Samuel Thompson (abt. 1741 - 1794)

Born about 1741 in Greenmount, County Antrim, Ireland

Ancestors

Husband of Anne (Heyliger) Thompson — married 10 Dec 1774 (to 9 Apr 1794) in Sint Eustatius, Danish West Indies

Died 9 Apr 1794 at about age 53 in Westminster St James, Middlesex, England

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Biography

Samuel Thompson was born in Ireland.

This profile is part of the Thompson Name Study.

Samuel was born about 1741. He was the son of Thomas and Eleanor Thompson.^[1]

Samuel was responsible for his father's plantations in St. Croix. He was listed as the co-owner with his father of Mount Stewart Estate in the North Side Quarter A in the 1772 land tax.^[2] By 1774, he was listed as the sole owner of Mt Stewart.^[3]

He married Anne Heyliger, widow of Antoinne Poyen de Lance, in December 1774 in St. Eustatius, Danish West Indies. They had five children together.^[4] Their children were:

1. Anne, b. bef. 1778
2. Elinor, b. bef. 1778
3. Mary, b. bef. 1778
4. Thomas, b. abt. 1780
5. Louisa, b. abt. 1788

All born in the Danish West Indies (Island of St. Croix)

The 1778 Land tax for Bettys Hope Estate listed Samuel, Anne, and three daughters living on the estate.^[5]

In the 1780 St Croix Land Tax for Bettys Hope Estate, Samuel and Anne were living there, with their daughter Mary and son Thomas.^[6]

In April 1785, Samuel and Anne made a joint Will, which named their children, as well as several of the people whom they had enslaved. The Will package indicates that Samuel owned a plantation called, "Betty's Hope," and it was in his Will that his wife should live on the estate after his decease. The Will also lists the date and place of their marriage, and names the children living at that time. Anne's portion of the Will also names her first husband.^[4] This plantation was not the famous one on the island of Antigua, but a smaller one in the Prince's Quarter, on St Croix.^[7]

They added their first joint codicil to the will when Anne was expecting their fifth child in 1788, in the hope that it would be a boy. It seems their only son, Thomas, was somehow mentally or physically impaired, and they did not want him to have to inherit the bulk of the estate, along with the responsibilities that would entail.^[4]

They added their second joint codicil in 1792, reapportioning their estate among the daughters, and providing for their "unfortunate son."^[4]

Finally, Samuel added a third codicil, of his own, on the eighth day of April 1794. This one appointed his sister Eleanor Thompson as guardian of his daughters, "as my wife is most likely to remain in this country" (that is: St Croix). It also set an annuity for his sister in order to care for the daughters.^[4]

He had returned to England, with his children, before writing that third codicil. The probate of his will, dated 23 May 1794, states that he was "of the Island of St. Croix in the West Indies but in Saint James Street in the parish of Saint James Westminster in the County of Middlesex" at the time of his death, which was the day following this codicil. There was some trouble in verifying the final codicil, but it was at last accepted. The final probate date is 24 November 1796.^[4]

• Will of Samuel and Anne Thompson

Slaves

• Slaves owned by Samuel Thompson
• Mount Stewart Estate
• Bettys Hope Plantation

Research Notes

• The 1880 census of St. Croix places the plantation "Betty's Hope" in the Prince's Quarter 53, still owned by the heirs of Samuel Thompson. A 1767 map of the island names that area "Stewart's Plantation."

Sources

1. ↑ Fox-Davies, A. C. A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Ireland (Harrison & Sons, London, 1912), Page 689, "Thompson of Rathnally."
2. ↑ Land Tax 1772: "Danish West Indies, Land Tax Register Forms for Plantations, 1772-1821," Rigsarkivet, Denmark; Vestindien (Danish National Archives) digital images (not indexed), Arkivalieronline for Plantagerne 1772-1773, page 262 of 570. "Mt Stewart" belonging to Thomas and Samuel Thompson
3. ↑ Land Tax 1774: "Danish West Indies, Land Tax Register Forms for Plantations, 1772-1821," Rigsarkivet, Denmark; Vestindien (Danish National Archives) digital images (not indexed), Arkivalieronline for Plantagerne 1774, page 209 of 423.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5} Will: "England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858". The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Series PROB 11; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 1246. Ancestry Sharing Link (free access)
   Ancestry Record 5111 #447323 (subscription required, accessed 17 June 2022). Will of Samuel Thompson Esq. and his wife Anne, granted probate on 23 May 1794. Died Abt 1794.
5. ↑ Land Tax 1778: "Danish West Indies, Land Tax Register Forms for Plantations, 1772-1821," Rigsarkivet, Denmark; Vestindien (Danish National Archives) digital images (not indexed) Arkivalieronline for Plantagerne 1778, pages 320 and 321 of 465.
6. ↑ Land Tax 1780: "Danish West Indies, Land Tax Register Forms for Plantations, 1772-1821," Rigsarkivet, Denmark; Vestindien (Danish National Archives) digital images (not indexed) Arkivalieronline for Plantagerne 1780, pages 340 and 341 of 475.
7. ↑ Statistics Demark, "Census of 1880, Danish West Indies," The Danish West-Indies - Sources of History, database and images, (Digital Image : accessed 18 Jun 2022), St. Croix Frederiksted og Landdistrikter Prinsens Kvarter - St. Croix Frederiksted og Landdistrikter Østende Kvarter B, pp. 815, 818.

See also:

• Eriksen, Agnete. "Dansk Vestindien og udrejste Bornholmere" (PDF) (in Danish). "Bornholmske Samlinger," page 12, for a brief history of the ownership of Betty's Hope.
• FamilySearch Person: GX4K-SGV