The Thompson family of Troy, New York, whose ancestry is herein recorded, descended from Anthony Thompson, of England, who came to America in 1637 and is the founder of the American family of Thompson known as the New Haven branch. It is not known from what part of England he came, but as Rev. Davenport (with whom he came) had been a minister in London and Eaton, Hopkins and others had been merchants in that city, the inference is that he was a native of or near London. The name has long been known in England, Scotland and Ireland under different spellings - Tompson, Tomson, Thomson and Thompson. In a later generation the line crossed another Thompson family, not known to be related, beginning with John Thompson, of England and Stratford, Connecticut. Through this line descent is gained from Elder William Brewster of the "Mayflower," Sir Richard Saltonstall, Lion Gardiner and other famous colonial and revolutionary families. The Thompson arms: Or, on a fesse dancettee az, three etoiles ar. on a canton of the second, the sun in glory ppr. Crest: An arm erect, vested gu. cuff ar. holding in the hand ppr. five ears of wheat or. Motto: In lumine luce.
(I) Anthony Thompson with his wife (name unknown), two children, and brothers, John and William Thompson, embarked at London, England, on the ship "Hector," for America, where they arrived June 26, 1637, according to Winthrop's Journal, but according to Cotton Mather, the date was July 26, 1637. They landed at Boston. They were a part of the company which came with Governor Eaton and Rev. Davenport, dissenters from the Church of England, who left their homes to take up a residence in the new world, where they could be free from the constant persecutions which characterized the reign of Charles I. The company was composed of men of wealth and energy, and after careful selection, they decided to follow their pastor, Rev. Davenport, in his choice of location, which was Quinnipiack or New Haven, Connecticut. The Thompson brothers were allotted lands and became leading citizens. John lived at East Haven, where he died December 11, 1674. The farm he owned is said to be yet owned by descendants. He married but left no male issue. William made his will October 6, 1682, dying the same year. He resided and died in New Haven.
Anthony Thompson signed the Colonial Constitution, June 4, 1639, and appears in the original list as having shares in the first and second divisions of land. He took the oath of allegiance in 1644. His will was made March 23, 1648, shortly before his death. It was probably made "in extremis." It was drawn up by Rev. John Davenport, pastor, and Robert Newman, ruling elder of the church. He is called Brother Anthony Thompson, and seems to have been a devout member of the church. The name of his first wife is unknown. His second wife was Kathern. By first wife he had two sons and a daughter, and by the second wife, two daughters and a posthumous son. Children of Anthony Thompson, the emigrant:
- John, born in England, 1632, see forward;
- Anthony, born in England, December, 1634, died at age of twenty years;
- Bridget, born 1637, married Rev. John Bowers, of Guilford, New Haven and Derby, Connecticut;
- Anna, baptized June 8, 1645, married ————.
- Stanton;
- Lydia, baptized July 24, 1647, married, September 20, 1665, Isaac Crittenden, of Guilford;
- Ebenezer, baptized October 15, 1648, married, June, 1671, Deborah Dudley.
(II) John, eldest son of Anthony Thompson, was born in England in 1632. He is called Skipper John Thompson and John Thompson, the "Mariner." This to distinguish him from "farmer" John Thompson. He was a seafaring man and a resident of New Haven. He married Hellena ————, who died April 8, 1690. Captain John survived her until June 2, 1707. Children:
- John, born May 12, 1657; was called Lieutenant John; married Rebecca Daniel; children:
- Anna, married Thomas Ives;
- Daniel, married Mary Ball;
- Rebecca, married Caleb Mix;
- Elizabeth, married John Bassett;
- John;
- Anthony.
- William, born 1660, married Hannah Glover; children: James; Abigail; Mary, married John Hitchcock, Josiah and Benjamin.
- Joseph, born April 8, 1664; married Elizabeth Smith; children: Anna, Joseph and Ebenezer.
- Samuel, see forward.
(III) Samuel, son of Captain John and Hellena Thompson, was born in New Haven, Connecticut, May 12, 1669, died in Goshen, Connecticut, March 26, 1746. He was a highly-esteemed merchant of New Haven, but later in life removed to Goshen, where his sons Samuel and Amos had settled. He was successively sergeant, ensign, lieutenant and captain of militia. He seems to have been a man of importance. There is no record of the settlement of his estate nor of the time of his removal to Goshen. He married, November 14, 1695, Rebecca, daughter of Lieutenant-Governor Bishop. Children:
- Samuel, born December 2, 1696. He settled on the east line of the town of Stanford, Dutchess county, New York, where he built a grist mill. He married Hester Alling; children: Elizabeth, Samuel, Sarah and Esther.
- James, born June 5, 1699. He settled near his brother Samuel in Stanford. He was killed by a fall from a tree in 1737. He married Harriet Wilmot; children: Mary, James, Hezekiah, who was a lawyer of Woodbury, Connecticut, and whose son William was the first judge of Sullivan county, New York, and his son James an Episcopal clergyman of New Durham, Greene county, New York.
- Amos, see forward.
- Gideon, born December 25, 1704. He settled in Goshen, Connecticut, was deputy, and died in Hartford, Connecticut, while attending the fifth session of the assembly to which he was selected. He married Lydia Punderson; children: Elisha, Daniel, Stephen, Lydia, James, Chloe and Lois.
- Rebecca, born February 23, 1708; married ———— Austin, of New Haven.
- Judah, born June 10, 1710, died August 5, 1712.
- Judah, born August 5, 1713, lived and died in New Haven.
- Enos, born August 18, 1717, lived in New Haven. He was the grandfather of Enos Thompson Throop, charge-de-affaires to Naples and governor of the state of New York. Married Sarah Hitchcock.
A distinguished descendant of Samuel Thompson was Smith Thompson, judge of the supreme court of the United States and secretary of the navy.
(IV) Amos, third son of Samuel and Rebecca (Bishop) Thompson, was born in New Haven, Connecticut, March 3, 1702. He settled near the pond yet known as Thompson's Pond in 1746. February 3, 1737, he bid off one right in the town of Goshen, Connecticut. In 1741 he was chosen town clerk and treasurer and re-elected each year until 1750. The first meeting house built in Goshen was on his land. He married, September 7, 1726, Sarah Allen. Children:
- Allen, born June 2, 1727;
- Rebecca, April 28, 1729;
- Amos, August 7, 1731;
- Ezra, see forward;
- Mary, December 6, 1741.
(V) Ezra, youngest son of Amos and Sarah (Allen) Thompson, was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1734. He was one of the first supervisors of the town of Stanford, Dutchess county, New York, being elected in 1795, He was a gentleman farmer and had a large estate not far from the city of Poughkeepsie, New York. He married Rachel Smith. Children: Ezra, see forward; Smith, Egbert, Nathan, Tamna, Rachel, Betsey and Sally.
(VI) Ezra (2), second son of Ezra (1) and Rachel (Smith) Thompson, was born September 3, 1765, died April 3, 1829. He was a farmer and brought up his large family to habits of industry and thrift. His estate lay in Dutchess county, New York, where his children were born. He was a man of integrity, quiet, yet forceful in manner, qualities transmitted to his posterity. He married, July 13, 1786, Sallie Burton. Children:
- Huldah, born July 27, 1787;
- Polly, December 19, 1788;
- Tamna, August 28, 1790;
- Sally, August 22, 1792;
- George, March 31, 1794;
- Walter, March 4, 1796;
- John Leland, see forward;
- Rachel, born September 21, 1799;
- Julia Ann, February 8, 1802.
(VII) John Leland, seventh child and third son of Ezra (2) and Sallie (Burton Thompson, was born at Amenia, Dutchess county, New York, December 1, 1797, died at Troy, New York, March 27, 1880. He was reared on the farm and educated in the public schools. He remained at home until 1817, and in that year settled in Troy, where he began his business career as a clerk in the drug store of Dr. Samuel Gale. At this early period Dr. Gale was postmaster of Troy and the post office was located in his store. He developed remarkable business ability and in 1821 was admitted to a partnership, the firm becoming Gale & Thompson. In 1826 Dr. Gale retired from the firm and for the following fifteen years Mr. Thompson was sole proprietor. In 1841 David Cowee was admitted to the firm, and it became John L. Thompson & Company. In 1855 John Isaac and William Augustus, sons of John Leland Thompson, were admitted, and the firm name was changed to John L. Thompson Sons & Company, which still continues. For nearly sixty-three years he conducted business on the same spot, and at the time of his death was the oldest and wealthiest merchant in the city, and the business which has developed under his guidance and direction had become the third largest drug house in the state of New York. His career was one of continuous success. He began life with a capital consisting of a good education and a single silver dollar, handed him by his father as he entered the old store as a clerk, accompanying it with these words: "My son, you may require a little money before you earn any; take this." He observed the strictest integrity in all his business dealings and this rule of conduct he laid down as the guide for all his employees and associates. Besides being at the head of one of the largest wholesale drug houses in the state, he held many other positions of honor and trust. He was president of the Troy & Greenwich railroad; one of the organizers of the Troy Union Railroad Company in 1851; was a director and especially active in procuring the title to the lands purchased in Troy for the location of that road and for the site of the Union depot; was a director of the old Farmers' Bank from 1836 until that institution was merged into the United National in 1865, when he resigned; for many years was a trustee of the Troy Savings Bank, and a director of the Albany & Vermont Railroad Company. He was especially interested in the Marshall Infirmary, serving on the board of governors, and adding a great deal to the usefulness and prosperity of that institution. He was a Democrat in politics, although never active in political affairs, but was always interested in the welfare and growth of the city whose prosperity he did so much to promote. He was a lifelong attendant at church services, although not a communicant until late in life, when he joined St. Paul's Church, whose services for years previous he had rarely failed to attend both morning and evening. He was always devoted to and practiced the highest principles of morality and virtue. He heartily supported the Washingtonian temperance movement of 1840 and, always previously strictly temperate, from that date forward he became a total abstainer, declaring that no one should ever refer to him as an evil example. He was equally opposed to the use of tobacco in any form. During his last illness, when his articulation had become indistinct, one of his sons, after careful listening, caught the following sentence: "You will never make a success in life without sterling integrity." And in this sentence may be found the keynote of his life. He died at the age of eighty-three years and is buried at Oakwood cemetery, Troy. He married, August 17, 1829, at New London, Connecticut, Mary Perkins Thompson. Children:
- John Isaac, born April 2, 1831, see forward;
- William Augustus, February 2, 1834, see forward;
- Mary Elizabeth, May 14, 1838, deceased;
- George Smith, February 14, 1840;
- Robert Hallam, August 16, 1845;
- James Leland, September 17, 1847;
- Rev. Walter, January 12, 1851;
- Edward Ray, March 19, 1854, now deceased.
(VIII) John Isaac, eldest child of John Leland and Mary Perkins (Thompson) Thompson, was born in Troy, April 2, 1831, died in San Francisco, California, October 16. 1901, while attending the general convention of the Protestant Episcopal church as deputy, representing the Albany diocese. He was educated at a private school in Poughkeepsie, New York, and at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He entered business life immediately upon leaving college and became a member of the wholesale drug house of John L. Thompson Sons & Company, and for many years prior to his death was the senior member of the firm founded by his father. He inherited the sterling qualities of his sire, and under his wise and progressive management the business retained its former prestige and continued a most successful institution. He ranked among the ablest of Troy's business men. Among his varied outside interests was the Troy City National Bank, now the Security Trust Company, which he served as a director for many years. He was also on the board of directors of the Albany & Vermont and the Troy & Greenbush railroad companies, both now a part of the Delaware & Hudson system. For many years he was a trustee of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and was always a warm and useful friend of this institution. He was a devout churchman, which may be said to have been the greatest interest of his life. He was a member of the vestry of St. Paul's Episcopal Church for many years, his death terminating long years of service as a senior warden. His services to the church were both local and national. With his wife he started the little chapel on Green Island, now St. Mark's Episcopal Church. He was also one of the chief organizers of St. Paul's Free Chapel, now St. Barnabas Episcopal Church. Both of these chapels were placed on a firm financial basis through the efforts and liberality of Mr. Thompson and wife. Until they became separate parishes he served both as a trustee. In the renovation and enlargement of the mother church, St. Paul's, he was active in pushing the work, raising funds to which he was a persistent contributor. For many years he was a trustee of the Church Home in Troy. In diocesan affairs he was both active and prominent. He was a member of the General Board of Missions of the Church, representing the Albany diocese. He gave freely of his time, means and business judgment to the welfare of his church, and was a leading spirit in church councils. Of an independent mind in political affairs, his announced preference was for the Democratic party. He was always actively interested in the Troy Citizens Corp, holding the rank of lieutenant. As paymaster, he served on the brigade staff with the rank of captain. For many years he retained an active interest in the corp and gave it his loyal, substantial support, retaining his membership in the senior company until his death. His clubs were the New York Yacht and the Troy, serving the latter for many years as a director. He was a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants and of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Alumni Association. His long and useful life terminated while engaged actively in the work of the church to which he was devoted. Mr. Thompson married, January 29, 1861, Mary Mabbett Warren, born May 6, 1838. Child: Hobart Warren, see forward, and Mary Warren, wife of Edward C. Gale.
(VIII) William Augustus, second son of John Leland and Mary Perkins (Thompson) Thompson was born in Troy, New York, February 2, 1834, died in that city, February 15, 1903. He was educated at a private school in Poughkeepsie and at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and upon leaving college was admitted to the wholesale drug firm of John L. Thompson Sons & Company, and was intimately associated with his father and elder brother in the management and development of the very large business transacted by that firm, one of the three largest wholesale drug houses of the state of New York, his business ability and acumen making him a powerful factor in the same. He presented in his quiet and unobtrusive way a phase of successful business life which we do not often see, and one that illustrates the fundamental principles of a true life, whatever the forms its enterprise assumes. Permanent success does not grow out of mere activity, perseverance and judicious action, but personal virtue combined with these. Probably the greatest compliment that can be paid him is that he made himself an honor to the great commercial world, as well as a credit to the mercantile community in which he lived. His business transactions were conducted on the principles of strict integrity, and he fulfilled to the letter every trust committed to him. He had many and varied business interests outside John L. Thompson Sons & Company. He was vice-president and director of the Troy Savings Bank; vice-president of the United National Bank; director of the Security Trust Company; president of the Troy & New England Railroad Company, which road he was foremost in promoting and building; director of Troy Gas Company. He was always active in the business enterprises that promised greater prosperity for Troy, and gave loyal support to all church and benevolent institutions. He was trustee of the Troy Public Library, of the Day Home, and of the Church Home. His religious home was St. John's Episcopal Church, which he served as a member of the vestry for over a quarter of a century. He was of strong religious convictions and gave the church generous and loyal support. Politically he was a Republican. He manifested a great interest in the Citizens Corp, of which he was an enlisted member for many years, belonging to the "Old Guard." He was a charter member of the present Citizens Corp and supported it most liberally. His club was the Troy. He was a member of the Sons of the Revolution, and regent of William Floyd Chapter of Troy.
Mr. Thompson married, June 18, 1863, Harriette Clarkson Crosby, born in Watervliet, New York, September 9, 1843, died at her home in Saratoga, June 18, 1895, daughter of Clarkson Floyd Crosby, born in Troy, died in that city, February 15, 1893, married Angelica Schuyler; granddaughter of William Bedloe Crosby. Children:
- Clarkson Crosby, born October 12, 1867, married Elizabeth Winters.
- William Leland, see forward.
- Schuyler Floyd, born April 13, 1875.
- Angelica Schuyler, married, April 28, 1903, Elbert Scranton Platt; child:
- Elbert Scranton, born March 20, 1904.
(IX) Major Hobart Warren, only son of John Isaac and Mary Mabbett (Warren) Thompson, was born in Troy, April 2, 1862. He was educated in the Selleck school in Norwalk, Connecticut, where he prepared for college. He entered Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, where he was graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1883, and received the degree of Master of Arts in 1886. He took a post-graduate course at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, which completed his collegiate career. He began his business life with the John L. Thompson Sons & Company, where he remained two years. In 1885 the John L. Thompson Chemical Company was incorporated, with Hobart Warren Thompson as secretary and treasurer. The business of the company was the manufacture of chemicals. Their plant on Green Island continued in successful operation until 1890, when the business was purchased by the Nichols Chemical Company. Mr. Thompson continued with the Nichols Company as general manager of the works at Troy until 1898, when they were absorbed by the General Chemical Company of New York. He remained with the new owners as superintendent and manager until 1907, when he retired. The works at Troy were then abandoned by the General Chemical Company and have not since been operated. In 1907, as treasurer of the Sirocco Engineering Company, he engaged in the manufacture of ventilating fans, continuing in that business for about a year, when the company was absorbed by the American Blower Company. He is director of the Troy & Greenbush, Saratoga & Schenectady, and Albany & Vermont railroad companies; trustee of the Troy Orphan Asylum; treasurer and director of the Troy Boys' Club. He is an active churchman, being vestryman of St. Paul's Church since 1902; member of the standing committee of the diocese of Albany; secretary of the committee on bishop's salary; and other important diocesan committees. He was an enlisted member of the Troy Citizens Corp for three years; appointed on brigade staff with the rank of captain, later was promoted major and quartermaster, serving altogether six years. In 1910 he became supernumerary. His clubs are: Troy Citizens Corp, senior company, Sons of the Revolution, William Floyd Chapter; Society of Colonial Wars; Troy Club of Troy; University Club of New York; Trinity College Alumni Association; I. K. A. fraternity, Trinity College. Politically he is independent. He married, April 16, 1895, Grace McLeod, born May 26, 1870. Children:
- Hobart W., Jr., born February 20, 1897;
- Marion McLeod, born May 29, 1899.
(IX) Captain William Leland (2), second son of William Augustus and Harriette Clarkson (Crosby) Thompson, was born in Troy, New York, April 4, 1871. He was educated at the Albany Boys' Academy, and prepared for college under private tutors. He entered Harvard University, where he was graduated Bachelor of Arts in the class of 1893. He was admitted to the J. L. Thompson wholesale drug firm, established as a retail store in Troy in 1797. In 1903 the business was incorporated as J. L. Thompson Sons & Company, and William Leland was chosen treasurer of the corporation. He has always shown a lively interest in public and military affairs. He is a director of the Security Trust Company, United National Bank, Troy Savings Bank, and Young Men's Christian Association, trustee of the Public Library, the Emma Willard School (Troy Female Seminary), the Samaritan Hospital. In 1906 he was a member of the city board of education, and in 1908 was chosen president of the board. He is an active Republican and has been the choice of his party as candidate for the state legislature. He is a member of St. John's Episcopal Church and since 1903 a vestryman. His military career has extended over many years. He enlisted in the Troy Citizens Corp in 1896. During the Spanish-American war he enlisted as a private of Company C, Second Regiment, United States Volunteer Infantry. He was commissioned second lieutenant of Company B, Second Infantry, and second lieutenant of the Two Hundred and First Regiment, in 1898, and served as aide on the staff of Brigadier-General Charles F. Roe. In 1899 he was commissioned second lieutenant of Company C, Second Regiment, New York National Guard, promoted first lieutenant in 1900, and captain in 1904. From 1901 to 1905 he served on the staff of Governor Odell. He is a member of the Society of Foreign Wars, Sons of the Revolution and St. Nicholas Society. His clubs are the Troy, the Union of New York, the Army and Navy, and the Harvard of New York City. His Harvard University clubs and societies are: The Hasty Pudding, Dickey, Zeta Psi and Institute of 1770. He married, January 6, 1909, Martha Groome, of Philadelphia, and has William Leland, born December 4, 1909.
(The Thompson Line)
Mary Perkins (Thompson) Thompson, had distinguished ancestry, beginning with the emigrant, John Thompson, born 1582, died in 1678. He married in England, Mirable ————. He settled in Stratford, Connecticut, about 1640.
(II) Ambrose, son of John and Mirable Thompson, married Sarah, daughter of John Welles, and granddaughter of colonial Governor Thomas Welles, of Connecticut.
(III) Deacon John (2), son of Ambrose and Sarah (Welles) Thompson, married, 1705, Ruth, daughter of Benjamin Curtis, granddaughter of John Curtis, and great-granddaughter of William Curtis, who came from England in 1632 on the ship "Lion," married Elizabeth ————, and was a man of great prominence.
(IV) John (3), son of Deacon John (2) and Ruth (Curtis) Thompson, married, 1739, Mehitable Booth.
(V) Lieutenant William, son of John (3) and Mehitable (Booth) Thompson, was born October 29, 1742. The inscription on his tombstone in the Congregational burying ground in Stratford reads: "Sacred to the memory of Lieutenant William Thompson, who fell in battle bravely fighting for the liberty of his country in the memorable action at Ridgefield, 27th of April, 1777, when a handful of intrepid Americans withstood some thousands of British troops till, overpowered with numbers, he fell a victim to British tyranny and more than savage cruelty in the 38th year of his age. He lived beloved and died universally lamented, and his body being removed from the place of action, was here deposited with military honors." He married, October 14, 1762, Mehitable Ufford.
(VI) Isaac, son of Lieutenant William and Mehitable (Ufford) Thompson, was born August 24, 1775, died March 2, 1852. He married, January, 5, 1800, Catherine Mumford, and they are the parents of Mary Perkins (Thompson) Thompson.
Mehitable (Ufford) Thompson was a daughter of Lieutenant Samuel and Elizabeth (Curtis) Ufford, granddaughter of John and Hannah (Hawley) Ufford, and great-granddaughter of Thomas Ufford, the emigrant, who came to America from England in 1632 on the ship "Lion," settled in Stratford, Connecticut, where he died in 1650. His wife was Isabel Gardiner.
(The Gardiner Line)
Jerusha (Gardiner) Christophers, great-grandmother of Mary Perkins (Thompson) Thompson, was a descendant of Lion Gardiner, first proprietor of Gardiner's Island, born 1599, died 1663. He was originally an engineer in the service of Prince William of Orange. He married Mary Williamson.
(II) David, son of Lion and Mary (Williamson) Gardiner, married Mary Beringham.
(III) John, son of David and Mary (Beringham) Gardiner, married, June 24, 1657, Mary, daughter of William King, of Southold, New Jersey.
(IV) John (2), son of John (1) and Mary (King) Gardiner, married, May 16, 1716 Sarah, daughter of Governor Gurdon and Jerusha (Richards) Saltonstall, and maternal granddaughter of James and Sarah (Gibbons) Richards, of Hartford. James Richards was assistant, 1665, a man of large landed estate. Sarah Saltonstall was a granddaughter of Colonel Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Ward) Saltonstall. Elizabeth was a daughter of Rev. John Ward, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and granddaughter of Rev. Nathaniel Ward, author of the "Cobbler of Agawam," "whose wit," says Mather's "Magnalia," [i.e., Cotton Mather's Magnalia Christi Americana, or, The Ecclesiastical History of New-England] "made him known to more English than one."
(V) Jerusha, daughter of John (2) and Sarah (Saltonstall) Gardiner, married, May 7, 1741, John Christophers. They are the grandparents of Mary Perkins (Thompson) Thompson.
(The Brewster Line)
The "Mayflower" descent of the Thompson family is through Mary Perkins Thompson, wife of John Leland Thompson, grandparents of the present generation. The two families of Thompson that were united in that manner were not related so far as known. The line traces in one direction to Elder William Brewster, of the "Mayflower," 1620, ruling elder and spiritual guide of the Pilgrim Fathers, one of the most prominent figures in colonial history.
(II) Jonathan, eldest son of Elder William and Mary Brewster, settled on the Thames above New London, Connecticut.
(III) Elizabeth, daughter of Jonathan and Lucretia Brewster, married, about 1654, Peter Bradley.
(IV) Lucretia, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Brewster) Bradley, married, June 26, 1681, Judge Richard Christophers.
(V) Judge Christopher, son of Judge Richard and Lucretia (Bradley) Christophers, married Sarah Prout.
(VI) John, son of Judge Christopher and Sarah (Prout) Christophers, married, in 1741, Jerusha Gardiner.
(VII) Lucretia, daughter of John and Jerusha (Gardiner) Christophers, married, 1770, John Mumford, of Newport, Rhode Island.
(VIII) Catherine, daughter of John and Lucretia (Christophers) Mumford, born August 22, 1777, died August 20, 1816, married, January 5, 1800, Isaac Thompson, of Stratford and New London, Connecticut, born August 24, 1775, died March 2, 1852.
(IX) Mary Perkins, daughter of Isaac and Catherine (Mumford) Thompson, born August 24, 1809, died February 24, 1892, married, August 17, 1829, John Leland Thompson, founder of J. L. Thompson Sons & Company, and grandfather of the present Troy families (1910).
(The Saltonstall Line)
Jerusha Gardiner, wife of John Christophers, descended from Sir Richard Saltonstall, born 1586, came from England to America in 1630. In 1664 he was English ambassador to Holland, where Rembrandt painted his famous portrait. He was a son of Samuel Saltonstall, Lord Mayor of London.
[Researcher Sallie Brayton Saltonstall points out that Samuel Saltonstall was not Lord Mayor of London, which is confirmed by the Office of Lord Mayor. She writes, "Sir Richard Saltonstall, son of Gilbert Saltonstall, was Lord Mayor in 1597, dying in 1601, twenty nine years before his nephew, another Sir Richard Saltonstall joined the Winthrop Fleet and travelled to the Americas in 1630. Gilbert Saltonstall was the father of Sir Richard Saltonstall the Lord Mayor, and Sir Samuel Saltonstall. Sir Samuel Saltonstall was the father of Sir Richard Saltonstall of Watertowne."]
(II) Richard, son of Sir Richard and Grace (Kays) Saltonstall, was deputy and assistant and privy to the concealment of the regicide judge. He married, 1632, Muriel Gurdon.
(III) Colonel Nathaniel, son of Richard and Muriel (Gurdon) Saltonstall, was assistant, 1679-86. Married, 1663, Elizabeth Ward.
(IV) Governor Gurdon, son of Colonel Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Ward) Saltonstall, was governor of Massachusetts elected in 1706. Married Jerusha Richards.
(V) Sarah, daughter of Governor Gurdon and Jerusha (Richards) Saltonstall, married, 1716, John Gardiner, a merchant of New London, Connecticut.
(VI) Jerusha, daughter of John and Sarah (Saltonstall) Gardiner married, March 7, 1741, John Christophers, and they were the grandparents of Mary Perkins (Thompson) Thompson, wife of John Leland Thompson, of Troy.