Patriot Namesakes

Captain Stephen Betts | Mary Bush | Captain Joel Cook | Captain David Hawley | Sarah Whitman Hooker | General David Humphreys | General Ebenezer Huntington | Charles Merriman | Captain Charles Pond | Sgt. David Thompson

Sergeant David Thompson was born April 20, 1751 in Guilford, Connecticut. He married Jane Wright on June 4, 1772 in Saybrook, CT, and was living in Old Saybrook when the American Revolution began. In December 1775, he enlisted at the age of 24 and left his wife and two young children to fight for our country.

Nine months after he started fighting in the war, David Thompson was wounded at the Battle of Harlem Heights in New York, where he was fighting under the command of General George Washington. He continued to serve until the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Sgt. Thompson was kept on as a soldier for two more years, serving for approximately 9 ½ years total. He was discharged on June 9, 1785 at West Point.

About 10 years after the war ended, he and his family left Old Saybrook and bought 63 acres of land in North Madison. The Thompson homestead was on Old Genesee Road. In 1818, he received an annual pension of $96 for his military service.

David Thompson was a farmer and basket maker. He and his wife had 7 children total. He died on July 24, 1828 at the age of 78, and is buried in the Rockland Cemetery in Madison, CT along with his wife and an unmarried daughter.