John was born c1790 in Felixstowe
[1]
to William Thompson & Anne Clarke, baptised 01 Jun 1789 at St Peter & St Pauls, Felixstowe
[2]
John Thompson married Rachel (Gardiner) Thompson (1792-1885) 30 Jun 1812, at St Peter, Ipswich. both of the parish. witnessed by William Bird & Deborah Rushmore.
[3] Their children include:
1825 First record found of him at sea, is the record of him being Master of 'Eclipse' 65ton 56ft, registered in Ipswich
[4]
1826 Soon after he is found as the Master / part owner of the newly built 'Fortitude' of Ipswich
[5][6]
He sailed around Europe with this new ship, the shipping intelligence in newspapers paints a fairly good picture, all be it with a few holes, of where the Master and ship went: Including with arriving in Cadiz from Liverpool,
[7]
sailing from Ipswich to Liverpool with corn,
[8]
arriving to Ipswich from Beaumaris with slates,
[9]
sailing from Ipswich to Liverpool with malt,
[10]
arriving at Ipswich from Newcastle with coal,
[11]
arriving in Naples from Liverpool
[12][13]
, arriving in Lynn from Liverpool with salt
[14]
, arrival in Malta from Liverpool
[15]
... and many more similar journeys.
[16]
21 Jan 1844 arrived in Liverpool from Ipswich as master on his ship 'Fortitude' (110 ton schooner)
[17]
He passed away aged 53 on 25 Feb 1844 Mersey St, Liverpool, Lankaster, Master Mariner, abscess of the lungs
[18][19][20] Burial, March 1st, Necropolis (Low Hill Cemetery), Merseyside. grave 7857
[21]
Research
not found in 1841 census, could have been at sea on 6 June 1841.
Sources
↑ Alfred's (son) admission papers to maritime college, Greenwich Hospital School for Seamen, Nat archives, kew - ADM 73/361/4, 1834 / 1835 £50, Fathers birth in Felixstowe
↑ Ipswich Ships Register, Suffolk Records Office, Ipswich - 1825-08-09 “Eclipse” (ships reg IG2/2/1) #24 Ipswich - John Thompson Master, 65ton, 56ft x 16ft9”, built 1817-07-17 #8 , 1 deck, 1 mast, sloop, sliding bowsprit, square sterned, carvel built, w figurine head. owners - William Archer, Ips, merchant 16/64; William Webster, Ips merchant, 16/64; Samuel Webster, Ips, mariner, 8/64. re registered 1836 #79, no other masters listed
↑ Ipswich ships register, Suffolk Records Office, Ipswich - 1826-08-03 “Fortitude” (ships reg IG2/2/1, p125) #24 87 tons, John Thompson master, built in Ipswich (St Clements No 2 yard [9]) by Jabez Bayley 17th July 1826, one deck, two masts, 60’9” x 18’2”, 10’8” depth in hold, schooner, standing bowsprit, square sterned, carvel built, no galleries, a figure head, owners - William Archer 8/64; William Webster 8/64 (1830 by probate share goes to William, Joseph, James, & Samuel Webster); William Swaine, mariner, Ips, 8/64 (1832 by probate share goes to Charlotte Swain); John Thompson 8/64; Jamie Hardee, mariner, Ips, 8/64; Josiah Taylor grocer of Tooley St, Southwark, 8/64; Edward Knightly, Pudding lane, London, merchant, 8/64; Pillegrin & George Archer, lower Thames st, London, merchant mariners. 1826-09-11 BY Hamblin endorsed as master. re-registered 1833 #10
↑ Suffolk Chronicle 22 july 1826, page 2 British Newspaper Archive
- Ship Launch:
‘On Thursday last, this town, and its numerous visitors, were favoured with a delectable event in addition to the races, which have been brilliantly attended, by the launch of the fine Schooner, the Fortitude. Capt. John Thompson, from the yard of Jabez Bayley. The assemblage of persons to witness this interesting spectacle was brilliant in appearance, and as numerous as we ever recollect to have seen on any similar occasion. She went off the stocks into her native element in very fine style, amidst the reiterated cheering of the assembled multitude, and received her name from the hand of miss Jemima Smith of London, who performed the important office of stepmother with great firmness, and as the bottle left her fair hand, she exclaimed, in a very audible voice, “may prosperity ever attend the Fortitude”. After the launch, the owners, with their friends, retired to the Crown and Anchor tavern, to partake of a sumptuous entertainment given the occasion’
↑Gouache on paper, a ship portrait, Fortitude entering Naples bay, by unknown Naples Pierhead painter. found in: Finch, Roger. 1975. The Ship Painters. Lavenham England: T. Dalton. ISBN 9780900963254; (black and white copy in: Moffat, Hugh. 2002. Ships and Shipyards of Ipswich 1700-1970. Holbrook: Malthouse Press. ISBN 9780953968008)
↑ certified copy of death entry, John Thompson, aged 53 on 25 Feb 1844 Mersey St, Liverpool, Lankaster, Master Mariner, abscess of the lungs
↑Death Registration:
"England & Wales General Register Office" GRO Online Indexes - Death (accessed 24 February 2023)
Thompson, John (Age at death: 53). GRO Reference: 1844 Jan-Feb-Mar in Liverpool Volume 20 Page 400.
↑ Ipswich Journal 1844-03-02, British Newspaper Archive
'Mr. John Thompson, master of the 'Fortitude,' of this port, aged 53 years, leaving a widow and 9 children to lament the loss of a good husband & father'
↑Burial:
"England & Scotland, Select Cemetery Registers, 1800-2016"
Liverpool Record Office; Liverpool, Merseyside, England; Liverpool Cemetery Registers; Reference: 352 Cem 2/2/2 Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 9041 #4165681 (accessed 24 February 2023)
John Thompson burial (died on 25 Feb 1844 at age 53) on 1 Mar 1844, Captain, Infection of Lungs, in Necropolis (Low Hill Cemetery), Merseyside, England.
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with John by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA.
However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line.
It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with John: