clanforum
Genealogy => Thom(p)son Genealogy => Topic started by: uneven on January 23, 2011, 12:18:49 AM
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My brand new 1st cousin 3 times removed has sent me a family photo from the 1920's with a key to the names. It's awesome. It's a family reunion and like all reunions there are people with many names. It also contains many Thompsons and best of all several of Levi Thompson's (1834) children including his oldest daughter Mary and son James Thompson. I can account for most of the differing names through marriage but one is giving me some trouble and I'm looking for advice or estimates on the sanity of pursuing this.
My cousin's dad says we are related to the Swindells represented in the picture by Mollie and Mae ( a mother daughter team), but the elder Thompson doesn't know how.
So I set about making a family tree for the Swindells and used Mollie (the mother Swindell in the photo) as my base. Mollie is actually Mollie Hughes (1870) (Swindell is her married name). I followed her back to Thomas and Mary Hughes both born in 1840. Both of Thomas Hughes parents come from Ireland. Mary says her parents are from North Carolina.
For kicks I put Thompson in as the last name for Mary and searched the 1850 census (where I can find no trace of Levi Thompson). There is a Mary Thompson right there in Anderson Indiana with a family of Thompsons that includes an older brother born in 1834.
But the older brother is named James not Levi and the parents list themselves as being from Virginia not North Carolina.
I've run down other paths and got much of the tree back to 1809 for the Swindells but come up empty handed on a possible link.
So here's why I like this one:
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It would make Mollie Swindell the cousin to Levi's children James and Mary Thompson and would tie things up nicely.
I've questioned Levi's name for quite a while because it's been extremely hard to find Levi Thompson outside the 1860 and 1870 census and his military records. People are fast and loose with names. Mollie Swindell's name alternates between Mollie and Mary for instance.
Levi's son is named James and his oldest daughter is named Mary (both super common... I know) perhaps Levi is a James who chose Levi.
the birth dates are dead on and the town is right.
Why I don't like it:
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I have no evidence that Levi ever went by James.
The parents of this James and Mary (1850 census) are from Virginia and Mary in 1880 says her parents are from
North Carolina.
In 1860 Levi Thompson is already married and says he was born in Indiana (like James in 1850) but by 1870 he says he was born in Pennsylvania.
I have no 1880 record to try to match up his account of his parents with Mary's.
This would tie things up a little too nicely and I've been wrong before.
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All I can say is...... slog, slog, slog........ at least you keep finding really interesting possibilities! Much better than never finding any even possible links! I must say I wonder why Levi would change his birth state - any chance it's a different Levi in one or the other census?
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Thanks Mary. That's a good question.
I'm pretty sure it's him in both, because he is with the family both times and the children's names match up. Also I've had the VanBuren location verified for me as I found out my hunch on his wife being Rose A. Blades from VanBuren Indiana in 1850 is correct (got his son's death record today!).
So the census record from VanBuren 1860 lists him as born in Indiana and the census from Alexandria after the war in 1870 says Pennsylvania. In 1869 I know he is attempting to get his civil war veteran's pension because of disability which seems to have taken him to Indianapolis proper. Perhaps he was away for the census?
Later after Levi is gone from any census I can find, the 1880 census (probably done by Rosa) for the children's records say he's from Pennsylvania. When the Children live on their own, in 1900 they say X. On the death record for his son Albert in 1909 it says Indiana.
Frustratingly I cannot find him in 1880..only in 1890 in the next state in Hopewell Ohio on a Veteran's roll. By 1900 Rosa says she's a widow. I wonder now if he didn't answer the questions for the 1870 census and Rosa did it for him. She seems pretty consistent that he's from Pennsylvania.
The further I go...the deeper the mystery seems to get. Of course, by this point if I got a straight answer, I wouldn't trust it.
One thing is for sure today. He is not John L Thompson who marries Rosanna Steele because I have his wife's maiden name Blades. The madison county historical society sent me a bunch of documentation but lamented that they could not find many records before 1880 because of a courthouse fire. I imagine a lot of people have gaps in their history because of it.
mike
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I imagine a lot of people have gaps in their history because of it. (ftp://I imagine a lot of people have gaps in their history because of it.)
YUP! That's what's happened to most of our records apparently.....at least, that's what we get told!
At least nor, you know his wife's name isn't Rosaura that we were looking for before! Finding her name is Rose Blades is a true FIND. And I think I would trust the input of a wife than an offspring on where the spouse/father was born. She probably heard a lot more 'reminiscences' than the kids did over the years.
You're actually making amazing strides compared to most.....keep slogging! :)
I'll do some more looking around when I get a chance.
Mary
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Thanks Mary. I appreciate the help and wisdom.
I seem to be pretty lucky sometimes. In this case, I was lucky there were only 8 pages in the Van Buren 1850 census. Finding Rosa/Rose/Rosanna was like hitting the jackpot. I had filled her out on a hunch in my tree (and was thinking about removing it) and days later I got confirmation of the hunch in the mail. That 1880 census where she lists her parent's birth place was invaluable in matching her up.
With finding Levi in 1890 nearly 20 years after I thought he died and Rosa in 1850 with her dad and getting in contact with living relatives, this has been a pretty action packed month!
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Greetings all Thoms!
Just got a big big bonus from my newly found cousin in Richmond Indiana! :o
She sent me over 15 years of research on our Indiana Thom(p)son line on CD.
I am beside myself! ;D Doin' the "happy dance"!
I'm downloading it now and will keep in mind some of the Indiana Thompson names I've been seeing flit in and out here on the forum. If I see anything that looks even remotely useful to anyone here, you can bet I'll share.
OK the CD stopped.............gotta go look around.
More news later!
Your Coz,
Sherry
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Why oh why can't some unknown relative drop a bundle of information on us?????!!!!!!
Congrats, Sherry! I'll BET you were doing a happy dance! Lucky duck!
When you settle down, let us know if you run across Francis or Franklin anywhere..........:( We know he came over from Ireland, married Hannah and died in PA. At least 2 sons James A. and Samuel.
Are you going to Loch Norman games in April??? We've got the tent reserved and a motel room in Statesville for the duration.......I may have to stay at the motel with the dogs (depending on weather), but Tom will be there at least!
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What an excellent windfall! If you find a Levi, don't hesitate to post it!
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Wow, I am very happy, for both of you! What a great feeling. I hope your luck rubs off and I'd like to see this "happy dance".
Uneven........is there a chance we get to see this great photo?
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It's pretty big. I should post it on my blog and link it here so I don't eat up space on the forum server. In fact I probably should post all my pictures with descriptions in case other Thompsons see someone they know.
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Well in regards to James 1834 from Anderson Indiana being Levi. The dates and area line up, but I was just reading in a history of Madison County about the father William A. Thompson (b Virginia). He was a prominent minister in the area and his living children are listed. James Thompson is James A. Thompson. (I was hoping for a James L Thomson). No luck though. So unless he totally changed his name I don't think this James and Mary sibling pair belong to me.
I've also figured out that the Levi Thompsons from 1850 both born in 1829 are one and the same Levi Thompson and also are not my Levi Thompson. So that's a couple more down. If I eliminate every Levi Thompson in the Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania area....
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Greetings All Thom(p)son Cousins!
Mary, I most definitely, positively, absolutely WILL be at the Loch Norman games! I'll bring my man along if he can get time off. But you can bet your haggis, this Scottish, Irish, English (with a drop of Dutch thrown in for good measure) lass will be there. :D
Wow 15 years of research is alot of stuff! :o
So here we go with some of the names I've found on my cousin's CD and the earliest year the name shows up. If you recognize a name let me know and I'll give you what info I have. It might not be much but it could be a missing link.........so to speak. ;D
Abshire - 1700
Baird - 1600
Baynes - 1890 to 1950s
Beasley - 1790 to 1890s
Bell - 1890 to 1990s
BERRY (I've seen this name on the forum) 1920 to 2009
Bowen - 1700 to 1900s and beyond My 3rd greatgrandfather's wife's family.
Boyd - 1900s
Chamness - 1700 to 1800s
Chenowith - 1870 to 1950s
Cooper, Creech, Cox (1700s my grandmother's family)
Douglas - 1400
Fraser - 1200
Frazier - 1800s
Gordon - 1400
Hale - 1700
Harris - 1700 to 1800s
Hinshaw - 1700
Hunt - 1700
Kieth - 1400
Starbuck, Simmons, Stephenson (3rd great grandmother's second husband)
Yount, Young, York (great great grandmother's second husband)
The names above in bold are almost a direct blood link back to my Thompson's.
And here are the Thompson's, first name and middle name or initial with approx birth year.
Abraham Lincoln - 1861
Charles Edward - 1924
Garnett Eufhena - 1889
Garnette Ruby - 1909
Garnette Marilyn - 1927
James Fredrick - 1901
Lula Merl - 1877
Nancy V. - 1857
Oscar H. - 1873
Walter John - 1905
William Howard - 1923
Wilson E. - 1876
Frances Earl - 1882
Frank Benjamin - 1903
And this is just a smattering of what I have. Like I said .....WOW :o
Enjoy!
Your Coz,
Sherry
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Uneven,
Sorry no Levi......................yet.
I've only scratched the surface of what I have here. So, who knows Levi may show up yet!
Mary,
There is a Frances Earl and a Frank Benjamin, both Thompsons. Let me know if they sound like yours. I'll look up more on them next week. AND Yet another score in the data my cousin sent. A picture of my gggrandfather at 27yrs old in his Union uniform with pistol. (Can you say Gettysburg?) Along with the roll call and muster docs. Makes it real ya know?
Dusevoir,
Ah yes, the "Happy Dance". It sounds better than it looks, unless there is "uisge-beatha" involved. Then I'm not to be held accountable...... I'm just sayin' :o
That's it for now,
Sherry
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Thanks for looking Sherry. My new cousin from Indiana sent an email yesterday saying he got to 1450. I was pretty flabbergasted. I wanted to get to like 1790..but 1450? HOLY CRAP!
Well it turned out he was following a different family line than the Thompsons. It's pretty exciting, of course. It's nice to get those answers no matter what family you're following.
Back to the mire.
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Here is a posting for that Thompson family picture Dusevoir. It is taken in front of the Clifford's house. It contains my grandfather sitting on my great great grandmother's lap and right next to him Mary Thompson, Levi Thompson's oldest daughter. They all look pretty mean, but I think that was the style of the day.
http://thompsonhunt.blogspot.com/2011/02/thompson-photo-1927.html
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Here is a posting for that Thompson family picture Dusevoir.
What a great photo! You are so lucky to have that. I love their expressions or lack thereof. I look a little like baby Charles.
Hunt, McPherson and Hughes are 3 of my DNA matches. McPherson is a 4th cousin and Hunt and Hughes are 5th cousins. I have also seen the name Cunningham and Sturm, but I forgot where in my DNA people.
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I think the name of my blog is misleading. I can't claim any Hunts, yet. I meant it to be like a snipe hunt. You know where you waste a lot of time out in the woods looking for a mythical creature..like Levi Thompson.
I've got the Blades, Fenimores, Cliffords, Sturms, McCanns, Williamsons, Silcotts and Taylors pretty well tied up and know where they fit with the Thompsons. The Swindells and Hughes elude me still, even though I have a family tree for them. The Cunninghams are sort of a mystery and it's obvious that several generations of Cunninghams are present, so where do they fit? Where do the Mcpherson and Little come in? Are they the married children of Thompsons?
This picture is a treasure trove, but a large portion of the people in it are unknowns. What if this was a church group rather than a family reunion?
My new cousin's dad identified these people and he couldn't tell why we were related to the Fenimores and Swindells. Because Mary Fenimore is Levi Thompson's oldest (unknown to him), I don't doubt his recollection of some sort of relationship. Those Swindells must shoehorn in there somewhere.
Since Mollie Swindell in this picture is a Hughes, I believe it's through her side we're related. So I suspect her mom Mary (unknown) may be a Thompson. Of course there are a lot of Mary Thompsons in the world.
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I shed a tear today. I had to let the ancestry account go again. I'll probably pick it back up in a few months when things settle down.
As usual though, dropping the account always makes me look at other sources. I was searching the google book on a history of Madison county from 1820 to 1874 and noticed a paragraph on the "Christian Church". It caught my attention because in the obits for my Thompsons, I've read about the "Christian" Church. I remember it because, it's not the Baptist church or the Methodist church, but the Christian Church.
So what do you think the other options were?
Anyway, it caught my eye and it had a reference to being built in 1866 in Richland (near both Alexandria and Van Buren) and having it's first elder be Ebenezer Thompson. I ran a search on ancestry and familysearch.org and couldn't find him. Which actually gives me hope.
Now I want to flip through the 1850 and 1860 census in Richland, Madison, Indiana to see if there are mis-indexed Thompsons there. I've found several in other census lists that are labeled as Hampson or Thompon or Thampson (Recently got contacted by the family member of one correctee).
It's a tedious process, but it's the only way I found Rose A Blades.
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I meant it to be like a snipe hunt.
Got it..........I've got a few of those creatures as well. At this time, I don't where my matches fit in. I really thought my Thompson line would be easier, but there not. The problem with a great name like Thompson, they are in most families. I have your surnames on a sticky note so I can keep my eye open for them.
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Every time I find a new secondary name I loop through your lists of matches posted on this site. Thanks for doing that by the way. I should have mentioned Finks in my list.
I always have this feeling that the connection that gets me into some stream of Thompsons is just after the guy I know about. When I was stuck at Albert Thompson I thought his dad and mom would be the answer. Now that I'm stuck at his parents, I think his grandparents are the answer.
Right now I'm waiting for that stroke of luck so I can bumble across the record or idea that puts everything together. It sounds like a loose family structure, bad indexing, courthouse fires and the possible paving of the Alexandria Cemetery are conspiring to keep me in the dark for a while. I don't think I'm out of tricks yet though.
mike
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Went through Madison county in 1850 census page by census page, found a lot of mis-indexed Thompsons as well as many other names I made suggestions for to Ancestry. Non were mine though.
I did find and correct a record for Howell D. Thompson, a more prominent Thompson in Madison. I started working my way east through high Thompson traffic areas and found a lot of families in Randolph county.
I decided to switch over to 1900. Levi was alive in 1890 in western Ohio and the Military didn't close his pension case until 1902. Maybe they closed it when he was alive? Levi's pension records contain no information about his wife and family. In 1900 his wife Rosa says she is widowed. So I assumed he died. I've been wrong about him dying before.
So I searched in Ohio for Levi Thompson born 1835 (he is listed as 34, 35 and 36 so I try them all) and found one. He's the right age, living about 100 miles east of the 1890 location in Ohio and married to a different woman. That would be a reason for me to ignore him, but I decided to look closer anyway. This Levi was married for less than 10 years. His wife (Margaret) was 10 years younger than him and had 6 children, none of whom were listed in the census. So to me it looks like a second marriage with adult children.
I asked my new cousin what he thought the odds were that Levi R-U-N-N-O-F-T and he said they were pretty good considering the male Thompsons that came after him. Also it looks like Levi's son in law ran off to Colorado in 1880 leaving his family high and dry and remarrying there...so maybe it was in the air?
It's a big leap without much evidence and it doesn't get me any closer to finding his parents but it would be nice to know what happened to him.