Josephine /'Jltcrsnn (Thompion) Zcii To whom this book is dedicated. / The Descendants of John Thomson PIONEER SCOTCH COVENANTER Gcncaloc^ical Notes on All Known Descendants of John Thomson, Covenanter, of Scotland, Ireland and Pennsylvania, with Such Biographical Sketches as Could be Obtained from Available Published Records or were Supplied by the Friends of Those Individuals who were too Modest to Tell of Their Own Accomplishments COMPILED FOR THE COUSINS BY ABDAMS s. McAllister NEW YORK. N. Y. 1917 Easton. Pennsylvania THE CHEMICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY PRINTERS DEDICATION To Cousin Josephine Patterson {Thompson) Zell, without whose initiative, enthusiasm and inspiration the present records would not have been compiled, the compiler dedicates this volume \ : PREFACE In no way can one obtain a better idea of the character of the records it was originally hoped would be included in the present book than by reading carefully the followinf: instructions which were sent to every descendant of Pioneer John Thomson whose address was known, on at least two occasions, namely, when the work of compilation was first started in 1912, and after the records then on hand were placed in type in 1916. The information wc wish to obtain on the family tree, arranged in the order of importance, is as follows First—The Full Name (not merely initials) of every descendant of the Pioneer, the Full Xante of the person married in each case, and the Full Name of each child born to ever>' couple. Second—The Dates of all births, marriages and deaths. Third—The Present Address of every living descendant. Fourth—The Place of birth, marriage and death of every descendant. Fifth —A Brief Life Sketch of ever>' descendant—giving only the important items, such as military service, training, education, pro- fession and present occupation. Sixth —The Ancestry—with available dates—of each person who has married into any branch of our family. That is to say, we want the Complete available Ancestral Record of every descendant. If in doubt as to exactly what is wanted, send all obtainable items of genealogical and biographical nature that would be of interest to any of the descendants of the Pioneer of our family. It is appreciated that no one person can supply all of the information desired. It is hoped, however, that each person addressed will send all information obtainable and give Clues as to sources of additional infor- mation. Please send whatever you have whether it is little or much. Notwithstanding the above seemingly expHcit instructions, many descendants have expressed surprise that the records of certain other branches were more complete than those of their own branch—to which latter they may or may not have contrib- uted. In can safely be stated again, as was stated in the circular letter sent to every descendant whose post office address was known in 1916, that in not one single branch are the records as they now stand too elaborate; in some branches they are quite complete, while in others they are too brief to be dignified by the title "record." vi PREFACE The compiler believes he is correct in stating that, without a single exception, every item of the above-described nature sub- mitted by any descendant of John Thomson has been utilized in the present book—not always, however, in the exact form in which it was submitted. To all those contributing to these rec- ords, and especially to those few who have supplied material re- lating to branches or sub-branches other than their own, the com- piler desires to express his sincere thanks and appreciation. To the Guarantors, without whose aid the publication of the records would not have been accomplished, all members of the family are indebted for placing at the disposal of the publication committee sufficient funds to insure the prompt payment of the printer's and engraver's bills. For this purpose, a total of $900 was advanced to the committee (to be returned subsequently in the form of books or cash at their option) by the following Guar- Neely, antors : Catherine Nelson Janney, J. Howard Edward S. Thomson, Lewis C. Thompson, Henry Walters, Lucian M. Zell, and T. Burd Zell. Originally the intention was to keep the expense as low as possible and to publish the book without illustrations, but suffi- cient funds having been provided, it was decided to include a limited number of illustrations. CONTENTS PAGE The Present Records i Thomson Family Assemblies 2 Early Family History 4 Scotch-Irish Characteristics 5 Early Property Ownership 7 Homestead of Pioneer John Thomson 8 Spelling of the Family Name 8 Wives of John Thomson 9 Will of John Thomson 12 Immediate Descendants of John Thomson 14 Numerical Designation of Descendants 15 Branch No. i, Mary (Thomson) and William Greenlee 17 Branch No. 2, Jean (Thomson) and Robert Wylie 63 Branch No. 3, William and Jane (Mitchell) Thomson 82 Branch No. 4, Elizabeth (Thomson) and Robert McAIister 153 Branch No. 5, Robert and Sarah (Mitchell) Thomson 154 Branch No. 6, Sarah (Thomson) and William McAIister 177 Branch No. 7, Susanna (Thomson) and David Boal 202 Branch No. 8, Isaac and Martha (Larimore) Thomson 219 Isaac and Jane (Evans-Wells) Thomson 219, 230 Branch No. 9, John and Martha (Parks) Thomson 241 Branch No. 10, Andrew and Jane (Stewart) Thomson 247 Branch No. 11, Peter and Mary (Patterson) Thomson 264 Branch No. 1 2, Thomas Thomson 281 Branch No. 13, James Thomson 281 Branch No. 14, Thomson 282 Appendix—Pioneer John Thomson's Brother James 283 Index to Descendants of John Thomson, Pioneer 287 Index to Associated Family Ancestors 3^5 Descendants of John Thomson Pioneer Scotch Covenanter THE PRESENT RECORDS. To the excellent preliminary compilation made by Theodore Samuel Thompson, of Thompsontown, Juniata County, Pa., by the aid of information obtained from his mother, Mrs. Charlotte Chambers (Patterson) Thompson, wife of William Thompson, Jr., son of William Thomson, Sr., and grandson of John Thom- son, the Pioneer, must be attributed the completeness of the records herein presented. Without the T. S. Thompson notes which were added to and printed for distribution to the various branches of the family in 1887, by Heber S. Thompson of Potts- villc, Schuylkill County, Pa., it would not have been possible for the numerous descendants scattered throughout the United States to have kept so fully in communication with each other. To the oldest living descendant of the Pioneer, "The Queen of the Thompson Family," Mrs. Josephine Patterson (Thomp- son) Zell, dau^diter of Mrs. Charlotte Chambers (Patterson) Thompson, must be given full credit for the [)resent compilation, for it was she who first called attention, in January, 191 1, to the neglected resting place of the common ancestor, John Thomson, in the old Lock Graveyard near Thompsontown, which through her efforts has since been marked by an appropriate monument erected by the descendants. It was she who inaugurated and has kept alive the Thompson Family Assemblies, that have been held annually at Thompsontown since 191 1. To the records as they now appear, all branches of the family have contributed, but the work of co-ordinating the information collected for revising the "Thompson Family" booklet was un- dertaken by a committee, appointed at the second Assembly in 1912, consisting of Messrs. Edward S. Thomson, Thompson- town, Pa.; James B. Wylie. Washington, Pa., and Addams S. McAllister, New York, N. Y. The financing of the undertaking, by obtaining advanced sub- scriptions for the publication and guarantees of the disposal of the requisite number of copies has been taken care of by a com- 2 DESCENDANTS OF JOHN THOMSON mittee consisting o£ Mr. T. Burd Zell, Chairman ; Miss Margaret Shippen Crowther, Mrs. Catherine Janney, Mr. Edward S. Thomson, and Miss Juniata M. Wilson. A list of the Guaran- tors, who practically acted as underwriters for the publication, appears in the Preface. At the 1916 assembly, at which the com- pilation of genealogical data was presented in proof form, ap- pointment was made of a special committee to attend to the final details relating to the printing of the book and selection of the illustrations, consisting of Messrs. Addams S. McAllister, J. Howard Neely, Edward S. Thomson, and T. Burd Zell. THOMPSON FAMILY ASSEMBLIES. From the issue in January, 191 1, by Mrs. Josephine Patterson (Thompson) Zell of a call for funds from his descendants for placing a substantial head-stone over the grave of Pioneer John Thomson, must be dated the beginning of the movement which resulted in the establishment of the Thompson Family Assem- blies, as well as the erection of the John Thomson monument. consist- On March 25, 191 1, an executive board was organized ing of Mrs. Josephine P. Zell, president; Mr. Theophilus Thomp- son, Mr. Edward S. Thomson, Mrs. M^ilson Lloyd, Miss Cora E. Mr. Banks C. McAllister, Thompson, Miss Clara J. Thompson, Mrs. Ella Neely, and Mrs. C. N. Janney, with Miss Annie G. Thompson as secretary, and Mr. Theophilus M. Thompson as treasurer of the John Thomson Fund. Chief interest naturally centers in the First Reunion of the family on August 11, 191 1, when the monument to the pioneer ancestor, John Thomson, was dedicated. Mr. Edward S. Thom- son was master of ceremonies. Following a prayer by Rev. Dr. Louisville, Ky., the monument was presented J. Gray McAllister, to the descendants by Mrs. Josephine P. (Thompson) Zell, of for the descendants by Mr. John A. Passaic, N. J., and accepted Thompson, of Cleveland, Ohio. The dedicatory exercises of the morning were then brought to a close by a prayer by Mr. William Thompson Zell, of Reading, Pa.