Samuel Thomson (1714 - 1787)

Born 1714 in Ireland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 29 Apr 1787 at about age 73 in PA

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Biography

"Cumberland county was laid out in 1750 long previous to this my grand father the Rev Samuel Thomson was a Presbyterian minister stationed in this county His church as far as I can learn was a log situate on the glebe given to the church as I am told by the about two miles from Carlisle on the banks of the Conedoquinet where there are beautiful springs and the place was from circumstance called the meeting house springs The Rev Samuel married Miss Holmes the sister of Mr Andrew Holmes the of the present Mr Andrew Holmes I do not know how many he had by this marriage but one William Thomson was my Samuel Thomson lost his first wife and married a second the tombstone of his wife is yet extant in the graveyard which is still enclosed once surrounding and adjoining the church and following is the inscription thereon Here lyes the body of Janet wife of the Rev Samuel Thomson who deceased September 1744 aged 33 years. I cannot ascertain whether this is his first or second wife. No remains now exist of the log or frame church nor can I find any one living who remembers the church when in existence it must have been in disuse before 1757 when the stone meeting house in Carlisle on the north west side of the public square was commenced building Mr George Lyon has the certificate of his father dated 1752 to enable him to join the Presbyterian church" Collections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Volume 1 Page 386-387

Wife Janet Thomson

THE HISTORY: Janet Thomson was the wife of the Rev. Samuel Thomson, who was the first installed pastor of Meeting House Springs Church located two miles west of present Carlisle, and pastor of Silver Spring Church at the same time.

Janet Holmes Thomson died Sept. 29, 1744, age 33. It is believed that her gravesite is the oldest marked grave west of the Susquehanna River. She was buried under a red sandstone slab bearing an engraving of the family coat of arms that includes a helmet, gauntlet, a deer’s head and a hunting knife.

Since 1734, the Meeting House Springs Cemetery has been the final resting place of some of the earliest families to settle the county. “It’s the beginning of our history,” Richard Tritt, a member of First Presbyterian Church on the Square in Carlisle, told The Sentinel in a story published in 2015. “They were the first wave of settlers.”

There is no known cause for Thomson’s death.

Rev. Samuel married a second time to Andrew Holmes sister.

Land History

The Cumberland County Nursing Home (Claremont) is another North Middleton edifice (after 1859 it became Middlesex Township) that has historical significance. The original land owner Jonathan Holmes (1715-1803) arrived from Northern Ireland in the early 1740’s following his brother-in-law the Reverend Samuel Thompson pastor of Meeting House Springs Presbyterian Chruch. In 1773 Jonathan sold the property including 188 acres to his brother John Holmes (1725-1805) High Sheriff of Cumberland County. [The Sentinel, Carlisle, October 3, 2004] John in turn sold the property to Thomas Duncan (Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice) in 1789. Thomas Duncan gave the property to his daughter Ann Duncan Stiles wife of Edward Stiles. The farm’s mansion contained many federal architectural features similar to the Duncan-Stiles House located in Carlisle on the corner of East High and South Bedford Streets owned by Ann’s brother Stephen Duncan. In 1829, the estate was sold to the county for the purpose of having a permanent Alms House. ^[1]

Samuel was born in 1687. He passed away in 1787.

Research Notes

There does not appear to be anything to connect him to John Thomson (1690-1753).

Sources

1. ↑ http://gardnerlibrary.org/encylopedia/north-middleton-township

• This person was created through the import of 236-Cathy.ged on 20 October 2010.
• Thompson-20874 was created by Amy Woolsey through the import of Woolsey Family Tree.ged on Feb 28, 2015.

• "Maryland Births and Christenings, 1650-1995", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HYGC-MDW2 : 12 February 2020), Samuel Thomson in entry for William Thomson, 1735.

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/94774672/samuel-thompson: accessed 30 July 2023), memorial page for Rev Samuel Thompson (1687–29 Apr 1787), Find a Grave Memorial ID 94774672, citing Mountain View Cemetery, Sharpsburg, Washington County, Maryland, USA; Maintained by Linda Simpson Davidson (contributor 47842678).

• Pennsylvania, Land Warrants and Applications, 1733-1952 https://search.ancestry.com/collections/2350/records/151333