I have seen several queries in the Morgan County Rootsweb page recently and
thought I would add what I know about the Thompsons of Greene Township of
Morgan County, IN. My great grandfather, Sanford Thompson claimed John
Wesley Thompson and Lydia Jones as his parents, but as you will see below
that can not be true as John Wesley Thompson was dead for significantly more
than 9 months prior to Sanford's birth. Lydia Jones Thompson was his
mother, but his father will never be known as she did not remarry.
The Thompson Cemetery in Morgan County (very near Cope, IN) was named for
William Thompson who deeded the land for the cemetery. Many of the Perry,
Pierce, Thompson, Bailey and Haase ancestors are buried there. The cemetery
is nearly gone back to nature now. Large trees are growing out of the
graves and very few of the headstones are visible. It was inventoried
several years ago and that inventory is in the Morgan County Public Library.
I have suggested a clean-up there a couple of times, but it is on private
property and in any case would require a great deal of work to bring it
back.
Most of these Greene Township people came from south central Kentucky -
Adair, Barren, Green Counties about the same time in the 1820's. They
obviously intermarried and so are real difficult to straighten out.
THOMPSON, JOHN WESLEY : John Thompson was born about 1784 in North Carolina
based upon 1850 Morgan County, Indiana census data. Based upon the Obituary
(Johnson County, Indiana "Franklin Democrat" dated 22 February, 1907) of his
son, John Westley Thompson, Jr. he lived in Mercer County, Kentucky at least
in 1819 and moved to Johnson County, Indiana about 1823. This Obituary
indicated that John Junior's parents were John Westley Thompson and
Elizabeth Thompson. A John Thompson is shown in Hensley Township, Johnson
County, Indiana 1830 census that matches the known family John had at that
time. I have not found a John Thompson in any 1840 Indiana County census.
It is possible that his first wife Mary Elizabeth Nichols died between 1830
and 1840 and John was living with someone else or had moved back to Kentucky
or North Carolina. (I have not proven that Mary Elizabeth Nichols was John
W Thompson's wife. Wendall Ennis of Boston, Kentucky in his book on the
Ennis family of Morgan County, Indiana (found in the Morgan County, Indiana
Public Library) indicates that John Thompson's wife was Mary Elizabeth
Nichols. I also found a record of a John Thompson marrying an Elizabeth
Nuckols 6 May 1799 in Louisa County, Virginia. I do not know if these are
the same people.)
My fully documented record of him begins in Greene Township, Morgan County,
Indiana. He is shown in the Morgan County Tract Book as an Original Land
Purchaser from the U.S. Government on 21 January, 1837. He purchased 40
acres in Greene Township (Twp 12, Range 2E, Section 26). He married Lydia
Jones 28 September, 1843 in Morgan County, Indiana; therefore, he was there
at that point. His daughter Elizabeth married Nathan Perry in Johnson
County in 1833; therefore, she at least was in Indiana at that time. At
Elizabeth's death in 1887 her obituary stated she accompanied her family
from Kentucky as a child and married at the age of 20. I feel strongly that
Lydia Jones Thompson is the daughter of Jonathan Jones and Dorcas Unknown
and was born about 1817 in Kentucky. Lydia was about 26 at the time of her
marriage to John Thompson; therefore, she may have been married before.
In the 1850 Morgan County census John and Lydia were living on the property
he purchased in 1837, with his daughter (? See below) Jane and four of their
children. According to the 1850 Morgan County, Indiana census his sons/heirs
William and John were born in Kentucky and a daughter/heir Jane was born in
Indiana (three years prior to his marriage to Lydia Jones). Jane's name was
actually Lucretia Jane and at the time of her marriage to William Ennis in
Morgan County, Indiana she listed her maiden name as Perry. This, of
course, could have several explanations. She may have married a Perry
before she married William Ennis (I have found no record this is true in a
search of most adjacent counties to Morgan County, IN.). Her mother may be
Lydia Jones. Lydia may have married a Perry before she married John
Thompson (I have some evidence that this is true and the man may have been
John Perry) and Lucretia Jane is their daughter by this marriage. She also
might be John's granddaughter if one of his daughters married a Perry. In
most of the documents I have seen she is listed as Jane (or Lucretia Jane)
Thompson. I have not resolved this question.
By 1860 John is not shown in the Morgan County census, but Lydia is with
Jane and six other children. Since my ancestor, Sanford Thompson, was not
born until July, 1861, I must assume John was not his father. John was dead
by Tax assessment time in 1859 based upon Morgan County, Indiana Tax
Duplicates in the Morgan County Public Library; thus he can not be Sanford
Thompson's father. Sanford still might be a Thompson - Lydia was about the
same age as John's sons and lived next door to them.
By 1870 some of his children and neighbors had relocated to Crawford County,
Illinois. John was still alive and in Morgan County in October 1854 as he
and Lydia sold 20 acres of his land to his son John W. Thompson. I have not
been able to find any documentation of John after this date except for the
Tax Duplicates.
By 1870 both John and Lydia were dead. In the 1870 Morgan County census
their daughter, Sarah, age 20, is listed as a pauper at the county poor
farm. Two of their children, Sanford and Henry were living with Thomas and
Mary Skaggs in Martin Township, Crawford County, Illinois.
Per Order Book #7 Common Pleas dated Jan 16, 1866 Term and Deed Book 27
(1865-1867), Page 408, Lydia was dead by 12 June, 1866. Sylvester Hawkins,
the guardian of the minor heirs of Lydia Thompson requested permission to
sell these minor's property "for their benefit without appraisal or public
sale". This was approved and the property was sold to John W. Thompson.
The minor heirs are listed as James M, age 20; Sarah C, age 17; Henry, age
16; Robert, age 12; Fletcher, age 9 and Sanford, age 4. I could not find the
documentation showing the assignment of guardianship of John and Lydia's
minor children (which is usually done upon the death of the male, not the
female parent) in either Morgan County or any adjacent surrounding county.
If I had found this, it would have confirmed John's death.
Per Deed Book 29, Page 295 dated 9 November, 1868 another 20 acres (probably
the home place where Lydia lived until her death) was disposed by the
following Heirs due to the deaths of John Thompson, Senior and Lydia
Thompson (the land was actually deeded to John W. Thompson, Jr.): (James)
Harvey Thompson & Elizabeth, his wife; Marilda Day; Greenberry Thompson &
Sarah, his wife; Rebecca Ann Haase & Henry Haase, her husband; Martha Ann
Perry & Aaron, her husband; Nancy Carroll; Elizabeth Perry & Nathan, her
husband; Mary Skaggs & Thomas, her husband; William Thompson; Lucretia Jane
Ennis & William, her husband and Dorcas Thompson.
These two records list all of John and Lydia's heirs some of who are
probably children and some are grandchildren.
I hope this helps some one.
David Phillips
Bedford, IN
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