guilford. David and and wife Jane resided in Guilford (Litchfield County) where they raised a large family, and where there are at least two mentions of David in the town land records. The first mention is dated March 30, 1757 and states that, "Joseph Hand 2nd sold [one acre and a half] to David Thompson of East Guilford and Joel Thompson his son." The second mention is dated Oct 25, 1959, and it states that, "Joel Thompson of Salisbury in County of Litchfield ..., sold {land} to Noah Scranton." It further states that, "David Thompson now liveth near a place called the Dambridge on the west side of the Highway."
It appears that Jane probably became seriously ill in mid-1775, as she drew up a will on June 13, 1775 that she signed with an "X", with her husband signing that he gave his consent for creation of the doument. Jane lingered on and died on May 18, 1779 in Guilford. Her husband David wrote up his own the same day as her death. He survived her by many years and died on March 10, 1800 in Guilford, where his death is recorded in the register of the 1st Congregational Church. He is said to be buried in Guilford's West Side Cemetery, but there apparently is no tombstone anymore, and there are no other Thompsons in the cemetery that we are aware of. Presumably Jane is buried there as well, but this is not known for sure. To confuse matters, another David Thompson (b. c.1712) died on April 9, 1800 in the nearby town of Stratford in adjacent Fairfield County, where he is buried in the Old Congregational Burying Ground. 
children - THOMPSON Joel Thompson (1737?-1804), who may be the Joel Thompson who follows. Several More Children were born to David and Jane Thompson, besides the Joel Thompson above, who may or may not truely be their son.
POTENTIAL PARENTS of JOEL THOMPSON - LINEAGE B
Daniel Thompson (1685-1766) was born on Oct. 31, 1685 in New Haven, Connecticut and baptized there on Nov. 29, 1685, as one of the six children of John and Rebecca Thompson of the New Haven Colony, a Puritan settlement founded about 1637 on the north side of Long Island Sound. He married Mary Ball (1694-1776), the daughter of John Ball and Sarah Glover, on Jan. 16, 1717 in New Haven. He died on Nov. 26 1766 in New Haven, and is buried there in the Grove Street Cemetery, which in those days was known as the New Haven Green. Mary, who had been born on Oct. 22, 1694 in New Haven, died on May 11, 1776 in New Haven, and was buried, according to Jacobus (1931, p. 1752), in the nearby Woodbridge East Side Burying Ground, where her grave, as far as we know, is no longer marked. The children shown below are from Ancient New Haven Families by Jacobus (1931, p. 1751-52)
children - THOMPSON Ann Thompson (1717-1790) was born Nov. 17, 1717 in New Haven, Connecticut; and baptized there on June 13, 1725 in the old New Haven Church. She died without issue in 1790, according to Jacobus (1931). John Thompson (1719-1784) was born May 16, 1719 in New Haven, Connecticut; and baptized there on June 13, 1725 in the old New Haven Church. He married Elizabeth Bradley, the daughter of William Bradley and Elizabeth Chidsey on Nov. 5, 1741 in New Haven. He died in 1784 and is buried in New Haven. James Thompson (1721-1803?) was born June 20, 1721 in New Haven, Connecticut; and baptized there on June 13, 1725 in the old New Haven Church. Jacobus (1931) speculates that James died on June 20, 1803 in nearby Woodbridge. Mabel Thompson (b. 1723) was born Dec. 6, 1723 in New Haven, Connecticut; and baptized there on June 13, 1725 in the old New Haven Church. According to Jacobus (1931), she died without issue Daniel Thompson (1725-1727) was born Oct. 17, 1725 in New Haven, Connecticut and baptized there, probably in November of that year. He died on Dec. 11, 1727 in New Haven. Jabez Thompson (1727-1776) was born July 3, 1727 in New Haven, Connecticut; and probably baptized there the same month. He married Sarah Gunn (1732-1804), the daughter of Nathaniel Gunn and Sarah Wheeler on Oct. 25 1748 in Derby, Conneticut, and had several children with her. He served as a captain (some say a lieutenant colonel) during the American Revolution and was killed probably on the 15th, but possibly the 16th or 17th of September 1776 at Kip's Bay in New York. He was buried on Sept. 18, 1776 in Hillside Cemetery in Oxford, New Haven County, Connecticut. Sarah, who had been born Feb. 15, 1732 in Derby, Connecticut, subsequently married her second husband David Johnson on March 18, 1778 in Derby. She married thirdly John Bassett, presumably after the death of her second husband. She died on May 3, 1804 in Oxford, Connecticut. Eunice Thompson (1729-1790) was born Oct. 21, 1729 in New Haven, Connecticut; and baptized there on Oct. 26, 1729 in the old New Haven Church. She died in Aug. 1790 in Woodbridge, Connecticut. Daniel Thompson (1731-1816) was born Dec. 30, 1731 in New Haven, Connecticut. He married Mary Carrington (1789-1820), the daughter of John Carrington and Deborah Thomas, on Sept. 17, 1761 in Woodbridge, Connecticut. He died on Oct. 1, 1816 in Woodbridge. Mary, who had been baptized April 15, 1789 in New Haven, died March 26, 1820 in Woodbridge. Eliphalet Thompson (b. 1734) was born March 25, 1734 in New Haven, Connecticut; and baptized there on April 7, 1734 in the old New Haven Church. Lois Thompson (b. 1736) was born on April 22, 1736 in New Haven, Connecticut; and died without issue, according to Jacobus (1931, p. 1752). Joel Thompson (1737-1804?), who was born on Nov. 23, 1737 in New Haven, Connecticut; and may be the Joel Thompson who follows.
Joel Thompson (1737?-1804) may be the son of either David Thompson and Jane Doude (Dowd) of Guilford in New Haven County, Connecticut; or the son of Daniel Thompson and Mary Ball of New Haven, which is also a town in New Haven County. If he is the son of Daniel Thompson of New Haven, then he was almost certainly born on Nov. 23, 1737 in New Haven. Jacobus (1931, p. 1753) in Families of Ancient New Haven shows that this Joel Thompson did indeed have children, but he gives no further details. Alternatively, the man we seek might be a Joel Thompson who was the son of David and Jane Thompson in nearby Guilford, which like New Haven is a town of ancient Puritan origin. This seems to be the more likely lineage, and most online family trees assume the same. However, almost all of these trees give Joel's birth on Nov. 23, 1737 in New Haven, which seems inconsistant, as we would expect him to have been born in his parent's town of Guilford. There is in fact one tree that shows Joel as the son of David and Jane, with his birth on March 16, 1735/36 in Guilford. Unfortunately, it is not referenced, so the source of this birth information is neither known nor confirmed. Finally, Guilford land records mention a Joel Thompson of Salisbury and name him as a son of David Thompson of East Guilford. This is with little doubt the correct Joel Thompson.
Irregardless of his parentage and place of birth, the Joel Thompson we seek married Mary Smith, the daughter of Austin Smith (b. c.1707) and Margaret Smith (1711-1803) on June 20, 1759 in Salisbury, Connecticut. They subsequently settled in Salisbury, which is in Litchfield County, where they had several children, whom we list below. This Joel Thompson is a Revolutionary War Veteran, who enlisted as a corporal on Feb, 12, 1777 in Col. Seth Warner's regiment (Johnston, 1889), and he participated in various engagements, including an attack on Sept. 18, 1777 against the British at Mount Independence, Fort Ticonderoga, near the portage between Lakes George and Champlain. It is recorded that Joel was taken prisoner the next day on Sept. 19, 1777 by the forces of British General John Burgoyne, and held by the British for the remainder of the war, eventually being freed sometime before 1783 in a prisoner exchange. He returned home to his family, and died on March 18, 1804 in Salisbury, Connecticut, where he is buried in the Center Cemetery, which is also known as the Salisbury Town Hall Cemetery.
Apparently, there is also record of a Joel Thompson of Connecticut who on April 15, 1756 enlisted in Capt. James Harris' 5th Company, 2nd Regiment during the French and Indian Wars (1755-1762). If this is the same Joel Thompson as above, he would have been only 18-years old at the time. However, more information is required before we can attempt to connect him to the Joel Thompson of Salisbury, Connecticut who served in the American Revolution twenty years later, and was subsequently buried in Salisbury.
- children - THOMPSON
Joel Thompson (b. 1760) was born March 20, 1760 in Salisbury, Connecticut. Mary Thompson (1763-1849) was born July 28, 1763 in Salisbury, Connecticut; and died in 1849. Sabra Thompson (1765-1828) was born April 21, 1765 in Salisbury, Connecticut; and died July 9, 1828 in JUnius, New York. Rachel Thompson (1767-1840) was born June 15, 1767 in Salisbury, Connecticut; and died Jan. 8, 1840 in New Haven, Vermont. Asenath Thompson (b. 1769) was born April 30, 1769 in Salisbury, Connecticut. James Thompson I (1771-1842), who follows. Phebe Thompson (b. 1773) was born November 26, 1773 in Salisbury, Connecticut.
James Thompson I (1771-1842), the son of Joel Thompson and Mary Smith, was born Sept. 5, 1771 in Salisbury, Connecticut. He married his first wife Lucretia Chatfield (1772-1808) on Aug. 15, 1790 in Salisbury, Connecticut. Lucretia, who had been born June 2, 1772 in Salisbury, was the daughter of Benjamin Chatfield (1740-1785) and Lucretia Dowd (1752-1806). Although James and Lucretia at some point moved from Salisbury, Connecticut to New Haven, Vermont, the timing is uncertain. A James Thompson, possibly the one we are looking for, is listed in Goshen, Connecticut during the U.S. Census of 1800, but this is inconsistent with the 1796 birth of his fourth child Joel in New Haven. The census returns for 1810, 1820, 1830 and 1840 do list James and family as living in New Haven. Lucretia died on May 10, 1808 in New Haven, afterwhich James married his second wife Betsy Keeler (c.1781-1843) on Oct. 2, 1808, probably in New Haven. He died on Nov. 10, 1842 in New Haven and is buried there with his first wife Lucretia in the Evergreen Cemetery. His second wife Betsy, who had been born about 1781, died at the age of 62 on Aug. 27, 1843 in New Haven, where she is buried in the same cemetery with James and Lucretia.
- children - THOMPSON
Polly Thompson (1791-1866?) was born May 15, 1791 in Salisbury, Connecticut. She may have died in May of 1866, but this is uncertain. Olive Thompson (1792-1875) was born Oct. 2, 1792 in Salisbury, Connecticut; and died Nov. 11, 1875 in Royalton, Ohio. Laura Thompson (1794-1826) was born Sept. 4, 1794 in Salisbury, Connecticut; and died in 1826 in Ferrisburg, Vermont. Joel Thompson (1796-1880) was born Dec. 10, 1796 in New Haven, Vermont. He married Melissa Myra Young (1799-1884) with whom he had several children, including Alva (1824-1846), Mary Naoma (1826-1907), Lillis (1831-1918), Emelne (1837-1894) and Phebe (1844-1878). Joel died on Oct. 12, 1880 in New Haven, Vermont, and is buried in New Haven in Evergreen Cemetery with his parents. Melissa, who was born Dec. 25, 1799 in Monkton, Vermont, died Sept. 6, 1884 in New Haven, and is buried with her husband and several of their children in Evergreen Cemetery. James Thompson II (1799-1884), who follows. Lucretia Thompson (1799-1863) was born Dec. 23, 1799 in New Haven, Vermont, with her twin brother James. Asenath Thompson (1803-1853) was born Jan. 21, 1803 in New Haven, Vermont and died Nov. 10, 1853 in New Haven. He is buried in New Haven in Evergreen Cemetery with his daughter Laura J. Thompson Hill (1826-1845). Phebe Thompson (1806-1886) was born Nov. 20, 1806 in New Haven, Vermont; and died March 16, 1886 in Bridgewater, Ohio. Hyrum Thompson (1808-1883) was born April 10, 1808 in New Haven, Vermont; and died Sept. 9, 1883 in Sep, Swietokrzyskie, Poland.
James Thompson II (1799-1884), the son of James Thompson I and Lucretia Chatfield, was born Dec 23, 1799 in New Haven, Vermont. He and his sister Lucretia were twins. He married Abigail Eldred (1803-1887) on March 5, 1825 in New Haven, Vermont. Abigail, who had been born July 13, 1803 in Kingston, Rhode Island, was the daughter of John Eldred (1779-1850) and Martha Mae Brown (1780-1858). James and Abigail are found after their marriage living with their family in the 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 U.S. Census returns for New Haven. James died Dec. 6, 1884 in Vergennes, Vermont, and Abigail died on March 17, 1887 in Bristol, Vermont. Both are buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven.
Abigail is probably the grandaughter of Joseph Eldred of North Kingstown (1729-1809), Rhode Island, who served in the American Revolution. However, this relationship still needs to be confirmed, as no documents give the names of her mother's parents.
- children - THOMPSON
Emma Thompson (1826-1919) was born Jan. 28, 1826 in New Haven, vermont. She married Andrew Barton Rose (1817-1894), with whom she had several children. She died Nov. 17, 1919 in New Haven, and is buried in Waltham, Vermont in Sunset View Cemetery. Martha Jane Thompson (1828-1919), who follows. Hiram Thompson (1830-1920) was born Oct. 1, 1830 in Hector, New York, but grew up in Vermont. He married Electa Sally Young (1837-1905) on Dec. 28, 1858 in Vergennes, Vermont, and had several children. He died on May 6, 1920 in New Haven, Vermont and is buried there in Evergreen Cemetery. Lillis Thompson (1831-1918) was born May 18, 1831 and died Dec. 8, 1918. Abigail Thompson (1833-1915) was born Feb. 27, 1833 in Panton, Vermont, and died March 18, 1915 in Oakfield, Wisconsin. Julia Adeline Thompson (1835-1892) was born March 9, 1835 in New Haven, Vermont and married Lyman Dickerman. She died on Oct. 22, 1892 and is buried in New Haven, and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven, Vermont. Rhoda Adelaide Thompson (1837-1922) was born July 30, 1837 in New Haven, Vermont, and died on July 25, 1922. Alpha Thompson (1843-1894) was born Jan. 1, 1843 in New Haven, Vermont, and married Robert Curler (1839-1926), with whom she had at least two children. She died Jan. 22, 1894. Alfred J. Thompson (1846-1909) was born April 9, 1846 in New Haven, Vermont. He was married about 1875 to Sarah A. Preston (1858-1941), with whom he had at least two children - Milo J. Thompson (1878-1882) and Charles Alfred Thompson (1882-1945). He died on Dec. 23, 1909 in New Haven, and is buried there in the Evergreen Cemetery. Sarah, who was born Oct. 24, 1858 in Waltham, Vermont, died on July 7, 1941 in Burlington, Vermont, and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery with Alfred and their sons Milo and Charles.
Martha Jane Thompson (1828-1919), the daughter of James Thompson and Abigail Eldred, was born Jan. 27, 1828 in New Haven, Vermont. She married Russel Titus Bristol (1822-1900) in Sept. of 1847 in New Haven, Vermont. She died May 18, 1919 in Addison, Vermont. Both are buried in the Prospect Cemetery of Vergennes, not far from Russel's brother Philo. For the children of Martha and Russel, please see the BRISTOL GENEALOGY.
REFERENCES:
Ancestry.com Family Trees that the above lineage is based on.
Joel Thompson in the Webb Family Tree on Ancestry.com. This family tree shows Daniel Thompson and Mary Ball of New Haven as the parents of Joel Thompson (1737-1804). Only minimal information is given on Joel's children, and this tree does not descend to Martha Jane Thompson (1828-1919), who is generation V in our lineage above. Joel David Thompson under Thompson (Family Tree) on Ancestry.com. This family tree shows David Thompson and Jane Dowd of Guilford as the parents of Joel Thompson (1737-1804). It does not descend to Martha Jane Thompson (1828-1919), who is generation V in our lineage, but it does descend to her father James Thompson II. This tree gives Joel's birth as Nov. 23, 1737 in New Haven, which is the same date and place provided for his birth in the aforementioned Webb Family Tree. Joel Thompson in the Eldred, Hallock, Hayes, Perrin, Reardon, Pierson Family Tree on Ancestry.com. This family tree shows the descent of Martha Jane Thompson (1828-1919), who is generation V in the lineage above, from her patriot ancestor Joel Thompson (1737-1804).
Grave and burial locations where known are listed with tombstone photos (when available) on  Jacobus, Donald Lines (1931), Families of Ancient New Haven (1981 edition compiled by Helen Love Scranton), v. 7, p. 1752-1753. Originally published from 1922 to 1932 as the first 8 volumes of the New Haven Genealogical Magazine. Available as both a book and CD from the Genealogical Publishing Co. Also available online at Ancestry.com (subscription required). Johnston, Henry P., ed. (1889), The Record of Connecticut Men in the Military and Naval Service during the War of the Revolution 1775-1783, Hartford, Connecticut, v. 1, p. 257. Also available on Ancestry.com (subscription required).
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