The New York genealogical and biographical record (Volume 63) online

Jones, in his valuable Sketch of Long Island, says : "Suffolk County
occupies nearly two-thirds of Long Island, and is the county of the so-
called pine-barrens and sand, yet abounding in rich necks on. both sides
of the island, and teeming trout streams. It is the county of the great
patents of the Nicolls, the Smiths (of St. George's Manor and of Smith-
town), the Gardiners (of the Manor of Gardiner's Island), the Floyds (of
Mastic), the Lawrences, the Thompsons (of Sagtikos Patent or Manor),
the Lloyds, and other leading families — estates equal in extent to some of
the great old North River manorial grants ; as, for instance, the Nicoll
Patent of originally one hundred square miles, Richard Smith's Patent of
thirty thousand acres, Fisher's Island (Winthrop's Manor), Gardiner's
Island, Shelter Island, and Lloyd's Neck." The Thompsons have been,
in local position and permanent respectability, one of the first families of
this country. Their unchanged relative importance on Long Island, and
their personal worth and character, have always been their chief pride.
In the old records they were invariably designated as Mr., Gentleman, or
Esquire, which then was unusual and had a special significance. They
are descended — according to the historian of Long Island, Benjamin F.
Thompson — from the Rev. William Thompson, a native of Winwicke,
in Lancashire, England, of a family originally of Northumberland. He
was born in 1597, graduated at Brasenose College, Oxford, 16 19, removed
to this country 1634, and died Dec. 10, 1666.

John Thompson, the ancestor, of the Thompsons of the county of
Suffolk, came to Ashford, Long Island, in 1656, and with Col. Richard
Woodhull, Col. Richard Floyd, and others, became one of the fifty-five
original proprietors of the town of Brookhaven. By allotment of land
and by purchase he became the owner of a large amount of real estate,
which on his death he divided among his children. He married Hannah,
â– daughter of Jonathan Brewster, and sister of the Rev. Nathaniel Brewster,



1891.] The Family of Thompson, Suffolk Co., N. Y. 3^

B.D. , afterward the clergyman at Setauket, who graduated at Harvard
College, 1642, went to England and took, orders, and was settled at Alby,
in Norfolk, for some years, but in 1662 returned to America and was
minister of the First church in Boston, but settled finally at Brookhaven.
Trinity College, Dublin, conferred on him the degree of Bachelor of
Divinity. He married Sarah Ludlow, daughter of the worshipful Roger
Ludlow, a distinguished lawyer and deputy governor of Massachusetts
and Connecticut. His daughter, Hannah Brewster, afterward married
her cousin, Samuel Thompson.

John Thompson resided near the public green, and was an upright and
intelligent man, and held in high estimation by his fellow-townsmen, who
frequently elected him to responsible town offices. He died Oct. 14,
1688, leaving three sons, William, Anthony, and Samuel, and several
daughters, one of whom, Elizabeth, married Job Smith, son of Richard
Smith, the patentee of Smithtown, who purchased the Indian grant of
Lion (iardiner (Gardiner received this valuable tract of land as a recom-
pense for having ransomed the daughter of the Sachem Wyandance).
Smith made other purchases and procured a patent from Gov. Nicolls in
1665, and from Gov. Andros.in 1677, and also a release from David
Gardiner of the Lordship and Manor of Gardiner's Island, confirming
his father's conveyance.

\\"illiam Thompson, the eldest son, married Ruth Avery, of Stoning-
ton, Connecticut, where he settled. The other two brotliers, Anthony
and Samuel, remained at Setauket, but had not many children, conse-
quently their descendants at the present day are few. Patience, daughter
of Anthony, married her cousin Timothy Smith, son of Job, and grand-
son of Richard the patentee.*

Samuel, the youngest son, born March 4, 1668, was a farmer. He
married Hannah, daughter of the Rev. Nathaniel Brewster, and widow of
Job Muncy. Her mother was a daughter of Roger Ludlow, fa lawyer

* Elizabeth Smith, daughter of the patentee Richard Smith, and sister of Job Smith
who married Elizabeth Thompson, daughter of John Thompson, married (ist) William
Lawrence, a native of Great St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, the ancestor of the
Lawrence family of New York, and (2d) his Excellency Capt. Philip Carteret
(son of Helier de Carteret of the island of Jersey), who represented his kinsman Sir
George Carteret and Lord Berkeley, the Lords Proprietor. New Jersey was called so
from the fact that Sir George was a native and had been governor of the island
of Jersey, and had held it for King Charles I., it being the last stronghold surren-
dered to the Parliament. Elizabethtown was named after Lady Elizabeth, wife
to Sir George Carteret. Joseph Lawrence, son by her first husband of Mrs. Elizabeth,
wife to Capt. Philip Carteret, and sister of above-named Job Smith who married
Elizabeth Thompson, married Mary Towneley, daughter of S:r Richard Towneley
who was the son of Charles Towneley who fell at Marston Moors. The younger
sister of Mary Towneley married Baron Howard of Effingham, afterwards created
first Earl of Effingham. Mrs. Elizabeth Carteret left no children by Philip Carteret.

Deborah, a younger sister of Job Smith who married Elizabeth Thompson, and
of Mrs. Elizabeth Carteret, married William Lawrence, son by his first wife of Wil-
liam Lawrence, the first husband of the said Mrs. Carteret.

The Carterets have always been the family of greatest importance in the island of
Jersey, and descendants still own the Manor of St. Ouen on that island. Elizabeth
Castle at St. Heliers was named after the same lady as Elizabethtown in New Jersey.

f The Worshipful Roger Ludlow. (See Stiles' "History of Ancient Windsor.")
" His daughter Sarah, who is said to have been distinguished for her literary acquire-
ments and domestic virtues," married the Rev. Nathaniel Brewster, whose memoir
will be found in Sibley's " Harvard Graduates," i., 73. (See N. E. Gen. and Biog.
Register for July, 1 886.)



â– 5 5 The Family of Thompson, Suffolk Co., N. Y. [Jan.,

of high standing, who was the framer of the first code of laws of the col-
ony of Connecticut. She was his cousin, was born May 19, 1679, and
died Nov. 17, 1755. ^^e received a very superior education for those
times.

Samuel Thompson was in all respects an exemplary man, a leading
individual in the Presbyterian church, and frequently served in the office
of trustee of the town. Mr. Thompson, with Col. Henry Smith of St.
George's Manor, Col. Richard Floyd, Justice Adam Smith, Selah Strong,
and Jonathan Owen were the commissioners that had charge of the erection
of the new church in 1710. He died July 14, 1749, leaving two sons,
Jonathan and Isaac, and five daughters : ist, Susannah, born 1707, mar-
ried Thomas Strong, who was born June 5, 1708 ; married about 1730.
Their son, Judge Selah Strong, born Dec. 25, 1737, married Nov. 9, 1760,
Anna Smith, born April 14, 1740, daughter of William Henry Smith *
and Margaret Lloyd. f Mrs. Anna Smith Strong died Aug. 12, 18 12, aged
72. Judge Strong was a delegate to the provincial Congress in 1775,
captain in the army, State Senator, and first Judge of the Court of Com-
mon Pleas of Suffolk County. He died at St. George's Manor, July 4,
181 5, aged seventy-seven.

2d, Mary, who married Daniel Smith.

3d, Deborah, married Arthur Smith, who was an officer during the
Revolutionary war, and was killed.

4th, Ruth, married Thomas Telford, a merchant of importance in New
York.

5th, Sarah, married William Thompson, son of William of Stoning-
ton, Conn.

Isaac, the youngest son, was lost in a vessel at sea.

Jonathan, the eldest son, remained at Setauket, and inherited the
valuable real and personal estate of his father. Jonathan above named
was born Oct. 25, 1710, and married Sept. 30, 1734, Mary Woodhull,;};

* William Henry Smith was the son of Col. Henry and Anna Sheppard. Col. Henry
Smith was the son of Col. William Smith, often called " Tangier Smith." He was
born at Newton, Northamptonshire, England, Feb. 2,1655; appointed by King Charles
H., in 1675, Governor of Tangier, Africa, which, with Bombay, was a part of the mar-
riage portion given to Catherine, wife of Charles, by the King of Portugal. "He came
to this country Aug. 6, 1686, with his family, and purchased land at Brookhaven, Oct.
22, 1687. He afterwards bought another large tract of land, which, together with his
original purchase, he erected into a manor called St. George's Manor. He was made
Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of the Colony of New York, and afterwards
Chief Justice, and was removed by the Earl of Bellomont, but again appointed in 1702.
He married Martha Tunstall, daughter of Henry Tunstail of Putney, England. He
died Feb. 18, 1705. She died Sept. 11, 1709.

•)• Margaret Lloyd, mother of Mrs. Anna Smith Strong, was daughter of Henry
Lloyd and Rebecca Nelson, daughter of John Nelson, who was a son of Robert
Nelson and Mary Temple, who was daughter of Sir John Temple of Stantonbury,
England. He was the grandson of Peter Temple, who was the ancestor of Sir William
Temple, Lord Palmerston, Lady Chatham, and the Duke of Buckingham.

X The Woodhulls were descended from Richard Woodhull, who settled on Long
Island in 1656. His family is said to be very ancient, and may be traced to an indi-
vidual who came from Normandy into England with William the Conqueror, in 1066.
The name was originally Wodhull, and continued to be so spelled for many years after
the arrival of the family in this country. Richard, the common ancestor in America,
was born at Thenford, Northamptonshire, England. He died in October, 1690,
leaving issue Richard, Nathaniel, and Deborah. The second son died unmarried ;
Deborah married Capt. John Lawrence of Newtown. Richard was early chosen a
magistrate and was, like his father, an intelligent and useful man. His wife was



iSgi.] The Family of Thompson, Suffolk Co., A", V. -^7

born April 11, 171 1, daughter of Richard Woodhull, 3d. She was a first
cousin of the distinguished Gen. Woodhull. (He served as major
under Gen. Abercrombie at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, with Lieut. -
Col. Bradstreet at the capture of Fort Frontenac, and in 1760 served as
colonel of the 3d New York Provincials under Gen. Amherst, was at
the surrender of the Marquis de Vaudreuil which effected the final reduc-
tion of Canada. He afterwards had an important command in the Revolu-
tionary army, and distinguished himself at the battle of Long Island,
where he received a wound from which he never recovered. Being cap-
tured by a detachment of dragoons and the 7 ist Regiment of Foot, he was
struck down by a loyalist officer after he had surrendered. His wife was
Ruth, daughter of Nicoll Floyd, and sister of William Floyd who was a
signer of the Declaration of Independence. He left one child, who mar-
ried, 1st, Henry Nicoll, and 2d, Gen. John Smith of Mastic. )

Mr. Thompson was, like his father, a very extensive farmer and a
justice of the peace for nearly forty years. He was a man of exemplary
prudence, a lover of peace, and shared through life the esteem and con-
fidence of all his fellow-citizens. His death occurred June 5, 1786, and
that of his widow Jan. 30, iSoi. She was a peison of gentle disposition,
and possessed many estimable qualities w-hich justly endeared her to all
her acquaintances. They had four sons and two daughters, viz. : Mary,
born Nov. 25, 1735, married Thomas Smith, Esq., son of Edmund
Smith of Smithtown, and died INIay 23, 1794, leaving only one child, a
daughter Anna who married Richard Floyd of Setauket, a descendant
of Col. Richard Floyd,* one of the 55 original settlers of Brookhaven,

Temperance Fordham, by whom lie had a number of children. By an oris^inal letter
in possession of his descendants, it appears that he was related to the Crews, and
other aristocratic families of England. This letter was from Lord Crew, acknowl-
edging the receipt of one from Woodhull, thanking him (Lord Crew) for a present
of the " crest and arms of the family," and also giving him news of his relatives in
England. Richard Woodhull, 3d, son of Richard Woodhull, 2d, had several chil-
dren ; his daughter Mary married Jonathan Thompson. The family are now quite
numerous and have occupied many important positions.

* Col. Floyd, the first settler, was supposed to have died about 1700, and the
number of his children is uncertain. His son Richard, designated as Richard 2d,
married Margaret, daughter of Col. Matthias Nicolls, secretary of the colony of New
York, and sister of William Nicoll the patentee of the great Islip estate. He was
for many years judge and colonel of the county militia. His children were : Susanna,
married Edmund Smith ; Margaret, married Judge John Thomas ; Charity, married
Benjamin Nicoll, and 2d, Dr. Samuel Johnson, President of King's (now Columbia)
College ; Eunice, nianied William Stephens ; Ruth, married Walter Dongan ; and
Richard and Nicoll. Richard Floyd, 3d, above mentioned eldest son of Richard 2d,
inherited the paternal estate at Setauket, and was a highly useful and respectable
man. Like his father, he was a judge and colonel of the county. His wife was Eliza-
beth, daughter of Benjamin Hutchinson, and their children were Richard, Elizabeth,
John, Margaret, Benjamin, Gilbert, William Samuel, Mary (married William Elli-
son), and Anne unmarried.

Richard Floyd, 4th, eldest son of Richard 3d, settled on his father's estate at
Mastic, which he forfeited by his adhesion to the British cause in the Revolution.
He removed to St. Johns, N. B., where he died in 1792. Pie married Arabella,
daughter of the Hon. David Jones, by whom he had children: 1st, Elizabeth, married
John Peter Delancey, and died, leaving three sons, Thos. Jones DeLancey, Edward
and William Heathcote DeLancey, Bishop of Western New Vork, and five daughters,
viz. : Anna, married, as his second wife, John Loudon McAdam ; Susan, married
James Fenimore Cooper ; Caroline, Martha, and Maria. 2d, Anne Willet, who mar-
ried Samuel B. Nicoll. 3d, David Richard Floyd, married Sarah, daughter of Hen-
drick Onderdonk, who died, leaving sons. John and Henry. Mr. P'loyd, in acco-dance



og The Family of Thompson, Suffolk Co., A'. V. [Jan.,

who with Richard Woodhull and John Thompson were the principal per-
sons in that settlement ; Hannah, daughter of Jonathan Thompson,
born Oct. 5, 1747, married Col. Benajah Strong of Islip (his sister mar-
ried, as his 2d wife, Gen. William Floyd of Mastic) — she died Feb. i,
1786, leaving children, Samuel, Nancy, Mary, Benajah, Elizabeth, and

with the will of his grandfather, and in pursuance of an act of the Legislature, added
the surname of Jones, and the family is now known as Floyd-Jones. Mrs. Jones
lived to a great age, and her sons were : Brig. -Gen. Thomas Floyd-Jones, married
Cornelia, daughter of Major William Jones ; and Major-Gen. Henry Floyd-Jones,
married Helen, daughter of Charles Watts of South Carolina.

Benjamin Floyd, brother of the last-named Richard, and third son of Richard 3d,
remained on the estate at Setauket, and was colonel of the militia. He married
Anne, daughter of Samuel Cornell, of Flushing, and had issue : Richard, who married
Anna, daughter of Thomas and Mary Thompson Smith ; Gilbert, married successively
Sarah Dewick, Sarah Woodhull, and Lydia Woodhull.

Samuel, married, 1st, Elizabeth Ellison, and 2d, Augusta Van Home.

NicoU Floyd, second son of the 2d Richard, married Tabiiha, daughter of Jona-
than Smith, 2d, of Smilhtown. He died in 1752, leaving issue : Ruth, married Gen.
Nathaniel Woodhull ; William ; Tabitha, married Daniel Smith ; NicoU ; Charles ;
Charity, married Ezra L'Hommedieu.

Mary, married Edmund Smith ; Catherine, married Gen. Thomas ; Ann, married
Hugh Smith.

Charles Floyd, son of NicoU, married and left descendants. William Floyd, son
of Nicoll above mentioned, was a distinguished patriot during the Revolution, and
was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, member of Congress, candidate for
lieutenant-governor as the opponent of Stephen Van Rensselaer, etc. He married
Isabella, daughter of William Jones of .-outhampton, and had issue, Nicoll, Mary, and
Catherine. He afterward married Joanna, daughter of Benajah Strong of Setauket,
and sister of Benajah who married Hannah, daughter of Jonathan Thompson. By
this second wife he had children, Ann and Eliza. His son Nicoll married Phoebe,
daughter of Hon. David Geiston, and sister of the late Maltby Gelston, Esq.. of New
York, by whom he had several children, one of whom, Hon. David G. Floyd, resides
at Greenport ; another, Hon. John G. Floyd, resides at Mastic ; and his daughter
Julia married Dr. Edward Delafield. Mary, eldest daughter of Gen. Floyd, married
Col. Benjamin Tallmadge ; Catherine, second daughter, married Dr. Samuel Ciarkson ;
Ann (by second wife, Joanna Strong) married George W. Clinton, son of the former
Vice-President of the U. S., and 2d, Abraham Varick ; Eliza, the youngest, married
James Piatt of Plattsburg. She, Eliza F. Piatt, died in 1820, when he married for
his second wife Susan Catherine Auchmuty, tttfe Woolsey, daughter of Melancthon
Lloyd Woolsey.

Matthias Nicolls, or Nicoll. the progenitor of the Nicoll family, was of an ancient
and honorable family of Islipe, Oxfordshire, England, and came to this country
shortly before Col. Richard Nicolls who captured New York from the Dutch, and was
the first English governor. It is supposed that Matthias Nicolls was the nephew of
Richard Nicolls the governor. Matthias Nicolls, Colonial Secretary, Mayor of the
City of New York in 1672, member of the Council, Justice of the Assizes, and Judge
of the Colony, died 1687, and was buried at Cow Neck. He had a daughter Mar-
garet who married Col. Richard Floyd, and a son Col. William Nicoll who came
to this country with his father in 1664. He was a lawyer, the first clerk of Queens
County, a member of the Council six years and of the Assembly twenty-one years,
during sixteen of which he was Speaker. He married Anna Van Rensselaer, daughter
of Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, and widow of Kilian Van Rensselaer the Patroon. The
children of Col. William Nicoll and Anna his wife were : ist, Benjamin, married
Charily Floyd his cousin, daughter of Col. Richard Floyd and Margaret Nicoll, and
lived at Islip. 2d, William, died unmarried. He was Speaker of the Assembly. 3d,
Van Rensselaer, died at Albany. 4th, Mary, married John Watts of the distinguished
family of that name of New York. 5th, Catherine, married Jonathan Havens of
Shelter Island. 6th, Frances, married Edward Holland.

Benjamin, eldest son of Col. William Nicoll and Anna Van Rensselaer, married
his cousin Charity Floyd, and had children :

1st, William, called " Clerk " Nicoll, married Joanna d'Honneur.



A



1 89 1.] The Family of Thompson, Suffolk Co., N. F. 39

William ; Nathan, youngest son of Jonathan, died in infancy ; Jonathan,
third son of Jonathan, born Feb. 14, 1745, died unmarried Sept. 14,
1773) o^ h^s passage from St. Eustritia to New York where he had been
on business; Isaac, second son of Jonathan, was born Jan. 18, 1743 ;
and Samuel, eldest son of Jonathan, was born Oct. 2, 1738. Jonathan
Thompson purchased for his son * Isaac, in 1758, the estate on the south
side of the island known as Sagtikos Patent or Manor, on a neck of land
called Appletree Neck. The original charter or patent for this property,

2d, Benjamin. 3d, Gloriana Margaretta.

William, called Clerk Nicoll, married Joanna d'Honneur. His children were :
Charity, married Garret Keteltas of New York ; William ; Gloriana Margaretta, mar-
ried John Loudon McAdam, and was the mother of the late Sir Jas. L. McAdam,
knight ; Joanna Rachel, married Clerk Kilby McAdam ; and Samuel Benjamin.

Capt. William Nicoll married Frances Smith, daughter of Col. Henry Smith.
He owned the Nicoll Manor or Patent at Islip, which was an entailed estate. Their
children were William and Henry. William married Deborah Seaman, and was the
owner of the entailed manor at Islip, Their children were Frances, married Wick-
ham Conklin of Oakneck, Islip, and William, married Sarah Greenly. He was
graduated at the College of New Jersey, and studied law. He resided on the patent.
Their children were William who lives on the patent, Frances Louisa who married
Brevet Major-Gen. William H. Ludlow, and Sarah Greenly. William Nicoll married
Sarah Augusta Nicoll, daughter of Edward A. Nicoll, and has children.

Henry Nicoll, son of Capt. William Nicoll, of Islip, and Frances Smith, married
Sally Squires, and left children. Samuel B. Nicoll, son of William Nicoll and Joanna
d'Honneur, married Anne Floyd (daughter of Col. Richard Floyd and Arabella,
daughter of Judge David Jones), and had children : Rev. Richard Floyd Nicoll ;
Lieut. William Nicoll, U. S. Marines ; Elizabeth Floyd Nicoll, married Charles T.
Dering (son of Gen. Sylvester Dering and Esther Sarah Havens, of Shelter Island) ;
and Anna W., died unmarried. Samuel B. Nicoll married Sarah B. Payne, Thomas
Ellison Nicoll died unmarried, Maria Cortlandt Nicoll married Rev. Ezra Young,
John Cortlandt Nicoll, unmarried, Gloriana Margaretta Nicoll died unmarried,
Arabella Floyd-Jones Nicoll married Charles Johnson. Rev. Richard Floyd Nicoll,
son of Samuel B. Nicoll and Anna Floyd, had children: Margaret, Sylvester, Richard
Floyd, Sarah Anna, Mary Catherine, Capt. Sylvester Dering, U. S. N., Hester R.,
Charles Hinnly, Charity Antoinette, Elizabeth Gardiner, and Joanna Rachel. Eliza-
beth Gardiner Nicoll married Samuel Gardiner, son of Abraham S. Gardiner and
Abby Lee, and had children : Abraham Smith, Richard Floyd Nicoll, Elizabeth
Nicoll, Mary Catherine, Clarence Lyon, Margaret Sylvester Dering, and Murray
Stewart. Samuel B., soii of Samuel B. and Anna Floyd, married Sarah Brown Payne,
and resided on Shelter Island. He left seven children.

* Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, it is said by various writers, was a relative
of the Long Island Thompsons. Count Rumford was born at Woburn, Mass., in 1753,
was major of New Hampshire militia, and afterward lieutenant-colonel of dragoons
in the British army during the Revolutionary war, and Under Secretary of State for
the colonies as assistant to Lord George Germain. He received the honor of knight-
hood from the British Government. In 1784 he went to Bavaria to reorganize the
military of that State, and here greatly distinguished himself for his administration of
affairs. For his services he was made successively Major-General, Lieut. -General,
Commander-in-Chief, Ministerof War, and Count of the Holy Roman Empire, on which
occasion he selected as his title the name of Rumford, the place in America where he
had resided. In 1796 he was appointed head of a Council of Regency during the
absence of the elector, and ruled the kingdom for some time. He was the real
founder of the Royal Institute of Great Britain, and spent the close of his life in
making and applying useful discoveries. He died in France. A bronze statue has
been erected in his honor at Munich. The count was very arbitrary and severe in
his treatment of the people of Long Island while stationed there during the Revolu-
tionary war, but to his honor never molested or interfered with the L. I. Thomp-
sons. He was invited by the Government of the U. S. to superintend the formation \
of the West Point Military Academy, but declined. See New Englander for Feb.,
1876. (New Haven.)



^O The Fa??iily of Thompson, Suffolk Co., A\ F. [Jan.,

dated 1697, from King William the Third, signed by Col. Benjamin
Fletcher, then governor of New York, with the great seal of the province
attached, is still in possession of the family. Sagtikos, though â–  not
occupied at present, is still owned by the family. Judge Isaac Thompson
died here, Jan. 30, 18 16. He was a magistrate for more than forty years,
a judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and a representative of the County
of Suffolk in the Assembly in 1795. He was a man of sincere piety and
the strictest integrity. His manners were mild and courteous, and in the
discharge of all his official duties manifested sound judgment united with
firmness and impartiality.

Judge Thompson was active during the Revolutionary war in organ-
izing the militia and was chairman of the Islip committee. He wrote
several letters to the Continental Congress in relation to affairs on Long-
Island. Dr. Samuel Thompson of Setauket was also one of the principal
men of Brookhaven engaged in providing means of defence against the
anticipated invasion of the British troops. Feb. 15, 1776, he sent an