Joseph Thompson

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Joseph Thompson (c. 1703-1765) was an inhabitant of early Albemarle County.

Biography

Thompson was born around 1703 in New Kent County, Virginia. He was the son of Colonel Roger Thompson and Lucy Foster. Around 1730, he married Sarah Claiborne (1713 - 1777). The couple lived in Hanover County for some time before migrating to Goochland County.

Residing within the future boundaries of Fluvanna County (not far from Palmrya), Thompson served as a Justice of the Peace in Albemarle County in 1744-1745 and as the first sheriff of the county in 1745, a position he would retain for the next two years. On June 27, 1745 he became captain of the local militia.[1]

On May 15, 1747 Thompson was licensed to keep an ordinary at his house. On November 5, 1750 it was ordered that he be granted 800 acres in Albemarle County on both sides of the Rivanna River, with this land to be joined with 400 acres purchased from Michael Holland and 345 acres that had recently been surveyed for him.

In his will, dated October 23, 1763 and proved in April of 1765, Thompson left his plantation with 245 acres at the lower end of his tract and the majority of his slaves and personal estate to his wife Sarah so long as she remained his widow, provided for their daughter Frances, and educated their youngest sons Leonard and John. If Sarah were to remarry or die, the estate would be divided among their sons Roger, George, Leonard, and John. Roger was to be given a silver tankard and two slaves so long as he provided for Frances upon the death of Sarah, and Thompson's granddaughter Sarah Claiborne was also to be given a slave when she either became of age or married. Thompson's wife Sarah, his brother George Thompson, and his sons Roger and George were named executors of this will.[2]

Thompson died in 1765.

Physical description

In a letter authored by his son George, Thompson was described as being six feet two inches in height, weighing around 200 pounds, and possessing "more activity and strength than almost any man on earth."[3]

Family and descendants

Thompson and Sarah had nine children named Joseph, Frances, Elizabeth, Mary, Roger, George, Leonard, Anne, and John. During the Revolutionary War, Roger served as a captain in the Second Virginia and John served as a first lieutenant in the Seventh Virginia, while George and Leonard both served as lieutenants in the state militia. Frances and Mary both married members of the Woodson family.

In 1737, Roger patented nearly 300 acres on Foster's Creek in the Stony Point neighborhood. The same year, John entered more than 500 acres on the south fork of the Rivanna River, while in 1759 he patented 120 acres on Moormans River.[4]

References

  1. Web. Joseph Thompson (1703 - 1765), WikiTree, 02/14/2023
  2. Web. Claiborne of Virginia: Descendants of Colonel William Claiborne: The First Eight Generations, Gateway Press, 1995
  3. Web. A Claiborne-Thompson-Foster Family Connection, The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, April 1950
  4. Web. Albemarle County in Virginia, C.J. Carrier Company, 1901