Pvt Samuel Thompson
| Thompson, Samuel Born: c. 1845, Gravesend, New York Died: March 5, 1917, Somers, Connecticut Burial: Riverside Cemetery, Windsor, Connecticut Occupation: Farmer Enlisted: February 11, 1864, New Haven, Connecticut Unit: 30th Connecticut Colored Infantry (later 31st U.S. Colored Troops) Company: D Rank: Private --------------------------- Samuel Thompson was born in Gravesend, New York, around 1845 became a freedom fighter simply by his willingness to serve in a Colored regiment during the Civil War. Samuel first appears in the 1850 census living in Gravesend with his parents, James and Martha Thompson. Also in the household were his older sister, Mary J. Thompson, and his younger sister, Elizabeth Thompson. As an adult, Samuel’s sister Elizabeth resided in the Windsor Hayden Station neighborhood and became a prominent member of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Zion Church alongside her husband and charter church member, Sandy Alexander Archer. By the 1860 census, the Thompson family was still living in Gravesend, though Samuel’s parents now had two additional children, James Thompson and John Thompson. On February 11, 1864, Samuel enlisted in the 30th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment in New Haven, Connecticut. This regiment was organized after the 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment had filled its ten companies. The 29th was sent off to war in March 1864, but recruiting continued for the 30th Connecticut. By June 1864, with roughly 400 men—only enough to form four companies—the regiment was sent to Virginia, where its men were consolidated into the 31st United States Colored Troops. Samuel Thompson was assigned to Company D as a private. His enlistment was credited to Durham, Connecticut, though there is no indication that he ever lived there. It appears that he traveled directly from Brooklyn, New York, to New Haven to enlist. On April 26, 1864, Samuel was removed from regular company duty and assigned to the Ambulance Corps. The Ambulance Corps was responsible for recovering wounded soldiers from the battlefield, transporting them by ambulance wagon, and delivering them to field hospitals. This was an important but dangerous duty, as these men often had to move onto the battlefield while fighting was still underway. On November 2, 1864, Samuel’s service in the Ambulance Corps ended. As standard process he was then examined, declared fit for duty and returned to active service with his company. Samuel remained in active service with the regiment until he mustered out in Brownsville, Texas, on November 7, 1865, three weeks prior to the regiment’s return to Connecticut. Around 1868, Samuel married Emily L. Anderson (or Emeline L. Anderson) in Stamford, Connecticut. In the 1870 census, the couple appears living in Stamford with two children, Lenora and Thomas Thompson. By 1873, according to Windsor land records, Samuel and Emeline Thompson are listed as residents of the Town of Windsor, selling a parcel of land to Sandy Archer of Windsor. By the 1880 census, the Thompson family is still living in Windsor, Connecticut, and has three additional children in the family—Martha, Elisabeth, and Nancy Emma Thompson. In the 1900 census, Samuel and Emily had two additional children, Angelina and Samuel Jr., bringing the total number of their children in their Windsor home to seven. On October 25, 1892, their daughter, Nancy Emma, married George H. C. Richards, the son of Civil War soldier George Richards, according to records from the First Congregational Church. They had four children: one son, Willis, and three daughters, Louise, Ethel, and Lillian, and made their home in the Hayden Station neighborhood. In 1876, Samuel Thompson joined the First Congregational Church in Windsor. In January 1885, church records list him as “excommunicated.” By 1887, he was among those who formally organized the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Zion Church in Windsor’s Hayden Station neighborhood, the town’s first established Black church. Once organized, Samuel was appointed as its first trustee. He remained deeply involved, including organizing summer camp meetings that functioned as worship gatherings for the congregation and wider community in the 1800s and early 1900s. For generations, members of the Samuel Thompson and George Richards families worshipped and served at the A.M.E. Zion Church, now the Archer Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church, named for Samuel’s brother-in-law, Sandy Archer. That legacy lives through descendants who continue to worship and serve in the ministries of the church. By the 1910 census, with their children grown, Samuel and Emily were living in Somers, Connecticut. Emily died there on July 12, 1916, leaving Samuel a widower. Samuel Thompson died on March 5, 1917, and was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Windsor, Connecticut. |