John Thompson was a merchant in Edenton and later Halifax. In 1765 he was serving as a justice of the peace for Halifax County, North Carolina. In 1777 he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the State of North Carolina as required by the North Carolina General Assembly and consequently had to leave the state, settling in Scotland. He later filed for compensation for his losses with the American Loyalist Claims Commission and served as a reference for fellow North Carolinian Francis Johnston.