… William Thompson of Stonington was identical with the eldest son of John Thompson of Brookhaven. His gravestone reads: "Here lieth ye body of Mr. William Thompson, who departed this life, June the 13th, 1705, being in the 42nd year of his age" ["Old Homes in Stonington," by Grace Denison Wheeler, p. 240]. This stone constituted the only objection to the identification of William of Stonington with William of Brookhaven, for the latter must be considered of age when he mortgaged the land his father gave him. The date of death is correct, so we can only conclude that the age stated is incorrect, being an error either in the cutting of the stone or in the reading of the inscription. He was most probably born as early as 1659, and may have been in his 47th year instead of his 42nd year at death.
