Holbrook line: John Thompson 1667-1749

John Thompson was a second generation New Englander.  His grandfather had come to America and his father was born here.  So in many ways he's of an invisible generation.  He was too late to be chronicled in the Great Migration materials and too busy making a living to leave much of a record behind him.  Except, in this case, there is a book called "Annals of Mendon 1659-1760 that gives some brief mentions of him.  This is a cause for rejoicing in the genealogy world.

John was born on Christmas Day in 1667 in Mendon, Massachusetts.  Perhaps that gave the family a reason to celebrate the day, even though Christmas celebrations were either banned or greatly frowned on by the Puritans who ruled Massachusetts Bay Colony.  John's parents were John and Thankful Woodland Thompson, and he was the first of 9 children born to the couple.  As the first child and the first son, he may have been spoiled just a little as he grew up, but it seems that no child in New England was coddled for long.

Of course, for many years he was referred to as "John Jr" in town records.  Before he showed up in town records, he had at least one life experience that would have made him mature quickly.  Mendon was burned by the native Americans in King Philip's war. Before that happened, the natives had killed about six settlers in a surprise attack, and the town was abandoned.  So it was a desolate settlement that was burned, but still, it was home.  Town records seem to be silent about where people went or when they came back.

The first notice I found of John was in 1689, when he was about 22 years of age.  He was taxed 13 shillings and 10 pence for the pastor's salary, and this probably happened every year.  In 1695, the tax records show that he was taxed 5 shillings 5 pence in "country pay" (wood, hay, grain, whatever the family could spare) and 1 shilling three pence in actual cash money.  John married Hannah Wight, daughter of Samuel and Hannah Albee Wight, but the year is missing from the records.  Their nine children were born from December of 1689 to 1708, which indicates they were likely married in early 1689 or sooner.

John was active in the town and in protecting his family.  In 1694 and 1695 he received bounties for killing wolves.  He may have found them on his land, or he may have tracked or trapped them.  Perhaps he would have interesting stories to tell us about these events.  In 1710 he was given permission with John Corbet and others to build a sawmill on the town commons land that abutted the Charles River, so he likely had additional income from that investment.  That same year, Sergeant John Thompson was chosen as a town selectman.  By 1719 he was an ensign, basically a second lieutenant.  There were still threats from native Americans in and around the area, and this was a responsible position.

The next reference I found to him was in 1727, when he was on a committee to "perambulate" the town limits between Bellingham and Mendon.  He probably lived in north Bellingham, which was a daughter town of what had once been a much larger Mendon, although I've not found land records yet.

The final document I've found is John's will, It doesn't seem to be dated, but John died March 6, 1749.  He provided for his widow and his six sons, with son John getting more than the others, and cash was to be given to the daughters after his widow's death.  There is also an interesting admonition at the end saying in rather flowery language that he commends his children to God and that they need to behave as Christians toward each other.  I've not seen that in a will before.  Unfortunately, I didn't find an inventory.  Hannah lived another ten years, so she was about 92 years old when she died in 1759.

The line of descent is

John Thompson-Hannah Wight
Joseph Thompson-Mary Holbrook
Alice Thompson-Joseph Rockwood
Levi Rockwood-Deborah Lazell
Susannah Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants