Author: John E. Sweeney
David Thompson was born on 20 Apr 1751 in Guilford, New Haven County, Connecticut and was the son of David Thompson (1703-1800) 1 and Jane Doude (1712-1799). 2 Jane’s maiden name is shown on the record of her marriage to David Thompson. Jane was born on 10 Feb 1754 in Saybrook, Middlesex County, Connecticut and was the daughter of Josiah and Rhoda Wright. 3 She and David were married on 4 Jun 1772, in Saybrook, Middlesex County, Connecticut. 4 Family lore and the contents of his property at death support that David Thompson had at least the avocation of possibly a part-time basket maker at the time of his death. 5

David Thompson’s father, also named David, was born about 1703 in Scotland6 and emigrated to the American colonies at least by the 1730s because it is recorded that on 26 May 1732 he married his wife, Jane Doude in Guilford, New Haven County, Connecticut. 7 Jane Doude is recorded as being a resident of Guilford, Connecticut where her family had deep roots. Jane’s great grandfather, Henry Doude (1612-1668) departed Surrey, England and arrived in Guilford in time to marry his wife, Elizabeth Woolett (1616-1713) on 18 Oct 1636. 8 Henry’s son, John Doude (1650-1713), and Jane Doude’s grandfather married his first of two wives, Sarah Tallman (1653-1687) on 14 Jun 1679 in Guilford. Their son and eldest child, Cornelius Doud (1680-1727), was Jane Doud’s father who in 1707, in Guilford, CT, married Jane Doud’s mother, Jane Hand (1687-1747). 9 She and Cornelius had six children, the fourth of which was Rhoda Doud (1717-1735) who, in Guilford, married Josiah Wright (1708-1783). 10 Rhoda Dowd and Cornelius had seven children, their daughter, Jane Wright married David Thompson in Saybrook, Connecticut on 4 Jun 1772. 11

In Dec 1775, David Thompson, was an early volunteer who as a 23 year old married man and father of two children, a daughter, Melorah age 2, born 21 May 1774 (1774-1833) in Guilford, CT and a son Asher, age 3 months, born 15 Sep 177512 (1775-1823) in Guilford, CT, enlisted for two years as a Private in Connecticut’s Continental Army forces. He was initially assigned to Capt. David Sill’s Company of foot in Col. Samuel H. Parson’s 6th Continental Line Regiment which was just being organized and was not yet officially on the rolls of the Continental Army. 13 The 6th Connecticut Continental Line Regiment was authorized in the Continental Army on 16 Sep 1776 and organized from 1 Jan to Apr 1777 at New Haven, CT. 14 Family lore is that he was wounded during the 6th Regiment’s involvement in the Battle of Harlem Heights and participation in this battle and his wounding is cited in his Revolutionary War Pension Application. 15 David was initially an enlistee for just two years and was discharged from the Continental Army in Jan 1777. He appears to have joined the Connecticut Militia for a short 3 month enlistment as a member of Capt. Sanford’s Company of Col. John Ely’s Connecticut Militia Regiment. David, obviously preferred the Continental Army which also appeared to have afforded him an opportunity for promotion. On 25 Jan 1777, his three month enlistment in the Militia was terminated almost before it began and he re-enlisted, this time “for the war,” in the Continental Army and again became a member of Connecticut’s 6th Continental Line Regiment. Some records are missing but by July 1778 David had been promoted to the grade of Sergeant, again in Captain Elisha Ely’s and later Captain Asa Lay’s Company, under Regimental Command successively of Colonels William Douglas and then Return Jonathan Meigs. 16 Available records show Sergeant David Thompson remained with this Regiment at least through 3 Nov 178017 and undoubtedly was involved in the Regiment’s combat operations which included engagements in and around New York City particularly in 1777, the Hudson Highlands, and the Hudson River Valley and elsewhere in southern New York State. Specific details of these operations are lacking. It is probable that at least elements of the 6th Connecticut Continental Line Regiment were involved in Hudson River Highland operations in Sep 1780 when the treachery at West Point was exposed18 involving the Continental Army Major General Benedict Arnold – British Army Major John Andre failed intrigue to surrender the West Point, NY military garrison. 19

Sergeant. David Thompson’s enlistment for service throughout the Revolutionary War, and extended assignment to the 6th Regiment of the Connecticut Continental Line was obviously not to extend for the entire war. A surviving record shows that by 19 Jan 1781, Sergeant Thompson was transferred to Col. Samuel Blatchey“S.B”. Webb’s Additional Connecticut Continental Line Regiment, also designated as the 3rd Regiment. A record shows he was subsequently discharged from this regiment on 25 Jul 1782. 20 There are apparently many missing as well as erroneous records because Sgt. David Thompson next appears listed on the muster roll for the 8th Company, 4th Connecticut Continental Line Regiment, commanded by Colonels Zebulon Butler for the Muster Roll records of Mar through Nov 1782. He is then shown in Nov 1782 as being assigned to the 8th Company, 2nd Connecticut Regiment commanded y Colonel Heman Swift and having been received from the 4th Regiment effective 1 Nov 1782. The last available official record shows Sergeant Thompson assigned to Capt. Colefax’s Company, 2nd Connecticut Continental Line Regiment, commanded by Col. Heman Swift. As the Revolutionary War was drawing to a close and the defeat of the British all but officially declared, various units of the American Army were being deactivated and consolidated with others as recruiting was being scaled back and the manning levels were diminishing. According to David Thompson’s Revolutionary War Pension application, he received his final discharge from the Army of the Revolution at West Point, New York in Jun 1783.

In spite of his extended Continental Army service, David Thompson was apparently able, occasionally, to get home to Saybrook, Connecticut, where Jane is believed to have resided. This was accomplished often enough for him to father two more children during the war, a daughter named Linda Florinda Thompson (1780-1853) born 20 Sep 1780 and a son named Baron Dekalb Thompson (1782-1860) born 13 Aug 1782, both in Saybrook, Middlesex County, Connecticut. 21

All told, he and his wife, Jane, had eight children in19 years! As just stated, there were the two born before the war, Melorah and Asher, followed with two born during the war, Linda, and Baron, and then another four after the war: a son Charles Thompson born on 5 Sep 1786 (1786-?), daughter Harriet Thompson born on 13 Jun 1787 (1787-1865), son Nicholas Otis Thompson born 29 Oct 1789, and daughter Asenath Thompson,born in 1793 (1793-1845). 22

Marriage information of the patriot’s children can be helpful to researchers, particularly those following the female line. In Meriden, Connecticut, it appears Arsenath Thompson married Darling Dayton on 13 May 1814. 23 Consistent with the original Ancestry.com Family Tree Connecticut Deaths and Burials records, died on 13 Aug 1845 in Meriden, Connecticut, leaving her husband Darling Dayton a widower. 24 Aseneth Thompson as the wife of Darling Dayton is further substantiated by DAR Record Copy Application of her granddaughter, Mrs. Ida E. Hotchkiss Fletcher. This testimony by her granddaughter is compelling evidence of Aseneth having been the eigth child and fourth daughter of the patriot David Thompson and his wife,Jane Wright. In addition to the spouse of Asenath Thompson being Darling Dayton. Spousal information for the five spouses of five other children of David Thompson and Jane Wright is known as follows: (1) Melorah married David Lynn, (2) Baron DeKalb married Mary Parker, (3) Harriet married Appleton Stevens, (4) Charles married Lydia Nettlelton, and (5) Florinda/Linda married Elizah Stevens. All of these marriages are represented with DAR Record Copy applications submitted based on descent from David Thompson, DAR Ancestor Number: A113928. Only the spouse of Nicholas Otis Thompson remains unknown.

There is a basis for some confusion as to where each of the children of David Thompson and Jane Wright were born. At the time of his 25 Jan 1777 second enlistment in the 6th Connecticut Regiment – Continental Line, David is shown as residing in Guilford, Connecticut. 25 Their first two children, a daughter, Melorah, and son, Asher, were born on 21 May1774 and 15 Sep 1775 respectively. 26 These dates of birth are cited as listed in the official records of the town of Saybrook, Connecticut by a certified as a true copy of the official records by the Saybrook Town Clerk. 27 No places of birth other than Saybrook are shown. Saybrook is where the parents David and Jane were married and it is the hometown of Jane Wright. Barring discovery of information to the contrary, the town of Saybrook, Middlesex County, Connecticut should be the accepted place of birth for all of the children of David Thompson and Jane Wright.

Following the War and the current information on the birth place of their children, it appears that David Thompson and his wife, Jane Wright continued to reside in Middlesex County, Connecticut and probably in or near Saybrook for the rest of their lives. David died on 28 Jul 1828 at the age of 78 and his wife, Jane Wright had already died on 13 Jan 1828 at the age of 55 years. 28 Both are buried along with their daughter Melora Lynn who died on 26 Apr 1833. Their grave is located in Row 10 of the old section of the Rockland Cemetery29 near the back wall. The gravestone is extremely thick, about 6 inches across and very solid. Desecration of many other graves in the cemetery has occurred with headstones literally cut-off at the base and discarded. Such damage to the head or footstones of the grave for David Thompson, his wife and daughter is not likely to occur. 30 A picture of the gravestone is included with this report. Additional research has answered the question of why Melora Lynn is buried with her parents rather than with her husband David Lynn?

It is known that she and David Lynn, of Killingworth, Connecticut were married on 13 Nov 1793 in Guilford, Connecticut. 31 Additionally, Connecticut vital records show that they were the parents of two sons: Sheb Lynn who inexplicably died on 16 Aug 1823, at age 26, and James Lynn who died on 15 Sep 1826, age 21. 32 According to the David Thompson headstone, Melora Lynn died on 26 Apr 1833, age 60. 33 Additional information on Melora, nee’ Thompson Lynn’s husband, David, provides insight into her burial with her parents in the Rockland Cemetery, near Madison, Connecticut. According to the book,“The Choates in America 1643-1896,” on 6 Aug 1850 a woman, named Rhoda Choate married Esckiel Wright Lynn, son of David and Melorah (Thompson) Lynn and they resided in Oquawka, Illinois. He died on 4 Mar 1871 and she died on 27 Jun 1869. 34 Because Ezckiel Wright Lynn, apparently the sole surviving child and last living member of the immediate Lynn family, it was logical for David Lynn,.a widower, following the death of Jane in 1833, to seek a residence near Ezckiel in Oquawka, Illinois. He apparently did just that and it is where he lived until his 20 Aug 1840 death in Oquawka, Illinois and his subsequent burial in /the Henderson Cemetery in Gladstone, Henderson County, Illinois. David Lynn’s gravestone identifies him as a Connecticut Revolutionary War veteran with a birth date of 4 Mar 1754. 35

As detailed in NSSAR #169834 Supplemental application based on descent from David Thompson, this bio-sketch details a line of descent different from those recorded in the DAR GRS database from David Thompson. This new SAR lineage is through the patriot’s daughter, Harriet, born 13 Jun 1784 in Saybrook, Middlesex County, CT, who on 6 Jun 1803 in Saybrook married Appleton Stevens (1780-1843). Their daughter, Harriet Stevens (1824-1892) married Keyes Steele Hathaway (1813-1906). Their son, Keyes Allen Hathaway (1847-1924) married Frances Johnson Parker (1848-1909). Their Son, Eldridge Berkley Hathaway (1878-1936) married Ella Margaret Martin (1881-1942). Their daughter, Ella Margaret Hathaway (1917—1983) married John Joseph Sweeney (1913-1989), the parents of the author of this bio-sketch. 36

1 Connecticut Town Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection), Guilford, CT Vital Records Vol. 2, p. 103
2 Connecticut Town Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) Guilford, CT Vital Records Vol. 2, p. 52
3 Connecticut Town Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) Saybrook, CT Vital Records, Vol. 4, p. 748
4 Connecticut Town Records, pre-Barbour Collection) Saybrook, CT, Vital Records, Vol. 1, p. 5
5 William Hathaway, family genealogist e-mail, 26 Jul 2009
6 Ancestry.com, North Aerica, Family Histories, 1500-2000- Families of Early Guilford, Connecticut, Vol. II, ,
7 Connecticut Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection), /Guilford Vital Records, Vo.
8 Ancestry.com/family-tree/person tree-Henry Doude
9 Ancestry.com, North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000- Families of Early Guilford, Connecticut, Vol. II, ,
10 Ibid
11 Connecticut Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection), Vol. I, p. 5
12 Official Town Clerk Record dated 8 Nov 1912, Town of Saybrook, Connecticut
13 Wright, Robert K., Jr., The Continental Army, US Army Ctr. of Military History, Wash., DC, 1986, Pp. 236-237
14 Ibid
15 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Revolutionary War Pension Record S.35351
16 Record of Service of Connecticut Men in the War of the Revolution, comp. by authority of the General Assembly under direction of the Adjutant General, 1889, Harttford, CT, pp. 205-207
17 Footnote.com, Muster Rolls - Capts. Elisha Ely’s & Asa Lay’s Cos. 6th Regt. CT-CL Jul 1778 – 3 Nov 1780
18 Ibid., Wright, Robert K., Pp, 236-237
19Boatner, III, Mark Mayo, COL, USA, Encyclopedia of the American Revolution, 1969, NY pp, 35-42
20 Footnote.com Col. S.B. Webb’s Regt. Revolutionar War record Copied from Rolls, Vol. 1, page 284, shows David Thompson’s enlistment of Jan 19, 1791 as having expired and that he was discharged from Continental Army service on 25 Jul 1782 with a final payment of pay due of $37 and 34.5 cents.
21 DAR Genealogical Research System (GRS) reference document supporting DAR Record Copy Application # 810230 - Certified Record of the Town Clerk of Saybrook, Middlesex County, Connecticut, dated 8 Nov 1912
22 Ancestry.com /family- tree/person/tree for Jane Wright, un-sourced listing of 8th child
23 Ancestry.com, Connecticut Town Marriage Records pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
24 Ancestry.com Connecticut Deaths and Burials Index, 1650-1934-Asenth Dayton
25 Record of Service of Connecticut Men in the Revolution, Comp. by Authority of the General Assembly under Direction of the Adjutant General, 1889, Hartford, CT, p, 207
26 DAR Genealogical Research Databases, Reference Document supporting DAR Record Copy Application #810230
27 DAR Record Copy Application Member. #810230 – David Thompson, A-113928, Doc.#2 of 11
28 Rockland Cemetery, Madison, New Haven County Connecticut, Census of Rockland Cemetery submitted by Frederick Raudat on 28 Oct 2001 and updated on 10 Oct 2003
29 Ibid
30 Personal visit by the author of this biography to Rockland Cemetery and David and Jane Thompson’s grave
31 Ancestry.com, Connecticut Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920, Vol. 47
32 Ancestry.com, Connecticut Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices 1629-1934 for David Lynn
33 http://files.usgwarchives.net/ct/newhaven/cemeteries/rocklandcem.txt census of Rockland Cemetery by Frederick Raudat on 28 Oct 2001 and updated on 10 Oct 2003
34 B. F. O. Jameson, The Choates in America 1643-1896, John Choate and His Descendants, Chebao, Ipswich, Mass.,1896, Boston, Alfred Mudge & Sons, Printerss, p. 302
35 Ancestry.com Find-A-Grave Memorial #64220076 for David Lynn.
36 NSSAR 169834/ACN29916 Record Copy Application-David Thompson