General Notes

John Thomson Sr. and Sarah (?) were an ancestor of U.S. President Willi
am Howard Taft.  He was christened on 5 January 1619 in Plymouth, St. Andr
ew's Parish, Devonshire, England. He was the son of Governor David Thoms
on and Amyes Colle. He was noted as "infant" or under-age in legal ter
ms in 1628. He was sent away to apprentice as a seaman in 1633 in Englan
d. He married Sarah (?) before 1642 in Weymouth, Massachusetts. He call
ed Samuel Maverick (his step-father) "father" in a notarial record in 1646
.11 He had confirming evidence of his right to the island (Thompson's) giv
en by General Court in 1648. He lived in 1648 in Weymouth, Massachusett
s. He appeared in court proceedings undertaken to regain possession of Tho
mson's Island from Dorchester on 3 May 1648. Hepledged to two Bristol mer
chants the island for a large sum, payable in codfish at Marblehead or Is
le of Shoals in April 1650.8 He was admitted Freeman in 1653 in Weymout
h, Massachusetts.8 He lost Thompson Island by foreclosure ofa mortga
ge to two Bristolmerchants on 15 February 1657.He testified in Court, as w
itness to a will, andsaid that he was age about forty years on 21 Octob
er 1659. He obtained a grantand was one of the 15 heads of families who se
ttled in Mendon in 1664 in Mendon, Massachusetts.13 He was made Selectm
an to order the prudential affairs of the Freemen and inhabitants on 7 Ju
ne 1667 in Mendon, Massachusetts.14 He and John Thomson Jr. signed a docum
ent relating to provisions for Reverend Joseph Emerson of Concord, the fir
st settled minister of the town on 1 December 1669 in Mendon, Massachusett
s. He and John Thomson Jr. abandonded the town of Mendon (thereafter burn
ed by the Indians in early 1676) with his family, taking refuge in the rel
ative safety of the towns further east circa December 1675.15 He and Jo
hn Thomson Jr. were among the first of the original families to retu
rn to Mendoncirca July 1677. He left a will on 27 March 1684 in Mendon, Ma
ssachusetts; "inthe name of the Lord, Amen. I, John Thompson, Sr. of the t
own of Mendon. beingsensible of my own bodily weakness and infirmities, t
he manifest alarms of my hastening and approaching dissolution, acknowled
ge with all the humble thankfullness divine goodness, affording such an op
portunity whilst blest with disposing mind to set my house in order befo
re my Earthly Tabernacle is dissolved, do make and constitute this my la
st last Will and Testament.Item: I give unto my beloved and loving wife, S
arah Thompson. whose great love and pains I pray God tobe rewarded, ten po
unds, to be paid by my executor after my decease.Item: To my beloved daugh
ter, Mihitabel Haywood, the wife of Samuel Hayward, I give and bequeath t
he sum of, ten shillings, to be paid by my executor within a full yearaft
er my decease.Item: To my beloved son-in-law John Aldrich, I give and bequ
eath the sum of, five shillings to be paid by my Executor within a full ye
ar after my decease.Item: I constitute and appoint my beloved and dutif
ul son, John Thompson, my sole executor, to whom (all debts and legacie
s, forementioned excepted) I give and bequeath all my lands, chattels, hou
sehold goods, wearing apparel, and whatever estate I dye seized of."Sign
ed JOHN THOMPSON, Sr.Signed the 27th of March 1684 in presence of Joseph W
hite and Josiah Chapin. He died on 9November 1685 in Mendon, Massachusett
s, at age 66 years, 10 months and 4 days. His estate was probated on 27 Ap
ril 1686 in Boston, Massachusetts