| State | Delaware |
|---|---|
| County (Primary) | Sussex |
| Other Counties | – |
| Family Name | Thompson |
| Family History Notes | Members of the Thompson family on the Eastern Shore of Maryand and in Delaware were 1 i. Levin, born say 1750. ii. Rachel, born say 1770, mother of Jane Thompson (born about 1791) who obtained a certificate of freedom in Dorchester County on 31 May 1815: aged about 24 years ... born free and raised in Dorchester County, Daughter of Rachel Thompson a free woman [Certificates of Freedom for Negroes 1806-64, 26]. iii. Charles, head of a Kent County household of 6 "other free" in 1800 [MD:155]. 1. Levin Thompson, born say 1750, was offered as a witness in a suit between two white men (Collins vs. Hall). When the case was heard by the Delaware Supreme Court in November 1793, he was called "Levin Thompson negro ... a freeman." His mother and grandmother had been free and had lived in and come from Maryland [Catterall, Judicial Cases IV: 217]. He may have been identical to Levin Game (alias Thompson) who was taxable in Little Creek Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware, from 1777 to 1791. As Levin Thompson he was taxable in Little Creek Hundred, Sussex County, in 1795, taxable on 100 acres there in 1796, 40 of them cultivated, with a house and kitchen, a yoke of oxen, and four horses [DSA, RG 2535, roll 2]. He was head of a Little Creek Hundred household of 5 "other free" in 1800 [DE:375] and in 1810 listed as heads of two households: one with 18 "other free" producing 200 yards of linen and 60 yards of woolen cloth per year [DE:308] and another with 13 "other free" [DE:313]. He made a large number of land purchases in Sussex County near Laurel, identified in some of them as a "free black" or "black man": two parcels of land for $35, 53 acres on Broad Creek in Little Creek Hundred on the south side of the mill that formerly belonged to James Tresham and land called "Providence" on 7 February 1808: 1/8th part of Tresham's Saw Mill in Little Creek Hundred with 1/4th part of the pond belonging to it on 3 November 1808 for $162.50. 1/8th part of Tresham's Mill on 4 September 1809 for $130. 128-1/2 called "Wood's Grove" for $300 on 4 October 1809. 12 acres and improvements on Broad Creek formerly belonging to James Tresham for $25 on 6 November 1809. 42-1/2 acres in Broad Creek Hundred on 14 June 1811. 1/4th part of Tresham's saw and grist mill with its pond for $250 on 2 March 1814. what appears to be the remainder of the grist mill and pond on 30 July 1814 for $155. He purchased 200 acres east of Laurel in Sussex County and had acquired 428 acres in Little Creek Hundred which included a sawmill and gristmill and 135 acres in Dagsboro Hundred by 1816 [DB 17:269; 19:509; 24:273; 25:103; 27:318; 28:251, 425; 31:210, 366; 33:54, 180, 216; WB 7:75-7; Williams, Slavery & Freedom in Delaware, 204]. He called himself a "Blackman" in his 11 October 1806 will and added two codicils as he acquired more land, the last one on 7 October 1810, proved by Betsey Thompson on 16 February 1816. He left his land on the road from Laurel to Tresham's Mill to his wife Leah during her lifetime and widowhood and then to his son Isaac. He left his daughter Betsy 2 acres, left son Clemmon the place where James Sockam formerly lived with 5 acres and a house for his daughter Lovey and divided his carriage between his daughters Mary and Nancy. He gave a bull yearling to Nathan Harmon's son Zadock. In a codicil he divided land in "Sockum" between his daughters Lovey and Betsey, but if they died the land was to go to Zadock Harmon. He left $40 to his son James and left his daughter Mary 8 acres of "Chauncy" where Eady Short(?) Street (?) was then living. He named his children Littleton and Betsy executors, but Littleton refused. And he asked that his part of the mills be rented out to pay his debts. The estate paid Wingate Street and his wife Mary a legacy of $34.58, Littleton Thompson $12.21, Zadock Harmon $10, Leah Thompson $59.70, Clement Thompson $74.66, Lovey Thompson $19.58, Nancy Thompson $31.58, Betsey Thompson $68.50 and Peter Robinson, Esquire, $91.39 for judgment costs in the suit of Sockum vs. Thompson [DSA, Probate Files, RG 4545.009, roll 240, frames 264-280; WB 7:75-7]. Leah, born before 1776, was head of a Little Creek Hundred household of 2 "free colored" in 1820 [DE:410]. Levin was the father of i. Isaac, born before 1776, head of a Lewis and Rehoboth household of 4 "free colored" in 1820 [DE:310]. ii. Betsy, married to a member of the Green family on 2 March 1814 when she paid Menean Bull $117.50 which completed the payment of $150 for his part of Tresham's Mills [DB 33:54]. iii. Lovey. 2 iv. Littleton, born say 1785. v. Nancy. vi. Mary, wife of Wingate Street. They sold their rights to Tresham's Mills on 29 March for $170 [DB 33:299]. vii. Clement, born before 1795, head of a Little Creek Hundred household of 4 "free colored" in 1820 [DE:410]. He and his wife Milly sold their rights to Tresham's Mills on 20 January 1817 for $250, and on 26 September 1817 sold two tracts in Dagsborough Hundred: one of 44 acres for $66 and one of 89 acres adjoining James Sockam for $170 [DB 33:126, 208]. viii. James. 2. Littleton Thompson, born say 1785, was head of a Little Creek Hundred, Sussex County household of 3 "other free" in 1810 [DE:307] and 8 "free colored" in 1820 [DE:400]. He sold his rights to Tresham's Mills for $120 on 13 August 1817 [DB 33:182]. He left a 17 March 1823 Sussex County will, proved 29 March 1823, leaving his plantation to his wife Levina during her widowhood and then to William Wesley Tomson (no relationship stated) as well as a heifer from a cow formerly belonging to Sarah Harmon. If William Wesley died without heirs, the land was to go to Jeremiah Streat (?), son of Seeny Harmon. He left a bed, furniture and a loom to his daughter Eliza Cooper Tomson and divided the remainder of his property between Sarah Harmon and Eliza Tomson. The estate included a book due from Jonathan Harmon and William Harmon. Levina died before 2 August 1825 when William Woolen was granted administration on her estate with Elijah Harmon and Zadock Harmon providing security. The estate paid $4.86 to Isaac Copes, assignee of Wingate Street, and $6.96 to Leah Thompson Probate Files, RG 4545.009, roll 240, frames 291-301, 283-5]. He was the father of i. ?William Wesley. ii. Eliza. |
| Additional Notes | – |
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[Author (if known)], Free Black Families of Colonial Delmarva (abstracted by Paul Heinegg), [Date (if known)], Enduring Connections: Exploring Delmarva’s Black History, Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University.
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