Samuel Thompson (1777 - bef. 1838)

Born 23 Feb 1777 in Prince Edward Co, Virginia, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (McAllister) Thompson — married 27 Dec 1802 in Logan Co, Kentucky, USA

Descendants

Died before 26 Mar 1838 before age 61 in Logan Co, Kentucky, USA

Biography

Samuel Thompson was born 23 Feb 1777 in Prince Edward County Virginia to Thomas Thompson and Nancy Waddill Carter. Samuel's birth is recorded in the family Bible record of his brother Carter Thompson. ^{[1] [2]}

Samuel first appears in Capt. John Morton's tax district in the Prince Edward County household of his father in 1793^[3] at the age of sixteen -- the minimum age to owe taxes on personal property in Virginia at that time. The appearance on the 1793 tax list is consistent with the birth date and year recorded for Samuel in his brother Carter Thompson's family Bible. His last appearance on the Prince Edward County list of tithables was 1799.^[4]

Samuel married Elizabeth McAllister 27 Dec 1802 in Logan County, Kentucky.^[5] He was the first of Thomas Thompson's children to move from Prince Edward County, Virginia to Logan County, Kentucky.

Samuel likely was introduced to his wife Elizabeth McAllister, of Campbell County, Virginia by his brother James' wife, Sarah Steele Baker Thompson. Sarah was Elizabeth McAllister's aunt. Elizabeth's mother was Sarah's sister Mary Steele, who was born March 30, 1759, and married James McAllister in Campbell County on May 16, 1782, with consent provided “by Alexander Steele, father of the bride.” ^[6] Samuel probably migrated to Kentucky with members of the McAllister, Steele, Helm, and McReynolds families -- all of whom were members of the Concord Presbyterian Church (often referred to as the "Old Concord" Presbyterian Church) in Campbell County.

The Old Concord church was closely allied with the Scot-Irish Buffalo Presbyterian Church of western Prince Edward County; among its members was John C. Thompson, son of the notable Scot-Irish Presbyterian minister Rev. John Thomson, who founded the Buffalo Presbyterian Church. A brief history of Old Concord Presbyterian Church appears in the book Lest It Be Forgotten: a Scrapbook of Campbell County, Virginia. This source lists many of the families with which Samuel and his brother James associated, including Helms, McReynolds, Samuel Thompson's wife's family of McAllisters, the Hays family that was prominent in Butler County, Kentucky, the Steele family to which belonged the wife of Samuel Thompson's brother James Thompson, Carsons, and the Dixon family which brought suit in 1826 in Campbell County against Samuel and James Thompson and, respectively, the Thompson brothers' McAllister and Steele wives. ^[7]

Some of the Campbell County families are studied in the book Moses Helm,^[8] written by Bob Law in 1999 and updated with a second edition called Moses Helm II. ^[9]

Elizabeth McAllister Thompson was born in 1764 or 1765, the first child of James McAllister and Mary Steele. She last appears on the census in 1850 (age 65) in Logan County with her unmarried sons Alexander and John. The birth state for the sons was Kentucky, while Elizabeth was born in Virginia. ^[10]

Bob Law's list (Family J60, Coordinator: Bob Law, Nashville, TN) of Elizabeth McAllister's family members includes her husband Samuel Thompson, and is available in the online Journal of Clan Allister of America.^[11]

Primary sources and other materials on the family of Elizabeth McAllister Thompson's parents James McAllister and Mary Steele can be found in four manuscript folders in the Moses Helm Collection at the Manuscripts & Folklife Archives, Western Kentucky University, in Bowling Green, Kentucky.^[12] This collection was microfilmed by the Family History Library at Salt Lake City, Utah as the Moses Helm Family Research Papers. ^[13]

Samuel in Logan County deeds

Thomas Thompson's sons Carter and Samuel and son-in-law Seth Colley in 1811 deed

Samuel and his brother Carter, along with their brother-in-law Seth Colley sold a slave in Logan County in 1811 to Presley Edwards. ^[14]

Land purchase from John Hill Grinter

In the 1830s (last digit of date is uncertain) Samuel purchased 100 acres on Big Muddy Creek from John Hill Grinter who, like Samuel, was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia. The Thompson and Grinter families were members of the Buffalo Presbyterian Church in Virginia until they and other Buffalo Church families migrated to the western parts of Kentucky and Tennessee in various waves from about 1790 to 1810. ^[15]

Deeds relating to the settlement of Samuel's estate

Samuel's son Beverly Allen Thompson and his wife Catherine (Kitty) Simmons sold their interest in their portion of Samuel's estate to William Barnett, the administrator of Samuel's estate. ^[16]

Samuel's son Thomas Thompson was party to a deed involving William Barnett and Robert Neeley relating to Samuel's estate. ^[17]

Two deeds recorded on consecutive pages in Logan County "Deed Book X" in December of 1839 made between Samuel's widow Elizabeth McAllister Thompson and the fifteen heirs (including minor children) mentioned in Samuel's probate record (see below) comprise the final reckoning of Samuel's estate, which included 260 acres of land on Big Muddy Creek. Each deed is signed first by Samuel's two eldest surviving sons Carter and Beverly Allen, with Samuels first-born son Thomas having recently died and being absent from the deeds. ^{[18] [19]}

Samuel Thompson Probate Record

Samuel died intestate sometime before March 26, 1838, when his son Thomas executed a contract with Robert Neeley which mentioned that Samuel was deceased. ^[20] Samuel's estate was probated on October 15, 1839: "In a petition to the court to allow sale of 260 acres and 3 Negroes for division, the following are named: Elizabeth Thompson, widow; Thomas, Carter, and Beverly A. Thompson, sons; Eliza Hutchison, now wife of John Hutchison, Nancy Simmons, now wife of William H. Simmons, and Sally Epley, now Mrs. David Epley, daughters; and infant children under the guardianship of William Barnett, to wit, James, Alexander, Mary, and John Thompson, sons and daughter." The record also mentions that since the death of Samuel Thompson, his son Thomas had also departed this life and that Robert Neely was appointed guardian of his infant children, to wit, Eliza Jane, George Henry, and Elizabeth, and Polly Thompson, widow. Filed 15 Oct 1839. Died intestate. Adm.: William Barnett. ^[21]

Cyrus Thompson on the Steele family in Kentucky

Cyrus Thompson, the stepson of Mary Steele's sister Sarah Steele Baker Thompson wrote the following in 1898 about the many sons and daughters, including Mary Steele, of Alexander Steele and his wife Elizabeth Carson Helm that migrated from Campbell County, Kentucky to Logan and Trigg counties, Kentucky around the year 1800:

My Mother's family the Steeles several brothers came West about the same time as My Father [James Thompson], some Settling in Kentucky and Some in Tennessee. One brother Doctor Moses Steele an Eminent Physician settled in Hopkinsville and reared a reputable family of Sons, viz William, Rezin D., James, Doctor . . . and Dr. Moses Steele, the latter Father to this young Man Who Married Miss Watson, Your Cousin, all of whom are dead. Elizabeth Steele, My Mother's Sister Married Oliver McReynolds and they Came to Kentucky and Settled in Christian Co. in about 1830-- they were the Mothers and Fathers of Robt S. and Oliver McReynolds as well as of Doct. James A. and Mrs. Geo. P. Street Who lived, and died in [. . .] I believe leaving Several Children Each. . . Mrs. James S. McAllister --now Dead (the Mother of the McAllisters about Cadiz) was one other [Steele] Daughter, and Mrs. Oliver McReynolds of Christian Co., Now I believe dead, was another [Steele] Daughter. The Sons all Came South to Louisiana and Texas and they too have all died. ^[22]

Brothers Samuel and James Thompson and their wives in Campbell County, Virginia lawsuit, 1826

In 1826, a Campbell County, Virginia chancery case (Samuel Dixon, etc. v. Mary Carson, etc.)^[23] involving the estate of Jane Helm -- the childless sister of Elisabeth McAllister Thompson's grandmother Elisabeth (Helm) Carson Steele -- included Samuel Thompson and his wife Elizabeth McAllister as well as Samuel's brother James Thompson of Trigg County and his wife Sarah (Steele) Baker Thompson, who was the sister of Elizabeth McAllister Thompson's mother Mary (Steele) McAllister.

Among the documents in the case are newspaper legal notices which mention the Thompson brothers and their wives, then living in Kentucky, and a list of the children of Elizabeth McAllister Thompson's mother (Elizabeth, William and Jane). Elizabeth's mother Mary Steele McAllister ("Mary McAllister, dec.") was listed near the top left corner of the page as one of the children of Elizabeth Steele. ^[24]

In addition to the Virginia lawsuit, Samuel Thompson and his wife Elizabeth's father James McAllister were named as co-defendants in an 1817 lawsuit in Logan County. ^[25]

Many of the relatives mentioned in the Jane Helm lawsuit are the same persons and their descendants Cyrus Thompson mentioned in the above section.

Sources

1. ↑ The Online Thompson Book referencing Carter Thompson's Holy Bible [1]
2. ↑ Thompson, Barney, (1995) The Thompson Family of Prince Edward County, Virginia, Butler and Trigg Counties, Kentucky, and the Florida Parishes of Louisiana: The Descendants of Thomas Thompson, 1740-1810. http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~bhusler/genealogy/Bill/Surname_Sources/Thompson/~barneyt/book.htm
3. ↑ Prince Edward County, Virginia. Personal property tax lists 1782-1809. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS79-1SVH-L?i=376&cat=693155
4. ↑ Prince Edward County, Virginia. Personal property tax lists 1782-1809. https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/693155?availability=Family%20History%20Library
5. ↑ Ancestry.com. Kentucky, Compiled Marriages, 1802-1850 [2]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1997.
6. ↑ Ricks, Joel. Campbell County, Virginia marriage bonds, 1781-1854. p. 78 see image: https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/McAllister-2316
7. ↑ Historical Committee of the Bicentennial Commission of Campbell County, Virginia. Lest it be forgotten : a scrapbook of Campbell County, Virginia. Salt Lake City, Utah : Digitized by FamilySearch International, 2015. Pages 27-28. see image: https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Thompson-3117-8
8. ↑ Moses Helm. https://www.worldcat.org/title/moses-helm/oclc/289266580&referer=brief_results
9. ↑ Moses Helm II. https://www.worldcat.org/title/moses-helm-ii/oclc/440839321&referer=brief_results
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M656-CJ5 : 12 April 2016), Elizabeth Thompson, Logan county, part of, Logan, Kentucky, United States; citing family 570, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
11. ↑ Journal of Clan Allister of America. https://www.clanmcalister.org/online/v2017-3/vol27-3.html
12. ↑ Helm Collection. MSS 616. https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5343&context=dlsc_mss_fin_aid
13. ↑ Moses Helm Family Research Papers. https://www.worldcat.org/title/moses-helm-family-research-papers/oclc/866519232&referer=brief_results
14. ↑ Deeds, 1792-1964, 1973-1992. Logan County (Kentucky). Clerk of the County Court. United States & Canada Film. #364582. Vols. B-C 1806-1813. Vol. C, page 357. see https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Thompson-3117-4
15. ↑ Deeds, 1792-1964, 1973-1992. Logan County (Kentucky). Clerk of the County Court. United States & Canada Film. #364591. Vols. W-X 1838-1842. Vol. X, page 28. see image: https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Thompson-3151-5
16. ↑ Deeds, 1792-1964, 1973-1992. Logan County (Kentucky). Clerk of the County Court. United States & Canada Film. #364591. Vols. W-X 1838-1842. Vol. W, page 293. see image: https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Thompson-3151-5
17. ↑ Deeds, 1792-1964, 1973-1992. Logan County (Kentucky). Clerk of the County Court. United States & Canada Film. #364590. Vols. U-V 1834-1838. Vol. V, page 529. see image: https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Thompson-42284
18. ↑ Deeds, 1792-1964, 1973-1992. Logan County (Kentucky). Clerk of the County Court. United States & Canada Film. #364591. Vols. W-X 1838-1842. Vol. X, page 31-32. see image: https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Thompson-3117-6
19. ↑ Deeds, 1792-1964, 1973-1992. Logan County (Kentucky). Clerk of the County Court. United States & Canada Film. #364591. Vols. W-X 1838-1842. Vol. X, page 32-34. see image: https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Thompson-3117-7
20. ↑ Deeds, 1792-1964, 1973-1992. Logan County (Kentucky). Clerk of the County Court. United States & Canada Film. #364591. Vols. U-V 1834-1838. Vol. V, page 529. see image: https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Thompson-42284
21. ↑ Logan County, KY, Equity Box 52, Case number 1288:
22. ↑ See Appendix, p. 68. Barney Thompson (ed.). Pioneers of Trigg County, Kentucky. http://www.westernkyhistory.org/trigg/Pioneers.txt
23. ↑ Library of Virginia. Chancery Records Index. Campbell County. Samuel Dixon v. Mary Carson. Index Number 1827-00. https://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=031-1827-001
24. ↑ see image: https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Thompson-3117-1
25. ↑ Familysearch.org. Equity case files index, 1802-1640. Kentucky. Circuit Court (Logan County). Frankfort, Kentucky : Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives, 1993. Index, 1802-1940 - Rose, J.B.-Watkins, Bailey. DGS 7646491.