Father: ***** Thompson
Mother: *****

Biographical Details:

It is believed that William Thompson was the oldest of the three Thompson brothers that were early settlers of the New Haven Colony.  Accordingly, he very likely came from England to New Haven in 1637 with his two younger brothers on the ship, "Hector", and subsequently settled in the New Haven Colony.  He was mentioned specifically in the will of his brother, Anthony, in 1647.¹

Within this context, Atwater, in his History of the Colony of New Haven, mentions that at a general court (i.e., town meeting) held on March 10, 1646 (1647 N. S.), William Thompson was assigned a place in the seventh seat (i.e., bench or pew) in the center of the meetinghouse.  Subsequently, at a town meeting held on February 11, 1655 (1656 N. S.), he sat in the fifth seat, and, again, in the fifth seat on February 20, 1661 (1662 N. S.).  Apparently, William never married.  He made his will on October 6, 1682, and died the following April.  The will was witnessed by John Chidsy and Joseph Peck.  Subsequently, an inventory of the estate of William Thompson was made by John Winston and Joseph Peck on May 10, 1683, which was valued at £187 18/ 10d.

1. On March 23, 1647, William was named as brother in the will of Anthony Thompson Sr. of New Haven.  (Probate Bk. 1, New Haven Co., CT,  pg. 33.)
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2. William Thompson's will was made on October 6, 1682.  He calls himself "far stricken in years" and mentions:
      1. his nephews Benjamin Broadly and brother Abraham Broadly;  (They were actually in-laws and were the husbands of William's nieces Hannah and Elizabeth, daughters of his brother, John and his wife Ellen Harrison Thompson.)
      2. nephew John Thompson, son of brother Anthony;
      3. cousin John Thompson, Jr., son of nephew John abovesaid;
      4. cousin William Thompson, son of nephew John abovesaid;  (In the seventeenth century, cousin was an imprecise term often used for nieces and nephews and what would now be called great or grand nieces and nephews, as well as more distant relations.)
      5. cousin Mary Lynes;  (She was actually William's niece, daughter of John and Ellen Harrison Thompson.)
      6. sister Ellen Thompson;  (She was actually William's sister-in-law, Ellen Harrison Thompson.  In the seventeenth century distinctions between in-laws and blood relations were often not made clear.)
      7. cousins Mary Lynes, Anna Broadlye, and Elizabeth Broadlye, daughters of sister Ellen Thompson;  (As above, these were William's nieces.)
      8. Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Benjamin Broadlye; and
      9. cousins Bridgett Bowers, Anna Stanton, and Lydia Cruttenden.  (Again, these were nieces, daughters of Anthony Thompson.)  (Probate Bk. 1, New Haven Co., CT,  pg. 192.)  (Bobbi Dodge and Evelyn Beran; databases - gcdodge and sanford-shulsen; worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com, 2004.)
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Additional Citations:

3. Edward E. Atwater, History of the Colony of New Haven to its absorption into Connecticut, privately published, New Haven, CT, 1881: pgs. 149, 152-3, 545-8 & 550-2.

4. Donald Lines Jacobus, Families of Ancient New Haven - Vols. 1-9, Printed by Clarence D. Smith, Rome, NY, 1923 & 1929: Vol. 2, pgs. 407-9 & Vol. 7, pg. 1749-51;  also appeared as "New Haven Genealogical Magazine", Vols. I-VIII, 1922-1932.  (Reprint available from Genealogical Publishing Co., 1001 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD, 21202-3897)

5. New England Genealogical and Historical Register, Vol. 66, pgs. 179 & 199-200, 1912.

6. New England Genealogical and Historical Register, Vol. 81, pgs. 132-3, 1927.

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