52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #5 Esther Thomson, Mother of John

Esther Thomson was born on 28 July 1652. Her given name is usually written as Esther, though I sometimes see it recorded as Hester. Her surname also appears in several spellings—Thompson, Thomson, Tompson, and Tomson. I’ve seen her father’s name most often as Thomson, so I will refer to her as Esther Thomson in all following posts.

Esther was the daughter of John Thomson and Mary Cooke. Mary is well known as the daughter of Francis Cooke, a Mayflower passenger. There is also a surprising amount written about John. He came to Massachusetts from Wales at about age six with his mother and stepfather. He was a farmer and a carpenter who built many houses. He was described as a kind friend and served as a command lieutenant for a small garrison formed to fight Indians.

Mary and John had eleven known children. Esther was the fourth child and the second daughter. Esther married William Read/Reed. I do not have documentation for the marriage itself, but The Reed Genealogy and other genealogies give a date of about 1675. Esther is named in her father’s will, and William Read appears under a list of heirs (apparently signing for Esther). She is also named in William Read's will.  Some older genealogies identify Esther’s husband as Jonathan Reed, but the information in both wills clearly places Esther with William Read/Reed. 

Both William and Esther were said to have died between the writing of William’s will dated 26 Oct 1705 and probate in the fall of 1706. More about Esther and William can be found at my post, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #4 William Reed, Father of John.

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Diana

© 2026

Charles Hutchinson Thompson, A Genealogy of the Descendants of John Thomson of Plymouth, Mass.: Also Sketches of Families of Allen, Cooke and Hutchinson (Lansing: D.D. Thorp, printer, 1890), digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/genealogyofdesce00thom/page/n9/mode/2up?q=carpenter

 : accessed 2 February 2026).

John Ludovicus Reed, The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts, from 1635 to 1902. Baltimore, Maryland: n.p., 1902, pages 5-14.

Massachusetts, Suffolk County Probate Court, Probate and Family Court Department File Papers, Box 18 (Cases 2961–3150), 1 January 1636–31 December 1894; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSXD-83GV-Q?view=explore : accessed 26 January 2026), image 164 of 1320; Image Group Number 102992159; citing Massachusetts Department of Archives, Boston.

Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, The Mayflower Descendant: A Quarterly Magazine of Pilgrim Genealogy and History, vol. 4 (Boston: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1899), 67 (transcription of John Thompson’s will and estate papers); digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/mayflowerdescendv4mass/page/n67/mode/2up : accessed 2 February 2026).