Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 11, Part 6

Author: Hart, Samuel, 1845-1917. ed. cn; American Historical Society. cn
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] The American historical society, incorporated
Number of Pages: 720


USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 11 > Part 6


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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37


ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY


dle decades of the nineteenth century, cut. Children: I. Malinda. 2. Benjamin. was a descendant in the third generation.


(I) Samuel Banning, of Lyme, Con- necticut, in common with the traditions of other Bannings, is believed to have come from his native England to America about 1700, being one of the three broth- ers so often mentioned. He located in or near Lyme, Connecticut, upon his arrival in America, where, like John Banning, many of his descendants are to be found to this day, while not a few have scattered to New York State, Ohio, California, and elsewhere. Among the descendants of this line a considerable number of those of most brilliant attainments can be found; this includes medical, musical and scholarly lines, and has established a high average among them. He moved from Lyme to East Hartland, Connecticut ; was killed by lightning; and is buried in East Hartland. Children : I. Elizabeth. 2. Sam- uel, of whom further. 3. Abner. 4. David. (II) Samuel (2) Banning, son of Sam- uel Banning, was born about 1710, in Lyme, Connecticut. He married two or three times, having in all ten children. He moved to East Hartland, Connecti- cut, about 1765, where he died on the farm of his son David, about 1800, being buried at East Hartland, Connecticut. Children : I. Samuel. 2. Abner, of whom further. 3. David. 4. Irene. 5. Daughter. 6. Daughter. 7. Daughter. 8. Rhoda. 9. Rebecca. IO. Daughter.


(III) Abner Banning, son of Samuel (2) Banning, was born about 1755, in East Hartland, Connecticut. He was in the 18th Regiment, Connecticut Militia, from Au- gust 18, 1776, to September 14, 1776, in Captain Hutchan's company. He married Annah Sparrow, of East Haddam, Con- necticut, in the First Church of Christ, April 2, 1777 (see Sparrow VI). She was born April 19, 1751, and lived in Connecti-


3. Ashel, of whom further. 4. Morgan. 5. Calvin. 6. Samuel.


There were twenty families that left East Hartland, Connecticut, for Ohio; they settled in Vernon and Hartford, Trumbull County, Ohio.


(IV) Ashel (Arbel) Banning, son of Abner and Annah (Sparrow) Banning, was born June 22, 1780, in East Hartland, Connecticut. He married (first) Amelia Wilcox. This marriage took place soon after coming to Ohio, and they settled in Vernon. He married (second) Dency Crosby, born April 22, 1791, who died February 25, 1868, in Gustavus, Ohio. They lived in Vernon, Ohio. He died May 7, 1873, in Gustavus, Ohio, the result of being struck on the head by a falling timber. The Crosby arms are as follows :


Arms-Sable, a chevron ermine, between three rams passant argent.


Crest-A ram as in the arms.


Motto-Liberty under thy guidance, the guid- ance of the lamb of God.


Children of the first wife : 1. Abner Wil- cox. 2. Amelia. 3. Melinda. Children of second wife: 4. David, of whom further. 5. Jeremiah W., deceased. 6. Timothy, de- ceased. 7. Mary A., deceased, who became the wife of Benjamin H. Peabody. 8. Con- verse. 9. Stoddard, of Geneva, Ohio, now deceased. 10. Malinda, married Newton Robens, and is now deceased.


(V) David Banning, son of Ashel and Dency (Crosby) Banning, was born in Vernon, Ohio, April 11, 1819. He spent his childhood in the healthy atmosphere of his father's large farm, and received his edu- cation in the local district schools. He was a boy of studious tastes, a constant reader, and constant searcher after knowl- edge, and these characteristics remained with him during his long life. After com- pleting the decidedly inadequate course


38


LIBERTY


OF GOD.


UNDER THY


OF THE LAMB


THE


GUIDANCE,


GUIDANCE


Crosby


ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY


which the public school offered, he con- tinued his education during his spare hours at home and at work. David Ban- ning secured his first employment in a general store in his native town operated by Stoddard Stevens, and here he acted in the capacity of clerk for a few years. Leaving the employ of Stoddard Stevens, he spent a period in the employ of the Federal Government.


David Banning's connection with the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, dated from April 1847, when the city gave but faint indica- tions of the splendid future which was before it, and the great proportions to which it would grow. He watched care- fully the steady growth of its great in- dustries and commercial enterprises, play- ing a quiet and effective part in the great work. His arrival in Cincinnati antedated the laying of the first railroad in that sec- tion of the State. Shortly after his com- ing to the city he entered on his first busi- ness venture, forming a partnership with his brother, Jeremiah W. Banning. The two embarked in a commission business, with their headquarters located on Wal- nut Street, between Front and Second streets. The business met with a high degree of success, and after a short period the partnership was dissolved, the two brothers henceforward conducting their operations separately.


Mr. Banning immediately organized another business, which for a period of twenty-five years he continued to direct. From comparatively obscure beginnings, through the business talent and construc- tive policies of management of Mr. Ban- ning, the business grew to large propor- tions, and occupied a position of import- ance among the largest enterprises of its kind in the city of Cincinnati. He was eminently fitted for business life, and the handling of large affairs, by reason of his


ability to judge clearly and quickly the relative merits of any proposition brought before him, his breadth of vision, and his persistence, once his decision to act had been taken. He was a business man of the self-made type, a man of broad toler- ance and human understanding, a leader who was instinctively obeyed. He invited and received the confidence of his em- ployees, many of whom he advised, and many of whom he aided toward inde- pendent business ventures. He easily inspired confidence and support, first through the marked and well known honesty of his dealings, and second through the success of all his under- takings. David Banning was known throughout the city of Cincinnati and the larger commercial cities of Ohio as a man of the strictest integrity. Although not connected actively or officially with the public life of the city of Cincinnati, Mr. Banning was, nevertheless, a factor of importance in the city's growth and de- velopment. He was looked to as one of its foremost citizens, and accorded a place as such. He was connected in executive capacities with many of the large finan- cial and commercial enterprises of the city, and was for thirty-two years a mem- ber of the board of directors of the Fourth National Bank of Cincinnati, his connec- tion with that institution dating from its founding, in which he took an active in- terest.


Mr. Banning was a Republican in polit- ical affiliation, and kept well abreast of the times, though he took no active part in the political life of the city. He was active, however, in social and fraternal interests. The name of his friends was legion, and his death, which occurred in Cincinnati, March 8, 1901, was the cause of deep-felt and wide-spread grief.


David Banning married, in Erie, Penn-


39


ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY


sylvania, April 28, 1847, Asenath C. Brad- ley (see Bradley VIII), born June 16, 1824, daughter of Dr. Moore Bird Brad- ley, of Waterford, Pennsylvania, one of the foremost physicians in the State. Mrs. Banning was a member of one of the old Colonial families of that region of the State of Pennsylvania; she died in Cincinnati, November 13, 1909. Children : I. Charles, deceased. 2. Blanche, de- ceased. 3. Kate, who resides in Cincin- nati. 4. Starr, deceased. 5. Harry, de- ceased. 6. William, twin of Harry, de- ceased.


(The Bradley Line).


Arms-Gules, a chevron argent between three boars' heads couped or.


Bradley is a local name found largely in Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, Lincolnshire, Wiltshire, and Staffordshire. It is a local name signifying the Broad-lea, from the old English brad and leah. Bradley is the name of parishes and towns in Berkshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Lei- cestershire, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, and Hampshire. The first mention in England of the name Bradley is in 1183 at the feast of St. Cuthbert in Lent, when the Lord Hugh, Bishop of Durham, caused to be described all the revenues of his Bish- opric. The survey of Hugh Pudsey, called Bolton Buke, mentions in Wolsingham, Roger de Bradley who held forty acres at Bradley. The family in England has been one of the first in importance for many centuries. In the visitation of Yorkshire, 1563-64, there is mention of Isabel, daugh- ter of Sir Francis Bradley, who married Arthur Normanton, of Yorkshire. John Bradley was bishop of Shaftsbury in 1539. Alexander Bradley resided in the see of Durham in 1578, and about the same time Cuthbertus Bradley was curate of Bar- bardi Castle.


In an account of the Pudsey family of


Bolton, County York, is found the fol- lowing note: "John de Podeshay was killed on Joucros' Moor in 1279. Walter de Bradelegh of Carleton, in Craven, was present."


Robert de Bradeleye was of County Cambridge in 1273. Brice de Bradeleghe was of County Somerset in 1273. Wil- liam de Bradelegh was of County Devon temp, Henry III. Wilhelmus Brodelegh, of Yorkshire, in 1379; Agnes Bradelay, of Yorkshire, in 1379; Richard de Bradleghe, of County Somerset, I Edward III ; Henry de Bradleye, County Somerset, I Edward III.


In Ravenser, County York, in 1297, was William de Bradeley, while John de Bradeley was of Staynelay (Stainley), County York, at the same time. Emma de Bradley was of Thornton, as was Roger de Bradley. In 1344 Robert Brad- eley was living at Bolton, County York, England, where his name appears in the case of John de Pudesay against Richard de Shotelesworth. In 1394 John, Lord of Coven, granted his manor in Coven with all of his lands to John Bradley, of Penk- rich, and William de Hyde, of Brewood, for which they are to pay him a rose at midsummer. John Bradley was of Labrone or Harmbeye, County York, in 1550; Thomas Bradley, of Wadyngton, County York, in 1555; and Richard Brad- ley and Ann, his wife, were of Bradford, County York, in 1569.


The following wills are found in County York, England: Edmund Bradeley, No- vember 9, 1471 ; John de Bradeley, of Es- yngton, May 6, 1405; John Bradeley, of Gonthwate, parish of Penyston, August I, 1491 ; Horme Bradeley, rector of Raw- mersh, April 24, 1483; Thomas Bradlay, buried at Wodkirk, August 3, 1509; Wil- liam Bradlay, of York, December 1, 1467; Patrick Bradley, of York, July 13, 1446;


40


Bradley


ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY


Joan Bradley, widow of Patrick Bradley, January 22, 1465 ; Roger Bradley, of York, January 21, 1436.


In the Harleian Society Publications, Volume XII, containing the "Visitation of County Warwick," England, pages 354-55, are found the arms and pedigree of the family of Bradley, which has many grounds of probability of being that fam- ily from which the New Haven Bradleys are immediately descended.


The pedigree is as follows :


William Bradley, of Sheriff-Hutton, County York, England.


William Bradley of the city of Coven- try, County Warwick, married Agnes Margate. Children: 1. Francis, married Francesca Watkins. 2. Thomas, married Maria Cotes. 3. William, of whom further.


William (2) Bradley, son of William and Agnes (Margate) Bradley, was born in Coventry, England. He married Jo- hanna Waddington. Children: I. Wil- liam, believed to be the American pro- genitor. 2. Anna. 3. Magdalen. 4. Eliza- beth. 5. Letticia. 6. An infant, born Sep- tember 1, 1619.


Pedigree of the Bradleys of Bradley, County Lancaster :


John Bradley, born about 1465, of Brad- ley, County Lancaster. He married Cath- erine Caterall. Children: I. Thomas, of whom further. 2. Allan. 3. John.


Thomas Bradley, of Bradley, was born about 1490. He married Grace Sherborne, daughter of Hugh Sherborne. Children : I. John, of whom further. 2. Hugh. 3. Thomas. 4. Anne. 5. Helene.


John Bradley, born about 1520, was liv- ing in 1567. He had a son John, of whom further.


John Bradley settled in Bryning, County Lancaster. He had a son John, of whom further.


John Bradley, of Bryning, gent., mar-


ried and had a son James, of whom fur- ther.


James Bradley married Ellen Tildesley, and they had children: I. Edward, slain at the battle of Marston Moor. 2. Thomas. 3. John. 4. Richard. 5. Jane. 6. Anne. 7. Helen.


Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire names the Bradleys of Ackworth.


John Bradley, of the Bradleys of Berk- shire, was in King Henry VIII's army upon an English expedition to France. His sons were: I. Richard. 2. Henry, of whom further. 3. Abel.


Henry Bradley, of Okehingham, County Berks, died in 1645. He married Bar- bara Lane. Children: 1. John. 2. Thomas, of whom further.


Thomas Bradley, chaplain to Charles I, was rector of Ackworth. He was born in 1598. He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford, in 1617; received his B. A., June 21, 1620; and his D. D., December 20, 1642. He was rector of Castleford in 1630, and of Ackworth in 1643. A great Royalist, he was expelled from his livings during the period of the Commonwealth, but they were returned at the restoration. He married Frances, daughter of John, Lord Savile, of Pomfret. Children: I. Thomas, a merchant in Virginia. 2. Savile. 3. Frances. 4. Barbara. The Bradleys of Louth, Lincolnshire, trace to Robert Bradley, of Louth.


The line continues through Thomas Bradley, of Louth, a merchant, who had the following children: I. Nicholas. 2. Thomas, of whom further.


Thomas Bradley, of Louth, a merchant, was born in 1503. He married Alice Et- ton. They were the parents of a son, John, of whom further.


John Bradley, of Louth, one of the assistants of that town, died in 1590. He married Frances Fairfax, and had the fol-


41


ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY


lowing children: 1. John, of whom fur- ther. 2. Thomas, of whom further. 3. Anne. 4. Elizabeth. 5. Mary.


John Bradley, son of John and Frances (Fairfax) Bradley, an eminent physician and a graduate of Cambridge, married Anne Freeman. They were the parents of the following children: I. Henry. 2. Thomas, born in 1583. 3. Frances, born in 1585. 4. Matthew, born in 1588.


Thomas Bradley, son of John and Frances (Fairfax) Bradley, of Louth, married Ann Chapman, sister and co-heir of Sir Peter Chapman, of London. They had the following children : I. John, born in 1576. 2. Anne. 3. Elizabeth, born in 1584. 4. Audrey, born in 1590.


There are several distinct branches of the Bradley family in the United States, the founders of which came from Eng- land. The first Bradleys in the American Colonies are said to have come from the market town of Bingley, in the West Rid- ing of Yorkshire. About the beginning of the seventeenth century William Brad- ley was born in Bingley. According to tra- dition handed down in different branches of the family, he was a friend of Crom- well, and the History of Bingley, Eng- land, states that he was a major in the Parliamentary Army, and removed to New Haven, Connecticut. William Brad- ley resided for a time in Branford and Guilford, later removing to New Haven, where he took up his residence in what is now North Haven and had large landed interests there. He was the first land- owner in the village. Founders of other branches of the Bradleys are: Francis Bradley, ancestor of the Fairfield family, and Daniel Bradley, founder of the Haver- hill, Massachusetts, Bradleys.


Burke's Armory gives fifteen coats-of- arms for the name Bradley. The arms borne by the Connecticut Bradleys and


the descendants of William and Francis Bradley are given above. The symbolic description of the arms is as follows: The shield is red-red in heraldry denotes boldness, daring blood and fire-"a burn- ing desire to spill blood for God and Country." Silver stands for purity, jus- tice and peace. The chevron represents the rafters of a roof and was often given to ambassadors and eminent statesmen as a reward for the protection (as under a roof) they gave their king and country. The boar symbolizes a well-armed, un- daunted and courageous warrior, who re- sists his enemies bravely and never thinks of flight, the same as the boar, who will fight to the bitter end. The Bradley arms are engraved on the silver tankard owned by the granddaughter of the first William Bradley, of New Haven. They are the same as the armorial bearings "Confirmed by the Deputies of Camden . . . to Francis Bradley of Coventry, grandson of William Bradley, County York, 'Her, Visitation.'"


(I) William Bradley, of New Haven, Connecticut, was born in England, about 1620. He settled in New Haven, and married there, February 18, 1645, Alice Pritchard, daughter of Roger Pritchard, of Springfield, Massachusetts. He died in 1690, and she in 1692. Children, with dates of baptism: I. Joseph, January 4, 1646. 2. Isaac, 1647 (?). 3. Martha, October, 1648. 4. Abraham, of whom further. 5. Mary, April 30, 1653. 6. Benjamin, April 8, 1657. 7. Hester (or Esther), September 29, 1659. 8. Nathaniel, February 26, 1660- 61. 9. Sarah, June 21, 1665.


(II) Abraham Bradley, son of William Bradley, was baptized October 24, 1650, and died October 19, 1718. He married, December 25, 1673, Hannah Thompson, born September 22, 1654, died at New Haven, October 26, 1718. Abraham Brad-


42


IN


IM


LUMINE


Thompson


kidmore


Bird


Mirars


ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY


was a deacon in the Firs (n w called nter) Church of New Haven, Connecti t, and at one time Justi e of One Peace s will was dated Decentef & une, and oved in the New Haven [. wember 18, 1718. (Recordel Prat ord liber 4, page 546 following clause. "As a t - to ye fir t church of Christ Doen I give my silver cup, or the t. to be improved at ye Lord's ? ' ' \ after my decease." Children. t M New Haven: 1. John, of wh


er. 2. Daniel born in 1579, died ber 2, 1723. 3 Hannah. born Nov r 8, 1682 4 Lydia, born November HLOUIT


6 Abraham, born April 9, 1693. 7. Esther,


1 I, John Bradley, son of Deacon ried .\ 1


dren


ley, was borr in I.


a time on his father . Immi, he ter attention to the study of med cine,


Waterford, Erie County, Pern Ithere hatt ined leading p.


1827 ho as one of the mbitimT ,


fust Tres ant Evi


Baterf d. Pennsylv


Low dEcers


Her n. i. A


VIII


V) Ariel Bradley, sun f Ince 101 rl ( Skidmore) Bradley, Ku Fer h! Inven, Connecticut Wilri 8 175).


and removed t New York Stal Ins married, November 7, 1751, Ami 1 r Cee Thompson V). Children Thaddeus, born June 8, 1752 2. Arm Je je 10, 1754, died young 3 Jame ul - . further 4. Anne. born Novem.


1150 440 Jon Bradley son of Thor pro Bradley ve.S


on1 d 1 ab > x 1818


-.. The first Settlers Tr


A h mand Hannah (Thompson) Brad- (Was born in New Haven, Connecti- 11 the c1 October 12, 1674 He marriedisforf. G1 793; married 1.


(VII) D] Moore tender 22, 1698, Sarah Hoff.,Sergh BAR -191 290ist )-241 31 Fle vzer Holt. Children. Cantain James and


who- further. 2. John, born September Io, 170 3. Dorcas, born November 4, 17$11: 4. Jason, born Au, ust 10, 1708. 5 Jebiell, orn September 19, 1710. 6. Phineas, born deprember 28, 1714.


(IV) Enos Bradley, son of John,and rah ( Holt) Pradley, was born Decem-


innoctic.it. He married, December 2,


21, Ellen Skidmore (See Skidmore IFI) ildre : 1. Sibyl, born Novemb. & "22. 2. Griffin, born November 0, 1, 24 rried Mabel Thompson, sieter of Ariel. 3 Encs, born De cent Ariel, of whom further & F. ember 4 1731. 6 ( mary 09, 1734. 7- (.r. br .An Ober I, 1736.


ars


spl


43


THOMPSON.


Arms-Or, on a fesse dancetté azure three estoiles argent, on a canton of the second the sun in his splendour.


Crest-A cubit arm erect vested gules cuffed argent, holding in the hand five ears of wheat or.


Motto-In lumine lucem.


SKIDMORE.


Arms-Gules, three stirrups, leathers and buckles or.


Crest-A unicorn's head erased sable. platée.


BIRD.


Arms-Argent, on a chevron engrailed gules between three lions rampant sable as many fluers-de-lis or.


VICARS.


Arms-Sable, on a chief dancette or, two cinquefoils gules, a border engrailed ermine.


ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY


ley was a deacon in the First (now called Center) Church of New Haven, Connecti- cut, and at one time Justice of the Peace. His will was dated December 5, 1716, and proved in the New Haven Probate Court, November 18, 1718. (Recorded Probate Records, liber 4, page 546.) It contained the following clause : "As a token of my love to ye first church of Christ in New Haven I give my silver cup, or the value of it, to be improved at ye Lord's table; yt is after my decease." Children, born at New Haven: I. John, of whom fur- ther. 2. Daniel, born in 1679, died No- vember 2, 1723. 3. Hannah, born Novem- ber 8, 1682. 4. Lydia, born November 28, 1685. 5. Ebenezer, born September 9, 1689. 6. Abraham, born April 9, 1693. 7. Esther, born March 19, 1696.


(III) John Bradley, son of Deacon Abraham and Hannah (Thompson) Brad- ley, was born in New Haven, Connecti- cut, October 12, 1674. He married, Sep- tember 22, 1698, Sarah Holt, daughter of Ebenezer Holt. Children: I. Enos, of whom further. 2. John, born September 10, 1702. 3. Dorcas, born November 4, 1704. 4. Jason, born August 10, 1708. 5. Jehiell, born September 19, 1710. 6. Phineas, born September 28, 1714.


(IV) Enos Bradley, son of John and Sarah (Holt) Bradley, was born Decem- ber 28, 1701, and lived in New Haven, Connecticut. He married, December 2, 1721, Ellen Skidmore (See Skidmore III). Children: 1. Sibyl, born November 8, 1722. 2. Griffin, born November 9, 1724; married Mabel Thompson, sister of wife of Ariel. 3. Enos, born December 20, 1726. 4. Ariel, of whom further. 5. Ellen, born November 4, 1731. 6. Gamaliel, born February 19, 1734. 7. Oliver, born No- vember 1, 1736.


(V) Ariel Bradley, son of Enos and Ellen (Skidmore) Bradley, was born in New Haven, Connecticut, March 8, 1729,


and removed to New York State. He married, November 7, 1751, Amy Thomp- son (see Thompson V). Children: I. Thaddeus, born June 8, 1752. 2. Anne, born June 10, 1754, died young. 3. James, of whom further. 4. Anne, born Novem- ber 9, 1763.


(VI) Captain James Bradley, son of Ariel and Amy (Thompson) Bradley, was born June 17, 1756, and died about 1818, aged sixty-two years. The first settlers of Johnston Township, Trumbull County, Ohio, were a family named Bradley. Cap- tain James Bradley came from Salisbury, Connecticut, in 1802-03. The family stopped at Canfield, Johnston Township, for a short time, finally settling in the western part of the township. He mar- ried Asenath Bird (See Bird VI). Chil- dren : I. Thaddeus. 2. Dr. Moore Bird, of whom further. 3. Dr. Ariel, born in 1793; married, in 1828, Laura Barstow.


(VII) Dr. Moore Bird Bradley, son of Captain James and Asenath (Bird) Brad- ley, was born in 1790. After laboring for a time on his father's farm, he turned his attention to the study of medicine, study- ing under Dr. Peter Allan. He practiced in Mansfield, Ohio, later removing to Waterford, Erie County, Pennsylvania, where he attained leading professional place and where his death occurred. In 1827 he was one of the organizers of the first Protestant Episcopal church of Waterford, Pennsylvania, and one of its first officers. He married and had two children : 1. Asenath C., of whom further. 2. Darwin.


(VIII) Asenath C. Bradley, daughter of Dr. Moore Bird Bradley, married David Banning (see Banning V).


(The Thompson Line).


Arms-Or, on a fesse dancetté azure three estoils argent, on a canton of the second the sun in his splendour.


43


ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY


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, Eng- land. 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




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