Rev. William Thompson: The Expedition to Colonial Virginia (1642)

Rev. William Thompson (10th great-grandfather)(often spelled Tompson in contemporary colonial records) played a brief but dramatic role in early American Puritanism. Educated at Oxford University, Thompson fled religious conformist pressure in England to join the Great Migration to New England.

The Braintree Ministry (1639–1666)

Upon arriving in Massachusetts Bay, Thompson settled in Braintree (a community encompassing modern-day Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts).

• First Ordained Pastor: On September 24, 1639, the Church of Christ at Braintree was formally organized, and Thompson was appointed its first pastor. He was formally ordained in November 1639 alongside Henry Flint, who served as the church’s teacher. 
• Connection to the Founding Generation: The Braintree parish went on to serve as the spiritual home for several generations of prominent American families, educating and shaping the early ancestors of Founding Father John Adams.

The Expedition to Colonial Virginia (1642)

In September 1642, the Massachusetts Bay authorities received an urgent letter from Puritan dissenters living along the James River in Virginia. They requested that the northern colony send "a supply of faithful ministers" to help preach Congregational doctrine on the southern frontier.

• The Mission: Governor John Winthrop and the Boston ministers selected three clergymen for the journey: William Thompson of Braintree, John Knowles of Watertown, and Thomas James of New Haven. 
• The Journey: The three ministers set sail in October 1642. They traveled south to preach to English settlers in the Virginia wilderness, making several high-profile converts (including Daniel Gookin, who later became a prominent magistrate and military officer in Massachusetts). 

Conflict and Expulsion from Virginia (1643)

The mission put the Massachusetts ministers directly at odds with the royal and religious authorities of colonial Virginia:

  [SEP 1642]               [OCT 1642]               [LATE 1642 - 1643]               [1643]

Puritan Request ──► Ministers Depart Boston ──► Preaching in VA Wilderness ──► Expelled by VA Assembly

 (From VA Dissenters)     (Thompson, Knowles, James)    (High-Profile Conversions)      (Return to New England)

1. The Anglican Stronghold: Unlike the Puritan government of Massachusetts, Virginia was a Royalist, Anglican colony. Sir William Berkeley, the Royal Governor of Virginia, viewed non-conformist Puritan ministers as a threat to royal authority and social order.
2. Legislative Ban: In March 1643, Governor Berkeley and the Virginia General Assembly passed strict legislation requiring all ministers within the colony to conform strictly to the rites and liturgy of the Church of England.
3. Expulsion: The law specifically prohibited non-conforming ministers from teaching or preaching in Virginia. Refusing to submit to the Anglican hierarchy, Thompson and his fellow missionaries were formally expelled from the colony and forced to return north to Massachusetts.
4. Tragic Personal Loss: Upon returning to Braintree, Thompson learned that his first wife, Abigail, had died during his absence on the Virginia mission.

Historical Legacy & Cotton Mather

Despite his expulsion from Virginia, Thompson returned to his post at Braintree, where he served until his death on December 10, 1666.

His mission to Virginia and his theological influence left a lasting mark on early colonial history. Famous minister and historian Cotton Mather later memorialized Rev. William Thompson in his landmark history of New England, Magnalia Christi Americana (1702), praising Thompson’s devotion, missionary efforts, and conversion of key early colonial figures.