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PAGE 1 AND 2
FROM THE THOMPSON FAMILY HISTORY
AS WRITTEN BY JAMES A THOMPSON JR IN 1971.

Page 1
 
PRE-AMERICA THOMPSONS
 
The search for the ancestors in England of Theophilus Thompson who came to America has only brought a thimble full of facts.
There is no mention of Theophilus in English Records but his oldest son's name Trimigan is a version of Trimingham, the name of a village near Cromer in Norfolk. There is no mention of Trimigan in the usual sources, but Trimingham does occur as a surname, though a rare one.
 
At Trimingham, whose registers have been copied, a Thompson family appeared for two brief periods in the seventeenth century, then disappeared:
 
Trimingham c 1557 - 1846
                      m 1557 - 1837
                      b 1557 - 1840
 
      m   Aug 22, 1621     John Thompson & Dorothy Barthram
      c   Sept 22, 1624     Susan, daughter of John & Susan Thompson
      c   July 23, 1672     Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas & Ann Thompson
      c   Feb 8, 1677/8     Sarah, daughter of Thomas & Ann Thompson
      m   Feb 16, 1686     John Howard & Elizabeth Thompson

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      c - baptized       m - married       b - burried

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Page 2
 
THEOPHILUS THOMPSON
 
Theophilus Thompson (Theofilus), probably born in England around 1720, was an English seaman. Theophilus in Greek means Divinely Loved or One who loves God. Thompson or Thomson (English, Scot) is the son of Thom, a pet form of Thomas, one who came from Thompson (Tumis homestead in Norfolk).

Nothing is known of his birth and early life, but from circumstantial evidence, he came to America somewhere between 1736 and 1746, engaged in the mercantile business in Norfolk, Virginia, where he married and had six sons: (see chart on page 3)
 
      (1) Trimmigan (oldest child)
      (2) Theofilus
      (3) George
      (4) Henry Butt
      (5) John
      (6) Lemuel (see chart on page 5)
 

He returned to England when the boys were small to buy a stock of goods taking with him what money he had, and never got back. He is thought to have been lost at sea ... Trimmigan next appears in Nash County and later in Robeson County after the Revolution.

  NEWS FLASH!

The latest news from a cousin, J C Thompson from Texas, indicates that's there more information than we previously thought! It now appears that Theophilus' first name was John. Also, that John Theophilus was killed by pirates near Barbados in 1757 as documented in an old book on Norfolk Families. Also, J.C. tells us that John Theophilus Thompson's wife's maiden name was Alsey Butt. Alsey was descended from Robert Butt of Bristol, England. It is also believed that John Theophilus was not English, but perhaps Scotch-Irish and descended from Clan Campbell. If I understood J.C. correctly, John Theophilus' father was Mathew, Mathew's father was William and William's father was Jonas of the Argyll Campbell's. It is believed that John Theophilus' mother was English, but no proof yet to verify it.

John Theophilus also had a brother Charles who also went to Robeson County. Another brother Mathew and his family went to South Carolina and then on to Georgia. Much of that family (the family line of J C Thompson who has brought forth all this information here) went first to Twiggs County Georgia before going to Alabama, Mississippi, then Texas and Oklahoma

As time permits (and as much as JC permits) I will try to load in the data from his family line from John Theophilus to Henry Butt and on down.

 

# Information above and to follow will be in red and is courtesy of Mr. J. C. Thompson of Texas.



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