(submitted by Sunday Thompson)
Alexander Thomson (1788–1846) was the third child born to James Thomson and his wife Agnes Gardner at “Stepends” in Renfrewshire, Scotland. James Thomson was a smith or farrier. Agnes (1764–) was the daughter of Alexander and Jannet (Stevenson) Gardner. Alexander Gardner was a flax knocker.
Alexander moved to London, England where he joined the 2nd Life Guards in the British Army in 1812. His duties were to shoe horses and work as a veterinarian for the Army’s horses. He was with the Duke of Wellington on June 18, 1815 when Wellington and Napoleon met on the battlefield near Waterloo. Alexander received a medal for participating in this battle. He also acquired a “p” in his name at this time. He retired from the army in 1822.
Alexander married Ann Rachel Daubney (1800–) in 1817 in London, England. They had four children: Elizabeth (1818–1887), William (1819–), James B. (1827–), and Anne (1830–). It is to be noted that the children were married without a “p” in their name in Canada. William became a cheesemaker; James B., a blacksmith.
Instead of a monetary pension, Alexander was given a crown grant of 100 acres and free passage for him and his family to Canada. The Thompsons immigrated to London, Ont. in 1832. Lambton County was a wilderness at the time. Alexander Thompson and his friend Duncan Dunlop Sr. (also retired from the British military) were on work crew No. 7 to clear the land and build a road to Port Sarnia. Alexander’s son William was on work crew No. 8. Eventually the Thompsons built a log home on Lot 19, Con. 2 NER, Warwick Twp.
Alexander Thompson received the deed for his land in 1840. In 1841, he gave half his land to his son William. James B. received the other 50 acres after his father’s death.
Alexander and Ann Rachel’s daughter Elizabeth married Israel Malton (1817–1854). They lived in Arkona. Their children were: Israel; Sarah Ann; George, of Arkona, who married Mary Ann Dunlop; bootmaker Robert; Miranda (1845–); Mary (1848–); and shoemaker William (1844–). After being widowed, Elizabeth married widower George Mayhood in Arkona in 1879.
Alexander and Ann Rachel’s son William Thomson was a cheesemaker who married Mary Steel (1823–). Their children all remained in Warwick. They were: Andrew who married Catherine Overholt; William who married Ellen Brooks; Caroline (1844–1907); Christina who married Joseph Hall; Elizabeth who married Gilbert Hall; Margaret (Maggie) who married Robert Campbell; Mary who married Frederick Patterson; Anthony Alexander (1859–1860); and Ann Rachel (1869–).
Alexander and Ann’s second son James B. Thomson (1828–) was a blacksmith who married Margaret Calvert (1832–). Their children were: Ann Rachel who married Nial Eastman, then Charles A. Jackson; Alexander (1858–1877) who married Sarah Lovina Barnes; Clementine who married Benjamin Batchelor, then Robert Campbell; Priscilla who married John McKay; James A. who married Sarah Jane Scoffin; Elizabeth who married Albert Spearman; Jeremiah who married Victoria Rosaline Thorp; Sarah L. who married Albert Beedham; and Margaret Victoria who married George J. Ormrod. Ann Rachel, Alexander, James A., Elizabeth, and Jeremiah stayed in the Warwick area.
David Thompson of Confederation Line is the son of Raymond, grandson of Telford and great-grandson of James A. and Sarah Jane Thomson.
Chapter 24 of 25 - Thomson/Thompson Family
Contact Us
Subscribe to this page