Family tree The Descendants of Samuel
Thompson and Helen McFadden		 Thompson
page
This is a transcript taken from a number of copies of a family history apparently
written in Ireland some time after 1886.   The history was handed down in a number
of branches of the family in New Zealand.   The information has not been verified
except for the details of the families in New Zealand.
The Thompsons originally belonged to Dumfries, Scotland.   Came over to Ireland in 1690 in the reign of William and Mary at the time of the Ulster Plantation.   Samuel Thompson was an extensive farmer one and a half miles out of the town of Annan.   His wife was Helen M'Fadden, she belonged to the highlands.   When they left Scotland in 1690, he was 33 years of age and she was 21.   They had two children, John aged 3 years, and Samuel 1 year.   They chartered the sloop 'Songster of Branalough' and brought everything with them to stock a farm and furnish a house and landed in Killyleagh in February 1690, settled in the townland of Ballymacreely, parish of Killyleagh, on a large farm at a nominal rent of 2/6 an acre.   Their issue were John and Samuel born in Scotland, who inherited the deed property.   John had two daughters, Elizabeth and Jane.   Jane went to America.   Elizabeth married a man named Shaw.   Mrs Shaw had one daughter only, therefore that portion of the deed went out of the name.

Samuel, second son of Samuel Thompson and Helen M'Fadden married Sarah Lowry of Ballymacashan, issue Samuel who went to America and James who inherited his father's portion of the deed when his father and mother died and he being too young to manage the property it was let and he came to live with his cousin Samuel Thompson, Ballyangherty.   Eventually the property was sold as he could not get the rent for it.   He left one daughter, Marianne Thompson.

James Thompson, third son of Samuel Thompson and Helen M'Fadden, married Margaret Glover, settled in the townland of Ballyangherty, parish of Saintfield, their issue being Samuel Thompson and Agnes Thompson; he died when his son Samuel was 17 years of age who married Jane Chambers in 1798, daughter of Joseph Chambers, Lisdalgan, Parish of Saintfield, Linen Merchant, owned by his father the townlands of Lisdalgan and Lisban, not being able to get tenants, gave the Government ten (two?) pounds being one years rent to take them off his hands.   He belonged to Edinburgh and was a linen merchant.

Samuel Thompson and his wife, Jane Chambers, their issue were
James Thompson, gone to Baltimore, America,
Mary Thompson married to John Moore, Killyleagh, gone to Pittsburg, America.
Jane Thompson, married to Samuel Blakely, brother of Dr. Blakely, Dromara, gone to England.
Margaret Thompson, married to Captain John Thompson, second son of Alexander Thompson, Sea View Cottage, Ballysillan, Parish of Bangor, their issue being two daughters, Anne Jane and Margaret.   Margaret died and Anne married to William Anderson, Portaferry, Co. Down.
Agnes Thompson married to Alexander Thompson, third son of Alexander Thompson, Sea View Cottage, Ballykillair, Parish of Bangor.
Elizabeth Thompson married to Frank Hamilton of Lisdalgan, Parish of Saintfield, went to Sydney, Australia, afterwards to Auckland, New Zealand.
Bethiah Thompson, gone to New Zealand.
Fanny Thompson married to Andrew Rooney, Saintfield, gone to Auckland, New Zealand.

Charles Thompson, fourth son of Samuel Thompson and Helen M'Fadden, married Margaret Russell, Killinchy, a Scottish woman, settled in the Big Isle, as it is usually termed, off Donaghadee, not caring to live in such an out of the way place, being so isolated, left it and took a farm of 65 acres off Patrick Cleland of Ballymagee, Bangor, now Rayhgad in the townland of Ballykillair, Parish of Bangor, their issue being three sons, Alexander Thompson of Sea View Cottage, who married Annie Fulton, daughter of William Fulton, Fulton's Point, Bangor, one of the Fultons of Silver Stream, Co. Antrim, also Robert and Charles Thompson.

Alexander Thompson and his wife Annie Fulton, whose issue were William Thompson, one daughter Anne married to William Whitla, Bog Cottage, Ballvernon, John Thompson who married Margaret Thompson, daughter of Samuel Thompson, Ballyangherty, Saintfield, Alexander Thompson who married Agnes Thompson, daughter of Samuel Thompson, Ballyangherty, Saintfield (the daughters were Jane, Margaret, Sarah).   Sarah Thompson married Bernard Bradley, his father owned a deed for Everfarm in Co. Derry, their issue being John, Robert and Jane, Robert a sea captain, his vessel went down with all hands.   Jane married Robert Moderate, Donaghadee.   John died young.

Alexander Thompson and his wife Agnes Thompson, their issue being Elizabeth and Anne, Alexander Thompson, gone to New Zealand on the 'Northern Bride' 10th June 1860, married his cousin Bethiah Rooney of Willow Cottage, Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand.   Margaret Thompson married David Fulton, Belfast, Silverstream, Co. Antrim, died July 1875, issue two sons, Henry Thompson Fulton and David Fulton.   William Thompson died 7th March 1886. Joseph Chambers Thompson married Margaret Dixon, second daughter of Captain Dixon of Liverpool, gone to Amberley, Christchurch, New Zealand, in the 'Catapaz', January 1880.

William Thompson, fifth son of Samuel Thompson and Helen M'Fadden, joined the Royal Artillery, his descendants supposed to be in Ascot, in England.

I give the above extract as it was in the old Government Register of the emigrants who came to Ireland at the time of the Ulster Plantation.   Amongst those were the Thompsons, Weirs, Webbs, and the Crawfords, who chartered the sloop 'Songster of Branalough', left Annan and arrived in Killyleagh in 1690, about February of that year and settled there on grants of land under Hamilton and Montgomery.   Their respective names were Samuel Thompson and his wife (Helen M'Fadden) aged 33 and 21 years with their two children aged 3 and 1 respectively.   They brought 500 sheep, 4 cows, 1 bull, 15 horses, 12 pigs, household furniture, farming   implements, etc.

The Thompsons of Dumfries, our Scottish friends in the town of Dumfries carry on shipbuilding at the present day, there were two brothers of them, Robert and William.