Nathaniel Thompson (c.1737-1817/1820) was probably born in the late 1730s in the Stepney district (Tower Hamlets borough) of London. He might be the same Nathaniel Thompson, son of Nathaniel and Rebecca, who was baptized Aug. 26, 1739 at St. Botolph Church in Bishopsgate, which in those days included parts of Stepney. We know from the baptism records of his children that the Nathaniel Thompson we are seeking was a weaver. Interestingly, the record books of the Weavers Guild in London have an entry for a much older Nathaniel Thompson who on May 16, 1709 was bound as a weaver's apprentice. If father and son shared the same name, which is but a guess, then this 1709 apprentice might be the father of our Nathaniel. To speculate further, there is a Nathaniel Thompson of Wentworth Street who on Nov. 11, 1763 was buried at the age of 68 at Christ Church Spitalfields, Stepney. If this is the father of our Nathaniel, then 1695 is an approximate birthdate for the father.
The wife of our Nathaniel was named Ann, which makes it likely that he is the Nathaniel Thompson who married Ann Sandcroft (Sadgrove) on Sept. 28, 1760 at Christ Church Spitalfields. Neither the bride nor groom could write, as both signed their names with an X. Because there are no other Sandcrofts listed in the parish register, whereas there are entries for Sadgrove, Thompson (1964) speculates that the minister wrote down the brides name as he heard it, but that he should have spelled it Ann Sadgrove instead of Ann Sandcroft.
It is possible that our Nathaniel is the same Nathaniel Thompson of Bethnal Green (Tower Hamlets borough) who was buried Jan 23, 1820 at the age of 83 at St. Dunstan and All Saints Church, Stepney, which would make 1737 his approximate birth date. It is said that at one time the family of his descendant Edmund Symes-Thompson had a sketch of him with a statement penciled in on back of the sketch indicating that he died about 1817. Also, there is an 1847 pedigree of Frederick Elijah Thompson (1797-1849) on file with the College of Heralds in London that shows Elijah's grandfather to be a Nathaniel Thompson who was born about 1737, and died in 1817 in Islington, London, which would seem to indicate that he is not same man as the Nathaniel Thompson buried at St. Dunstan and All Saints Church. Thus, all we know for sure about our Nathaniel Thompson is that he was a weaver with a wife named Ann. Everything else - when and where he was born, when and where he died, and who his parents might have been - is uncertain.
William Thompson (1764-?) was born about Feb. 7, 1764 at Wheeler Street in Stepney, London; and baptized at the age of 19? days on Feb. 26 at Christ Church in Spitalfields, Stepney. However, his age on the birth register is very hard to read, so his birth date is an approximation. He likely died young, as 5 years later another William Thompson was born into the family.
Mary Thompson (1765-?) was born on Nov. 7, 1765 at Wheeler Street in Stepney, London; and baptized 10 days later on Nov. 17 at Christ Church in Spitalfields, Stepney.
Ann Thompson (1767-1773?) was born born on Nov. 6, 1767 at Fleur De Lies Court in Stepney, London; and baptized 16 days later on Nov. 22 at Christ Church in Spitalfields, Stepney. She died on May 2, 1773 when 5-years old (according to microfilm records at FamilySearch.org), and presumably she would be buried at Spitalfields. However, there is record of an Ann Thompson who was buried on April 11, 1773 at Spitalfields, which is inconsistant with the May 2 death date. Add to this the fact that Ann Thompson is a very common name, and several Ann Thompsons lived (and died) in London around this time.
William Thompson (1769-1825?) was born on Oct. 2, 1769 at Flower De Luce Court in Stepney, London; and baptized 13 days later on Oct. 15 at Christ Church in Spitalfields, Stepney. A transcription of a microfilm record on FamilySearch.org seems to indicate that he died on Sept. 20, 1775 when 5-years old. However, this contradicts the Thompson Family Bible, which shows a William Thompson who died on Jan. 13, 1825, and includes him with this date in a list of what appears to be the sons of the Nathaniel and Sarah Thompson listed above as Generation I. Elsewhere, there is also record of a William Thompson who was apprenticed as a barber on March 24, 1784 to Francis Pearson of Winchester Street in London. This is probably the same William Thompson who married Unity Lambert on Oct 12, 1791 at the Whitechapel St. Mary Church in the Tower Hamlets borough. Further research is required to determine which of these records actually apply to the William Thompson who was baptized on 1769 at Stepney, and which ones apply to other William Thompsons.
John Thompson (1771-1830) was born on Dec. 18, 1771 at Wheeler Street in Stepney, London; and baptized 7 days later on Dec. 25 at Christ Church in Spitalfields, Stepney. He married Sarah Walton on May 4, 1794 at St. Mary Whitechapel in the Tower Hamlets borough, with his sister Easter Thompson as witness. The Thompson Family Bible lists a Sarah, wife of John and mother of John and James, who died July 25, 1821 and was buried at Stepney. She is almost certainly the same Sarah who was buried on July 29 of that year at the age of 60 at St. Dunstan and All Saints Church, Stepney. If true, then she is probably the same Sarah who was baptized at the age of 10 days on Nov. 26, 1760 at St. Dunstan and All Saints Church, Stepney. John outlived Sarah by several years and was buried on June 27, 1830 at St. Dunstan and All Saints, the same church as where Sarah was buried. The descendants of John and Sarah from 1821 to 1875 kept a list of dates in a bible that is referenced at the end of this lineage as the Thompson Family Bible.
James Thompson (b. c.1801), the younger of the two known sons of John Thompson and Sarah Walton, was born about 1801 in London, and married Mary Skinner (b. c.1798) on May 9, 1821 at St. Dunstan and All Saints Church in Stepney, London. They had several children, including the son who follows.
John Thompson (b. 1832), the fifth of at least eight children born to the above James Thompson and Mary Skinner, was born on March 15, 1832 in Stepney, London, and married Jane Lloyd (b. c.1833-1905?) on Oct. 26, 1856 at St. Peters Church in Stepney. It is likely that he started the Thompson Family Bible, which is mentioned above, and contains contains birth, baptism, marriage and death dates for several members of the Thompson family. Pages torn from this first bible are included in a second bible that was kept by John's daughter Mary Jane Thompson (1857-1918). This second bible eventually ended up in the possession of Mary Jane's daughter Janet Ernestine Dartnall (neé Frostnick) (1895-1981), and it is now held by Janet's descendants in Melbourne, Australia.
Philip Thompson (1774-1822) was born on May 1, 1774 at Mile End New Town in Stepney, London; and baptized 14 days later on May 15 at St. Dunstan and All Saints Church, Stepney. He was apprenticed as a barber on Sept. 28, 1788 to Joseph Pobjoy, and received on July 5, 1796 his freedom of admission papers as a barber. He is probably the same Philip Thompson who married Sarah Cotterell on June 27, 1797, with his sister-on-law Unity Thompson as witness. Sarah was buried July 26, 1822 at the age of 45 at St. Giles without Cripplegate in the City of London, and Philip was buried a few months later on Dec. 22, 1822 at the same church. The deaths of both Philip and his wife are listed in the Thompson Family Bible.
Easter Thompson (1776-?) was born on April 4, 1776 at Mile End New Town in Stepney, London; and baptized 14 days later on April 18 at St. Dunstan and All Saints Church, Stepney.
Benjamin Thompson (1780-?) was born on July 14, 1780 at Mile End New Town in Stepney, London; and baptized 18 days later on Aug. 2 at St. Dunstan and All Saints Church, Stepney.
Robert Thompson (1783-1822) was born on March 29?, 1783 at Mile End Old Town in Stepney, London; and baptized 8? days later on April 6, 1783 at St. Dunstan and All Saints Church, Stepney, Middlesex. The Thompson Family Bible also lists a Robert Thompson of Holburn who died Feb. 14, 1822 and was buried at Stepney, which makes it likely that he is the Robert Thompson who was buried Feb. 21, 1822 at the age of 39 in Stepney St. Dunstan and All Saints Churchyard.
James Thompson (1785-1818?) was born on March 6, 1785 at Mile End Old Town in Stepney, London; and baptized 28 days later on April 3 at Christ Church Spitalfields, Stepney. Thompson (1964) writes that James was a Timber broker who lived next door to his brother Nathaniel in Islington, and that he died in 1818, but none of this has been confirmed.
Nathaniel Thompson (1761-1825), the son of Nathaniel and Ann Thompson, was born Dec. 7, 1761 at Deacons Court, Quaker St., and baptized 20 days later on Dec. 27 at Christ Church in the Spitalfields parish (Tower Hamlets borough). He married Margaret Maw (c.1765-1811) in London on Sept. 2, 1784 at St. Dunstan Church in the nearby Stepney district (also Tower Hamlets borough). Thompson (1964) writes that Margaret was from Lincoln County, which makes it likely that she is the Margaret Maw who was baptized on Aug. 26, 1764 at St. Nicholas Church in Haxey, Lincolnshire. Her husband Nathaniel about the time of their marriage appears to have been a patten maker, pattens being wooden clogs that were strapped on over regular footware and worn outdoors to elevate one's shoes above the mud, horse manure and refuse of London streets. However, Nathaniel changed his career sometime before 1799 and became a member of the London stock exchange, afterwhich he can be found from 1799 to 1825 on lists of members of the exchange. He brought in his 14-year old son Thomas in 1799 as his apprentice, and Thomas quickly advanced to become Nathaniel's partner in the business.
Nathaniel and Thomas apparently were quite successful in the stock exchange, bringing in several hundred pounds a year by the turn of the century, and they remained business partners until about 1810, when Nathaniel may have decided to retire. Margaret died at the age of 46 in early 1811 at St. Mary's Islington after a protracted illness and was buried on March 28 at St. Mary Le Bowe Church in the City of London, her last-born child Theophilus being only three-years old. Nathaniel then married Susan Clarke (c.1792-1855) of Windsor on June 28, 1813 at St. Abbots Church in Kensington, London, and had three more daughters with her.
Nathaniel died in Nov. of 1825 at the age of 64 at St. Mary's Islington, and was buried near his first wife on Nov. 15 at St. Mary-le-Bow Church, which is on Cheapside Street, and just east of St. Paul's Cathedral, in the City of London. The site of the old cemetery, little of which is in evidence today, is on the west side of the church, but many graves and tombstones were also placed in the church crypt, which today houses a café. It is not known in which of these the Thompsons lie. Nathaniel's death date is also listed in the Thompson Family Bible. He also left a will, written in 1821 and proven on Nov. 26, 1825, that is in the Bank of England Wills Extracts 1717-1845 collection of the Society of Genealogists. He identifies himself in this will as a Stock Broker on the London Stock Exchange, gives his address at Colebrook Row (which is in Islington, London), and mentions his second wife Susan, and several of his children. His second wife Susan died in Brighton, Sussex, and was buried on Nov. 27, 1855 at Highgate Cemetery in London.
Nathaniel had the seventeen children who are listed below, with fourteen children by his first wife and three children by his second wife.
children - THOMPSON (with first wife Margaret Maw)
Thomas Thompson (1785-1865), the eldest son, was born Aug. 19, 1785 in the City of London and baptized there on Sept. 25, 1785 at St. Sepulchre Church. He apprenticed with his father, who later became his business partner, and became a member of the Company of Merchant Taylors, which was a trade guild whose members were involved in buying and selling textiles. He and his father were also members of the London Stock Exchange. Thomas apparently also had an interest in the careers of his younger brothers, as he took on three of them at various times as Merchant Tailor apprentices - Nathaniel in 1807, William in 1810, and Edward in 1819 - and although his brother Frederick Elijah Thompson had apprenticed as a patten-maker (maker of wooden-soled/sandal-like overshoes), he probably facilitated Frederick's entry later entry into the legal profession as a solicitor.
Thomas married his first wife Elizabeth Pinckney (c.1787-1737) on June 4, 1808 in Islington, London, just one year after his youngest brother Theophilus was born, and he is said to have overseen the care of his younger brother to honor a dying wish from their mother. Thomas' wife Elizabeth apparently was quite an invalid, and she died May 29, 1837, afterwhich Thomas on Jan 1, 1839 married Charlotte Margaret Noel (1792-1869), who was the widow of Thomas Welman, and the sister of Charles Noel, the Earl of Gainsborough, as well as the sister of the Rev. Baptist Noel, who had been the Thompson family's minister when they attended services at St. John's in Bedford Row, London.
Thomas became quite wealthy prior to his second marriage, and he was well-known for his philanthropic efforts. He was also a very prominent member of the British Foreign Bible Society, as well as other missionary societies, and founder of the Sunday School Union However, he is most remembered for being the father of the hymnist Jemima Luke (1813-1906). He resided at Vanbrugh House in Blackheath, London in the 1830s, but relocated after his second marriage to the 16th century manor house of Poundisford Park, Somerset, where he spent most of his final years. He died Dec. 8, 1865 at Prior Park in Bath, Somerset, which he had been renting since 1859, and the Rev. Charles Chapman on the Sunday of Dec. 17 following Thomas's death dedicated a sermon to him at the Percy Chapel in Prior Park - the topic being "Christian Living and Christian Dying". Another sermon that day dedicated to "Uncle Thomas" was by W.S. Edwards in the Countess of Huntingdon's Chapel, where the topic was "Fruits in Old Age". He was buried Dec. 15, 1865 at Locksbrook Cemetery in Lower Weston near Bath, where an obelisk-shaped monument stands over his grave. His second wife Charlotte and daughter Jemima lie there also. He had eight children by his first wife.
Margaret Elizabeth Thompson (1810-1812) was born on Feb. 4, 1810 in London, and baptized on March 7 of the same year in the borough of Islington. She died before her 3rd birthday, and was buried on Dec. 31, 1812.
Jemima Thompson (1813-1906) was born on Aug. 19, 1813 at Colebrook Terrace in Islington, on the the same day as her father, and baptized on November 9 of that same year at Clerkenwell St. James in the same borough. She married a British Congregationalist minister, the Rev. Samuel Luke (1809-1868) of Clifton, on May 10, 1843 at Taunton, Somerset, and became widely known as a writer of hymns, religious studies, children's books, biographies and other religious works. However, she is best known for her hymn "I Think When I read that Sweet Story of Old", which was extremely popular in Victorian England. She died on Feb. 2, 1906 at the Isle of Wight, and she is buried with her husband in a family grave at Locksbrook Cemetery in Lower Weston near Bath, the same grave as her father. There is also a cenotaph to Jemima and her husband at the Hope Chapel in Hotwells, Bristol, Gloucestershire. There is a Wikipedia Article on Jemima Luke.
George Pinckney Thompson (1816-1817) was buried on Jan. 31, 1817 at age of 8 months at St. Leonard Church on Foster Lane in Aldersgate, London.
Theophilus Thompson (1820-1897) was born on Nov. 2, 1820 in Streatham, Surrey, and baptized on Feb. 11, 1821 at the Peckham Hanover Chapel (non-comformist). He married Marion Elphinstone Coates Snodgrass (c.1821-1893) on Sept. 13, 1849 at St. George's, Bloomsbury, London, and died on Jan. 10, 1897 at age of 76 in Islington. He and his wife are buried at Highgate Cemetery in London with their two daughters, Charlotte Margaret Noel Thompson (1850-1927) and Alice Maude Thompson (1860-1937).
Cornelius Thompson (1821-1822) was born on Nov. 13, 1821 in Streatham, Surrey, and baptized on March 17, 1822 at the Peckham Hanover Chapel (non-comformist). He died in 1822.
Christiana Thompson (1823-1886) was born on Sept. 1, 1823 in Streatham, Surrey, with her twin sister Elizabeth, and baptized on Oct. 3, 1824 at the Peckham Hanover Chapel (non-comformist). She married in Samuel Ratcliffe Carrington (1812-1883) in 1848 in Taunton, Somerset, and they had several children. She died on March 26, 1886 in Southport, Lancaster, with her estate settled in probate to the benefit of her son Walter Thomas Carrington (1854-1908).
Elizabeth Pinckney Thompson (1863-1901) was born on Sept. 1, 1823 in Streatham, Surrey, with her twin sister Christiana, and baptized on Oct. 3, 1824 at the Peckham Hanover Chapel (non-comformist). She married William Owen Harling on March 26, 1863 at Lyncombe and Widcombe, Somerset; and died on Dec. 9, 1901 in Steyning, Sussex.
Selina Thompson (c.1826-1896) was born about 1826 in Briston, Surrey; and married the Rev. Joseph Ditcher (1793-1875) on Jan. 7 1864 at Lyncombe and Widcombe, Somerset. She died on April 9, 1896 in Reigate, Surrey.
Ann Thompson (1787-1863), the eldest daughter, was born on July 11, 1787 in London, probably at Mary-le-Bow, and baptized in the very center of the city on Aug. 5, 1787 at St. Sepulchre Church. She married John Vickery Broughton (c.1787-1850), a woollen-draper of Oxford Street, on Nov. 23, 1811 at St. Mary Chuch in Islington, London, and Thompson (1964) writes that by 1855 she was a widow. She died on Aug. 10, 1863 at Cliffe House Criggletone, near Wakefield, leaving five surviving children and an estate that was settled in probate. She was buried on Aug. 15, 1863 with her husband in St. Helen's Churchyard at Sandal Magna in Yorkshire.
Nathaniel Thompson (1788-1789) was born on Dec. 24, 1788 at Mary-le-Bow in London, and baptized in the very center of the city on Jan. 18, 1789 at St. Sepulchre Church. He died an infant at St. Mary-le-Bow and was buried Dec. 27, 1789 at St. Dunstan and All Saints Church in Stepney, London.
William Thompson (1790-1792), was born on May 1, 1790 Mary-le-Bow in London, and baptized in the very center of the city on April 11, 1790 at St. Sepulchre Church. He died at two years of age at St. Mary-le-Bow, and was buried on June 17, 1792 in the same cemetery as his brother Nathaniel at St Dunstan and All Saints Church in Stepney, London.
Nathaniel Thompson (1791-1850) was born Nov. 16, 1791 in London, and baptized in the very center of the city on Dec. 11, 1791 at St. Sepulchre Church. He was apprenticed as a merchant taylor on Oct. 8, 1807 for a term of seven years to his older brother Thomas, and ultimately worked for his father as a stock broker. He married Mary Wilkinson on July 10, 1816 at Islington St. Mary, and he is listed as junior in 1817 at 19 Throgmorton Street, which was the same business address as his father. It is evident from the wording of his father's will, written in 1821, that he had abused his father's trust by speculating with his father's money, and though not written out of the will, he was treated with far less generosity than his siblings. He next appears in the early 1830s as a house painter, which remained his trade for the remainder of his years.
Nathaniel's wife Mary died on April 26, 1838, afterwhich Nathaniel appears to have married another woman who was also named Mary (b. c.1810), and who, on the basis of the records, appears to be much younger than the first wife. However, it is evident from the records that Nathaniel lied in later years about his age, and perhaps his wife lied about hers as well. His grandson writes with conviction that Nathaniel was married to two different women, both named Mary. Nathaniel died on June 11, 1850 painting a house at Commerical Road in Stepney, London, when fell off a ladder and died of a fractured skull. He had several children, at least four from his first marriage, and several from his second, including a son Benjamin Thompson (1846-1901), who is the father of the Edward Augustine Thompson (1879-1970) whose 1964 history of the Thompson Family is referenced. He was buried on June 16, 1850 in the same cemetery as his brothers William, and the first Nathaniel at St Dunstan and All Saints Church in Stepney, London.
Margaret Thompson (1793-1871) was born on March 19, 1793 in Bow, London, which is probably Mary-le-Bow, and baptized in the center of the city on April 14, 1793 at St. Sepulchre. She died a spinster on Jan. 16, 1871 at her home of Vale Lodge in Sutton, Surrey, and was buried on Jan. 21, 1871 in Lambeth, London at West Norwood Cemetery in the same grave as her bother Theophilus and his wife. Margaret's estate was subsequently settled in probate to the benefit of her sister Sophia Crakelt, who lived at Vale Lodge also.
William Thompson (1794-1843) was born on July 13, 1794 in London, probably at Mary-le-Bow, and baptized in the very center of the city on July 20, 1794 at St. Sepulchre Church. He was apprenticed as a merchant taylor on Dec. 8, 1810 for a term of seven years to his older brother Thomas. However, he felt a different career calling, and decided to enter the clergy instead. He was admitted on June 23, 1817 to Trinity College in Cambridge, receiving his B.A. there in 1821, and then an M.A there in 1825. Prior to completing his studies at Cambridge, he became assistant curate of a parish in Westmoreland known as Over Denham and Fareham, where he served until 1842, when he became vicar of St. Barnabus Church, south of Islington. He married a woman named Eliza (1799-1838), and had at least one son named Edward (d. 1844), and a daughter Elizabeth who married Rev. Herbert Williams of St. Albans (Hertfordshire?) on April 5, 1853 at St. Georges Bloomsbury in London. Rev. Thompson died on April 28, 1843 and is interred in a family vault at St. Barnabas Church (now called St. Clement with St. Barnabas and St. Matthew) on Kings Square in Finsbury, London with his wife and son Edward (c.1826-1844).
James Thompson (1796-1797) was on born Feb. 22 in London, probably at Mar-le-Bow, and baptized in the very center of the city on March 20, 1796 at St. Sepulchre Church. He died at the age of 14 months, and was buried March 16, 1797 at St. Dunstan and All Saints Church in Stepney, London.
Frederick Elijah Thompson (1797-1849) was born on Oct. 4, 1797 in London, and baptized there on Oct. 29, 1797 at St. Sepulchre Church in the very center of the city). He became a solicitor (a type of lawyer), and married Mary Ann Springall (Springhall) on Nov. 23, 1819 at St. Marylebone, London. He was granted arms in 1847 that are described as follows, "Per pale or and sable two Barrulets embattled counter-embattled between three falcons belled all counterchanged. Crest: On a wreath of the colours a dexter arm embowed in armour or charged with a pheon sable in the hand a spear point upwards proper and pendant therefrom by a strap also proper a spur gold. Motto: Lux in Luce (We shine in the light)." Frederick Elijah died on Aug. 17, 1849 when he fell off his horse, possibly on a fox hunt near the city. He was buried on Aug. 25, 1849 at Kensal Green Cemetery in the London Borough of Brent. He and Mary Ann had at least four children - the two listed below, as well as a daughter who died a spinster, and another daughter who was the Superior of a Church of England religious community.
Springall Thompson (1820-1899), who Thompson (1964) writes is portrayed in some of the novels of Robert Smith Surtees, and represents the hero (under a changed name) in Siegfried Sasson's 1928 best seller "Memoirs of a Fox Hunting Man". Springall went to Cambridge University, and, like his father, became a solicitor. He was also a Major in the 1st Buckinghamshire Rifle Volunteers, a militia unit. Apparently, he was reasonably wealthy, as he made a large donation to the church of St. Peter and St. Paul parish at Lavenham, Suffolk where his brother-in-law was Rector. This donation enabled the church to put in a magnificent stained glass window known as the St. Peter (West) Window that won a prize in the 1851 International Exhibition in London. Springall's son Harold Croker Springall Thompson (1862-1932), or his family, also gave a bequest to Cambridge University for the 1934 construction of a building at Trinity Hall that displays the family coat of arms shown on the right.
Phoebe Springall Thompson (1838-1892) married Rev. Joseph Morrison Croker (c.1819-1891), who from 1855 to 1891 was Rector of St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Lavenham, Suffolk. Both are buried at Lavenham.
Sophia Thompson (1799-1891) was born Jan. 23, 1799 in London, and baptized there Feb. 17, 1799 at the St. Mary Church in the Islington borough. She married Rev. Thomas Jones Crackelt (1797-1833) on Oct. 25, 1831 at St. Mary Church in Islington, London, and they had two daughters - Sophia (c.1833-1924) and Eliza (c.1833-1923) Crackelt, who were twins and died as spinsters in Croydon, Surrey. The elder Sophia died on Aug. 12, 1891 at Astbury Lodge in Wallington, Surrey, and she was buried on Aug. 18, 1891 in the St. Mary the Virgin Churchyard in Beddington, Surrey.
James Thompson (1800-1802) was born on Oct. 19, 1800 in London, probably at Mary-le-Bow, and baptized on Nov. 16, 1800 at the St. Mary Le Bow Church. He died at the age of fifteen months and was buried on Jan. 24, 1802 at the St. Mary Le Bow Cemetery, where his parents were later buried.
Edward Thompson (1804-1868) was born on May 21. 1804 in London and baptized there on June 16, 1804 at St. Mary Church in the Islington borough. He was apprenticed as a merchant taylor on April 7, 1819 for a term of seven years to his older brother Thomas, and ultimately became a member of the London stock exchange. He married his first wife Mary Powell (1804-1852) on Sept. 4, 1827 in Islington, but died on Nov. 30, 1852 leaving five children. He then married his second wife Charlotte Firth (1824-1903) on Dec. 14, 1854 at Hampstead Christ Church, and together they had at least three children. He died on March 5, 1868 at Islington St. Mary, afterwhich his estate was settled in probate. His widow subsequently married the Reverend Edward Valentine Williams (1826-1912) on Jan. 17, 1874 at Addlestone parish in Surrey.
Henry Thompson (1805-1883) was born on May 19, 1805 in London, and baptized there on June 11, 1805 at St. Mary Church in the Islington borough. He appears in 1833 to have become a patten maker, which was the trade his father originally followed before joining the London Stock Exchange. Pattens were wooden clogs that were strapped on over regular footware and worn outdoors to elevate one's shoes above the mud, horse manure and refuse of London streets. Thompson (1964) writes that Henry had four children. He probably identifies with the Henry Thompson of Islington who in the 1871 U.K. Census was married to Charlotte Jones (b. c.1806), and gave his occupation as retired stock broker. If so he changed his carrer in mid-life, as had his father many years before. Henry and Charlotte appear to have had four children survive to adulthhod - Henry Hugh (1837-1911), Charlotte Elizabeth (1839-?), James Stratten (1842-1912) and Liza Mary (1838-1912). A 5th child named Fanny (b. 1845) probably died a teenager before the 1881 UK Census. This same Henry Thompson also appears in the 1881 census married to a woman named Sarah (b. c.1815), his first wife Charlotte presumably having died in the meantime. He subsequently died on Aug. 20, 1883 in the Ealing district of London. The fate of his two wives is not known.
children - THOMPSON (with second wife Susan Clarke)
Caroline (1814-1885), Emily (1816-1882), Mary (1818-1903) were the only children that Nathaniel Thompson had with his second wife Susan Clarke (c.1792-1855). They were born at Colebrook Row (Terrace) in Islington, London, and baptized at the St. Mary Islington Church. Caroline was born on March 25, 1814, baptized on Aug. 12 of the same year, and died on March 12, 1885 at Colebrook Terrace. Emily was born on June 23, 1816, baptized on April 13 of the following year, and died on March 3, 1882 at Colebrook Terrace. Mary was born on March 16, 1818, baptized on April 19 of the same year, and died on June 7, 1903 in the seaside resort town of Christchurch (Bounemouth), Dorset (Hampshire). These sisters were spinsters, and Edward Thompson (1964) recalls that the family referred to them as the "Colebrook Aunties". All three of these "aunties" are buried with their mother Susan at Highgate Cemetery in London.
The Coat of Arms for Frederick Elijah Thompson are on the left, and the bookplate and
arms for his nephew Edmund Symes-Thompson are center and to the right.
Theophilus Thompson, M.D., F.R.S. (1807-1860), the son of Nathaniel Thompson and Margaret Maw, was born on Sept. 27, 1807 in the Islington borough of London, and baptized there on October 17, 1807 at St. Mary Church. When Theophilus was 18, and ready to begin studies for a future career, his father died, leaving Theophilus' older brother Thomas to assume responsibility for his younger brother's care. Theophilus subsequently began studying to be a physician, and, following the conclusion of these studies, he was married to Elizabeth Anna Maria Wathen on Jan. 25, 1831 at St. Pancras Church in Camden, London. This marriage was almost certainly arranged by Elizabeth's father Nathaniel Wathen, and by Theophilus' older brother Thomas, both of whom were prominent members of the British Foreign Bible Society. Thomas and Nathaniel were probably also business associates, as Thomas was a Merchant Taylor involved in the trading textiles on the stock exchange, whereas Nathaniel was a clothier who actually made the textiles.
Theophilus ultimately obtained an M.D. degree in 1830 from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, having previously studied at St. Batholomew's Hospital in London (near St. Paul's Cathedral). He also studied medicine in Paris and Dublin. He persued his career in London, where in time he became one of the best-known physicians in the city, and where he was elected in 1846 to become a Fellow of the Royal Society. Among the many accomplishments of his medical career was the introduction from Paris in 1828 of the stethoscope to Britain. He also wrote landmark papers on consumption (tuberculosis) and influenza, and he was one of the first physicians in Britain to administer cod liver oil to treat tuberculosis patients.
Theophilus died prematurely at the age of only 53 on August 11, 1860 in Sutton, Surrey, and he was buried six days later in the West Norwood Cemetery in Lambeth, London, where he shares a tombstone with his wife Elizabeth, his spinster sister Margaret, and his daughter-in-law Ellen Thompson (neé Jameson). His father-in-law Nathaniel Wathen is buried in the same cemetery. Elizabeth, the wife of Theophilus, survived him by a few years, and died on Nov. 14, 1867, just a few days after her 60th birthday.
According to Thompson (1964) there is a life of Theophilus that resides in the British Museum. The photograph of him that is shown here hangs in the British National Portrait Gallery. There is also a watercolor portrait of him by the artist Alfred Essex (d. 1871), and a miniature of the same painted by Alfred's brother William Essex (d. 1869), both works still in the possession of Theophilus' descendants, the Symes-Thompson family. There is a Wikipedia Article on Theophilus Thompson.
children - THOMPSON
Theophilus Wathen Thompson (1832-1905) who follows:
Elizabeth Gertrude Thompson (1833-1904), was born on Dec. 26, 1833 in London, and baptized there on April 30, 1834 at St. George Church in the Bloomsbury parish of Camden. She married Rev. John Kempthorne (1834-1880) on Jan. 4, 1860 at St. George Church in the same parish. Her husband was a minister, and he was at the time of his death on Aug. 5, 1880 the Vicar of Trumpington in Cambridgeshire. Elizabeth died in 1904 in Suderland, Cumbria, Wales, and she is buried with her husband and their son John Augustine Kempthorne (1864-1946) in the cemetery of St. Mary and St. Michael Church in Trumpington, Cambridgeshire.
Arthur Steinkopff Thompson (1835-1919) was born Dec. 27, 1835 in London, and baptized there on Feb. 29, 1836 at St. George Church in the Bloomsbury parish of Camden Borough. He attended Warden College at Oxford where he obtained several degrees, his final in 1869 being a doctorate. He entered the clergy, and served as the chaplain of the British Embassy at St. Petersburg, Russia from 1864 to 1877, and he later became the vicar of Arundell (1879), Baulking in Berksire (1890), and Little Marlow (1892). He married Ellen Jameson (c.1844-1878) on June 15, 1875 at All Saints Church at Clapham Park in London. Ellen died in 1878 and was buried on Aug. 12, 1878 in West Norwood Cemetery in Lamberth, London in the same plot as her father-in-law Theophilus Thompson. Arthur died on April 27, 1919 at the White Cottage in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight.
Edmund Symes-Thompson (1837-1906) was born on Nov. 16, 1837 in London, and baptized on March 25, 1838 at All Saints Church in the Edmonton Parish. Although his father arranged for him on Feb. 5, 1852 to serve as a grocers apprentice to Charles Hillhouse, Edmund decided to follow his father's calling and studied medicine instead. He became a very well-known London physician and academic, lecturing widely and publishing on a variety of medical topics. He married Elizabeth (Lilla) Watkins (1849-1920) on July 25, 1872 at the Potters Bar St. John the Baptist Church in the South Mimms borough. Although their main home was at Cavendish Square in London, they bought Finmere Manor in Oxfordshire in 1898 for a country residence, and Finmere remained in the family until it was sold in the 1960s. Edmund died on Nov. 24, 1906 at his Cavendish Square house, and his wife subsequently published a biography on him in 1908 titled 'Memories of Edmund Symes-Thompson'. Both Edmund and Elizabeth are buried in the St. Michael and all Angels Churchyard in Finmere. Edmund and Elizabeth had five children, including Henry Edmund Symes-Thompson (1873-1952), who like his father became a doctor. Another son, Cholmeley Symes-Thompson (1881-1914) was killed in action at the Battle of Ypres in World War I and is buried in Belgium in the Zillebeke Churchyard.
Constance Mary Thompson (1841-1924) was born on Oct. 29, 1841 in London, and baptized there on Jan. 5, 1842 at St. George Church in the Bloomsbury parish of Camden. She married the Rev. Robert Cholmeley (1818-1880) on Jan. 9, 1866 in St. Marylebone, London, and moved with him to the village of Findon in Thakeham, near the coast in West Sussex, where since 1859 he had been vicar of the St. John the Baptist Church. They lived at the Rectory on High Street, which is now the Findon Manor Hotel. They probably did not have any children. Robert died on Aug. 30, 1880 at Findon, where he is buried at St. John Church. Constance subsequently returned to London, where she died in 1924 in the St. Pancras parish.
Theophilus Wathen Thompson (1832-1905), the son of Theophilus Thompson and Elizabeth Anna Maria Wathen, was born May 22, 1832 in London and baptized Aug. 9, 1831 at St. George's Church in the Bloomsbury parish of Camden, London. He was admitted Nov. 15, 1841 at the age of 9 to St. Pauls, a preparatory school in Prior Park, Bath that his Uncle Thomas Thompson was associated with. The biography of his brother Edmund Symes-Thompson portrays Theophilus as being athletic, and there is an inscribed trophy still owned by the family that commemorates a bicycle race he won. He is also said to have been very good in rowing competition. After his graduation from St. Pauls in 1848, he went on to King's College in London, where he probably studied law, as he ultimately became a law clerk, then a solicitor, which is a type of British lawyer.
Theophilus married Maria Elizabeth (Mary Eliza) Abbott on Oct. 21 1857 in Bath, Avon, Somerset, and they lived for a time at 118 Cambridge Street in the Pimlico district of London with her parents William and Sophia Louisa Abbott. In fact, Theophilus and Maria in 1861 had two children born at the Cambridge Street address, and when Theophilus filed his application to take out an Attorney's Certificate in Chancery, he gave the same address. Later, Theophilus and Maria moved to the other side of the Thames River and lived for several years in Surrey. Eventually, they ended up at Bedford Park in the Chiswick borough of London, and during this time Theophilus was friends with the Irish poet William Butler Yeats (1865-1939). He must have been quite successful in his law practice, as he retired in 1876 at the age of 44, after which we find him living in Acton in west London. He died on March 24, 1905 at Bedford Park (Brentford district), London. Despite having had a career as a lawyer and probably preparing wills for others, he left no will himself, and his estate was settled in probate. Mary Eliza outlived him by 12 years and died on June 28, 1917 in South Hammersmith, London. Her attending physician when she died was her nephew Henry Edward Symes-Thompson (1873-1952). Theophilus is buried at Hounslow Cemetery, which is about 6 miles from where he and Mary Eliza lived at Bedford Park. Mary Eliza is probably buried with him in the same grave, but her burial still needs to be confirmed.
children - THOMPSON
Paul Ernest Thompson (1859-1859) was born March 4, 1859 in the Kensington borough of London, and baptized April 27, 1859 at St. George Church in the Bloomsbury Parish of Camden, London. His parents at the time lived in Bedford Park. He only lived about five months and died in the St. Giles registration district, which sits just to the northeast of Kensington, and was buried on Aug. 8, 1859 in Highgate (West) Cemetery.
Claude Edmund Thompson (1860-1924) was on born April 4, 1860 at St. George Hanover Square, London, and baptized May 16, 1860 at St. James Piccadilly Church in Westminster, London. His birth record gives his address as 118 Cambridge Street, which is not only the address for his parents, but is also the same address listed in several sources for his grandparents William and Sophia Louisa Abbott. The 1871 U.K. census shows him as a boarder at a boy's school in Temple Cowley, Oxfordshire. He became a tea planter, probably working out of the country in one of the British colonies, as we do not find him in the 1881 or 1891 British census. Back in Britain, he married Florence Lloyd Unwin (1866-1930) on March 10, 1892 at St. Mary the Virgin Church in the Norwood Green Parish of Ealing, London. Florence was actually a cousin of his, though not by blood, her mother Emma Unwin (neé Gale) having been married first to Claude's maternal great uncle John Beardmore Wathen (1811-1862), even though Uncle John was nearly 20 years older than Emma (c.1831-1912). Claude must have been prosperous as he and Florence resided from at least 1901 on at the "Old Vicarage House", a 17th-century, Grade II listed building in the St. Stephens district of Canterbury, Kent. Claude died Nov. 27, 1924 at Blaenau Gwent in South Wales, but his estate went to probate in Canterbury, Kent. Florence died on May 17, 1930 at the age of 64 in Blean, Kent, but she is buried with her mother and spinster sister Edith at St. Stephens Churchyard, which is adjacent to the Old Vicarage House. Claude is almost certainly buried with Florence, but this needs to be confirmed. They do not appear to have had any children.
Alan William Thompson (1861-1945) was born on Nov. 2, 1861 in the Pimlico area of London (St. George Hanover Square registration district), and baptized Dec 20, 1861 at St. James Piccadilly Church in Westminster, London, where his brothers Paul and Claude had also been baptized. His birth record shows that he was born at his grandparents house at 118 Cambridge Street, which was where Claude had been born the previous year. Alan went to Australia as a young man, where he met and married Ada Emily Frances Summers (1863-1940) on March 25, 1885 in Rockhampton, Queensland. Ada was the daughter of John Abel Summers (c.1833-1885) and Annie Jackson (c.1832-1886), and she was born in 1863 in the Lewisham district of London, probably in Sydenham, Kent where her three older siblings were born. She then at the age of 15 emigrated to Australia with her parents and seven siblings, arriving on June 23, 1878 at Rockhampton, Queensland aboard the S.S. Kapunda. Alan and Ada were in Australia, probably in Rockhampton, for the birth of their first three children, and then they emigrated with their two children to the United States, arriving on Nov. 26, 1890 in New York by way of London, England on board the S.S. Lydian Monarch.
Alan and Ada lived first in New Jersey, and then they were in Haverhill, Massachusettts during the 1900 US Census, when Alan listed his occupation as an insurance salesman. They next moved in 1904 to Niagara Falls, New York, where Alan was superintendant of the Niagara Falls district for Metropolitan Life Insurance until his 1920 retirement. Alan and Ada lived in Niagara Falls initially at 626 Walnut Ave. until about 1911, afterwhich they lived at 546 10th Street for the next thirty or so years. It was here that in 1935 they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Ada died suddenly on September 15, 1940 at their home on 10th Street and is buried in Riverdale Cemetery in Lewiston, New York. Alan in his later years served as vestryman and warden of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Niagara Falls, where he was held in high esteem. He died on June 24, 1945 at his home after a long illness, and he is buried in the same lot as Ada in Riverdale Cemetery. The Niagara Falls Gazette published a front page obituary of Alan, with a photograph of him, on the day of his funeral. He and Ada had twelve known children, who are listed below.
John Wathen Thompson (1886-1886) was born on Jan. 15, 1886 in Queensland, Australia, and died on May 25, 1886 in Queensland, when he was just four months old. He is buried in the South Rockhampton Cemetery in Queensland.
Frank Arthur Abbott Thompson (1887-1909) was born on Dec. 5, 1887 in Queensland, Australia; and immigrated with his parents and sister Emily to New City in the United States on Nov. 26, 1890 aboard the S.S. Lydian Monarch, settling first in Massachusetts, and later in Niagara Falls, New York. He drowned, when he was only 21-years old, on Aug. 14, 1909, while swimming the Niagara River, and is buried in Riverdale Cemetery in Lewiston, New York, in the same lot as his parents.
Marion Emily Elizabeth Thompson (1889-1980) was born on Dec. 8, 1889 in Queensland, Australia, and generally went by the name of Emily Eliza. She immigrated with her parents and brother Frank to New City in the United States on Nov. 26, 1890 aboard the S.S. Lydian Monarch, settling first in Massachusetts, and later in Niagara Falls, New York. She married Canadian George Clyde Bartlett (1890-1938) on Nov. 10, 1915 in Niagara Falls, and they had two daughters - Marion Elizabeth (1917-2013) and Constance Ada (1922-2015). She died on June 30, 1980 in Niagara Falls, and she is buried with her husband in nearby Riverdale Cemetery.
Harry Theophilus Thompson (1892-1928) was born on Jan. 20, 1892 in Jersey City, New Jersey, and later moved with his family to Niagara Falls, New York. He married Barbara Agnes Thomas (1892-1955) in Nov. 15, 1916 in Niagara Falls, and when he registered for the WWI draft a few months later, he was working as an insurance agent for Metropolitan Life, the same company that his father worked for. He died on May 26, 1928 in Niagara Falls, and he is buried with Barbara and their children in Riverdale Cemetery in Lewiston, New York. Harry and Barbara had two children - Harry Thomas Thompson (1918-1979), and Francis George Thompson (1921-1965), both of whom have descendants.
an infant son (1894-1894?), who was not named, was born on March 7, 1894 in Jersey City, New Jersey, and probably died the same day as an infant.
Alan Robert Thompson (1895-1959), whose name is sometimes listed in the records as Robert Alan Thompson, was born on Oct. 3, 1895 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He married Cecelia Henderson (1893-1957) on Oct. 13, 1915 in Niagara County, New York; where they had three children - Alan Kenneth (1917-1976), Clyde Henderson (1919-1985), and Margaret V. (1923-1975). Alan Sr. died on Nov. 14, 1959 in Los Angeles County, California, where he had retired to; and he is buried with wife Cecelia as Robert A. Thompson in Live Oak Memorial Park in Monrovia, California.
Florence Marjorie Thompson (1897-1970) was born on Oct. 28, 1897 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and generally went by the name of Marjorie. She never married, and in later years she may have lived with her younger sister Ruth in Florida. She died on Feb. 2, 1970 in Broward County, Florida, where she is buried as F. Marjorie Thompson in Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in Pompano.
Ruth Annie Thompson (1900-1994) was born on Jan. 25, 1900 in Haverhill, Massachusetts. She married Lewis Phillip Ohliger (1900-1994) on Oct. 5, 1922 in Niagara Falls, sometime afterwhich they moved to Springfield, Massachusetts. They were living by 1940 in Syacuse, New York, and they retired to Deerfield Beach in Broward County Florida. Ruth died in Jan. of 1978 in Broward County, and she is buried with Lewis at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in Pompano, Florida. They did not have any children that we know of.
Mary Constance Thompson (1901-1995) was born on Dec. 30, 1901 in Clinton, Massachusetts, and later moved with her parents to Niagara Falls in New York. She married Bruce Patterson Haire (1899-1963) on April 14, 1928 in Niagara Falls, and they resided generally in Lewiston, New York. She died on Dec. 22, 1995 in Lewiston, where she and Bruce are buried in Riverdale Cemetery. They did not have any children that we know of.
an infant daughter (1902-1902), who was not named, was born in 1902 in Niagara Falls, New York, and probably died the same day. She is buried in nearby Riverdale Cemetery, in the same lot as her parents.
Helen Maud Thompson (1904-1990) was on born June 30, 1904 in Niagara Falls, New York. She married Edward Duncan Mallam (1902-1991) on Sept. 15, 1927 in Niagara Falls, and they later resided in Ames, Iowa. She died on Sept. 22, 1990, and she is buried with Duncan in the Iowa State University Cemetery in Ames. Helen and Duncan had one son - Edward Duncan Mallam III (1928-2000).
Francis "Frank" Donald Thompson (1910-1980) was born on Jan. 18, 1910 in Niagara Falls, New York; and he married Irene Agnes Daboll (1914-1990) on Aug, 16, 1939 in Niagara Falls, where they subsequently made their home. He died on Sept. 23, 1980, and he is buried with Irene in Niagara Falls Memorial Park. Frank and Irene had one daughter - Laurie Ann Thompson (1942-1981)
Ethel Louisa Thompson (1863-1945) was born on March 3, 1863 in Wimbledon, Surrey and baptized on March 16, 1863 at Saint Luke Church in the Marylebone parish of Westminster in central London. She probably lived with and cared for her aging parents right up until their deaths, and she never married. She died on March 25, 1943 at St. Mary Abbots Hospital in Kensington, London. Her address when she died was on Ladbroke Grove Road in Kensington, which is close to where her parents had lived in Chiswick, London. Interestingly though, her probate was handled out of the Welsh seaside resort of Llandudno, which indicates that she probably had a residence there as well.
Theophilus Oswald Thompson (1865-1865) was born in February, 1865 in Wandsworth, Surrey (London), and baptized March 15, 1865 at the Holy Trinity Church in the Upper Tooting parish of Wandsworth. He died at the age of six weeks and was buried March 18, 1865 at St. Mary's Church at Battersea in the Wandsworth Bourough of London.
Maud Anna Maria Thompson (1866-1948), who follows:
Arthur Wathen Thompson (1869-1942) was born on March 12, 1869 in Wandsworth, Surrey (Greater London), and baptized there on June 25, 1869 in the Saint Anne parish church. Curiously, he is not listed with his family in the 1871 census, and instead we find him being cared for by a Mrs. Goatcher in Findon Village, West Sussex, which was the home of his Aunt Constance Cholmeley, the wife of the vicar of the Findon parish church. Arthur eventually returned to London, where he is listed during the 1891 UK Census as an insurance salesman. He then enlisted, in 1899 during the Second Boer War, in the Imperial Yeomanry, which was a volunteer calvary unit. Interestingly, his sister Constance Crawley made reference to him, a few years later in a 1906 newspaper article, as "Captain Wathen-Thompson", and implies that he served in South Africa under Lord Kitchiner. However, his military records show that he was not an officer, and make no mention of any time spent overseas. He was ultimately discharged in 1902 with 1½ years of service.
When Arthur and his brother Claude handled the probate in 1905 for their father's estate, Arthur gave his occupation as a commercial clerk. He was 40 years old when he married Gwladys Elvira Lewis (1880-1956) in 1909 in the Brentwood District of London, near where his Mother and sister Ethel lived. Although he was now married, he enlisted on Sept. 29, 1914, just ater WWI broke out, in the Royal Army Service Corp of the regular army, and served until Oct. 22, 1917, probably on the home front. Arthur and Gwladys are then listed in the London Electoral Registers, from 1918 to at least 1932, as living on Abinger Street in the Brentwood District of the city. He retired at some point to West Sussex, where he died on Aug. 23, 1942 at the age of 73 at Chanctonbury, which is in the countryside close to Findon Village, where he spent some of his childhood years. Like his sister Ethel, who died three years later, his probate was handled out of the Welsh seaside resort of Llandudno. He is buried in St. Peter's Churchyard in Upper Beeding, which is just east of Chanctonbury. Gwladys died on July 7, 1956, at the age of 76 in Brighton, which is a seaside resort that sits just a short distance from Findon and Chanctonbury. This makes it likely that she is buried in Upper Beeding with her husband. However, this is not known for certain, and it is also possible that she is buried in Wales, where her father originally had come from. Arthur and Gwladys had the one son listed below.
Stephen Arthur Wathen Thompson (1911-1981) was born on Jan. 14, 1911 in Chiswick, London, and grew up to become an aeronautical engineer, who traveled widely as part of his career. He married Kathleen Edith Amelie Tower (1910-1994) in 1940 in the Pancras district London, and they had three daughters - Selina Jane (b. 1940), Caroline Sarah "Sally" (b. 1943), and Dinah Mary (b. 1946). Stephen died on Aug. 11, 1981 in Wareham, Dorset (Poole registration district), where his residence at the time was the "Old Dairy House" in the tiny village of Arne, which is part of Wareham.
Constance Emily Thompson (1870-1919) was born Constance Ione Thompson on March 30, 1870 at Sunnycroft in Wandsworth, Surrey, England, and baptized Constance Mary Thompson, but we do not know when and where she was baptized. She married John Sayer Crawley (1867-1948) on July 17 1892 in Bedford Park, London. He was an aspiring actor, born March 8, 1867 in Northamptonshire, who had also spent time as an officer in the British army. His nickname within the family was Rawdon, after the character in the novel Vanity Fair. Constance became a very well-known Shakespearean actress, acting in Europe, South Africa and the United States, but she was especially famous in California. She eventually moved to Los Angeles, and starred in a few largely forgotten silent movies, whereas her husband John, from who she informally separated, moved to New York and made his mark on Broadway under the stage name of Sayer Crawley. When Constance and Sayer separated, she moved in with Arthur Maude (1880-1950), who was her manager and had been the leading man in several of her films. However, her relationship with Maude was largely kept secret from the press until after her death.
Poster of a 1914 Silent Movie starring Constance Crawley and Arthur Maude.
Constance had her family tree traced, and she was fond of sharing her ancestry with the press. One of her interviewers in an article published in the San Francisco Chronicle (Sunday, Oct 28, 1906, p. 49) writes that, "On her fathers side [actually her mother's side], she is directly descended from a line of English princes. In the various branches of that family tree there appear the names of Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Joshua Reynolds and a number of renowned members of the English clergy. From her mother, she inherits a strain of wild Polish blood; one of her best known relatives in that foreign connection being the Count Beritezke [Brietzcke?], familiar in continental court life of the present day." Constance also liked to refer to the famous Lord Kitchener as her cousin, though he was not a blood relation, her first cousin Bishop John Augustine Kempthorne (1864-1946) having married Hester Peile (1867-1963) who was the second cousin once removed of Kitchener. Not to be outdone Arthur Maude, the manager and partner of Constance, used to state to reporters that he was the nephew of British general and WWI hero Sir Frederick Stanley Maude, but this is not supported by available records of his ancestry.
Constance died of complications from tuberculosis on March 17, 1919 in Los Angeles, having contracted the disease in 1912 in Canada while on a tour there. Her husband Sayer Crawley remarried several years after her death. Obituaries of both Constance and Sayer were published in the New York Times. Interestingly, his obituary makes no mention of the fact that he had once been married to the famous Constance Crawley. They had one daughter, Vere Crawley (1893-1918), who settled in Los Angeles with her mother, acted in at least one play, and died at the age of only 25 of tuberculosis, possibly having caught it from her mother. Funeral records show that Sayer Crawley handled all of the burial arrangements for both Constance and Vere, both being buried in the same plot and sharing a tombstone in Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles. Curiously their tombstone at Rosedale in the early 1990s was an ornate gothic cross, but when the gravesite was visited 25 or so years later the stone had been replaced by a rather plain cross with no ornamentation that is simply inscribed with just their names. There is a Wikipedia article for Constance Crawley, another one for John Sawyer Crawley, and one for Arthur Maude.
Cecil Abbott Thompson (1875-1875) was born in London and baptized there on April 4, 1875 at St. Peters Church in the Streatham parish of Lambeth. He lived for only eight months and died that summer. He was buried on Aug. 22, 1875 in the St. John the Baptist Churchyard in Findon, Sussex, where his aunt Constance Cholmeley was the wife of the Vicar of Findon.
The family of Theophilus Wathen Thompson and Maria Eliza Abbott taken about 1890.
The parents are seated, and their children are standing from left to right (oldest to
youngest): Claud, Ethel, Alan, Maud, Arthur and Constance.
Maud Anna Maria Thompson (1866-1948), the daughter of Theophilus Wathen Thompson and Maria Elizabeth Abbott, was born as Maria Thompson on Sept. 11, 1866 in Wandsworth Common, Battersea, Surrey (London) and baptized Maud Anna Maria Thompson on Nov. 14, 1866 in the Holy Trinity Church in the Upper Tooting Parish of Wandsworth. She came from a well-to-do family, and married the painter Herbert Sidney Percy on Oct. 22, 1891 at the St. Michael and All Angels Church in the Bedford Park parish of Chiswick, London. Her great uncle the Vicar Arthur Steinkopff Thompson officiated at the wedding and her father, and her uncle Arthur Wathen Thompson were witnesses. Maud and Herbert lived in a large house at 29 Sycamore Gardens (formerly Avenue) in Hammersmith, London, and Herbert was successful enough in his career that they had servants. Herbert died in 1932, but he left Maud secure financially with investments that he had made.
When the Germans bombed London during the 1940 and 1941 Blitz of World War II, Maud was living in the Sycamore Gardens house alone with her servants, and bombs are said to have landed near the house. Maud's daughter Sidney remembers that when she visited her mother after the war in 1946, the house was full of soot from the bombings, her mother was senile, and the servants had stolen many of the things in the house of value. Sidney's original intent had been to bring her mother back to the United States, but she decided that Maud was too frail to travel, so she put her in a Derbyshire nursing home and returned to the States alone. Maud's sister-in-law Amy Reynolds, and her nephew Kenneth Reynolds, looked in on Maud from time to time in these final years.
Maud died at the Gate House in Wirksworth (Belper Registration District), Derbyshire on Nov. 14, 1948. The Gate House is a historic three-story Georgian building that presumably was being used as a nursing home. Maud was buried on Nov. 19, 1948 next to her husband Herbert in the Hammersmith Borough Cemetery (Mortlake) in London. Please see the Percy Genealogy for the children of Maude and Herbert.
REFERENCES:
The documentation for many of the dates and places listed in this history are found in the Ancestry.com online databases (subscription required).
Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, The MacMillan Company, London.
Thompson, Edward, 1964, The Thompson Family (A Search into History). Edward descends from Nathaniel Thompson (b. 1791) in the above history. Edward married Ruby Side whose diaries have been published as World War II: London Blitz Diaries 1939-1945 - A Woman's Revelations Enduring War and Marriage, ed. by Victoria Aldridge Washuk, 1995, in 4 vol.
Thompson Family Bible. Descendants of John Thompson (b. 1771) living today in Melbourne Australia have a copy of a bible printed in 1858 by the British and Foreign Bible Society that contains pages torn from an older bible with dated family events (birth, marriage, death) written on pages that cover the years from 1821 to 1875. Also included in the bible are funeral cards for several mambers of the family, as well as 1846 dated papers of indenture for John Thompson.
Thompson, Frederick Elijah (1847), Pedigree of Frederick Elijah Thompson, Application/Petition to the College of Heralds for a Coat of Arms, London, England.
This history is an evolving document.
Despite our best intentions it probably contains mistakes.
Please let us know if you spot any by sending an email to Mike Clark
Genealogy of the Thompson Family 
Thomas Thompson (1785-1865), the eldest son, was born Aug. 19, 1785 in the City of London and baptized there on Sept. 25, 1785 at St. Sepulchre Church. He apprenticed with his father, who later became his business partner, and became a member of the Company of Merchant Taylors, which was a trade guild whose members were involved in buying and selling textiles. He and his father were also members of the London Stock Exchange. Thomas apparently also had an interest in the careers of his younger brothers, as he took on three of them at various times as Merchant Tailor apprentices - Nathaniel in 1807, William in 1810, and Edward in 1819 - and although his brother Frederick Elijah Thompson had apprenticed as a patten-maker (maker of wooden-soled/sandal-like overshoes), he probably facilitated Frederick's entry later entry into the legal profession as a solicitor.
