Sacramento County
Biographies
THOMAS J.
THOMPSON
THOMAS J. THOMPSON was born March 19, 1814, in Knox County, Indiana, his parents being Colvert and Jane (Mayfield) Thompson. The father was shoemaker by trade and went to Indiana in 1822, settling finally in Vincennes, that State, where he died. He had eleven children, four boys and seven girls. The subject remained at home, working on his father’s farm until twenty-one years of age. April 12, 1854, he started for California, crossing the plains with his family, seven in number; he arrived at Gold Hill, August 30, 1854, after a pleasant trip. He went at once to mining, continuing the same for about eighteen months, but not being successful, he came to Sacramento, remained but a short time, and then went to harvesting for Joseph Kerr. He saved $30 and concluded to go on a ranch, the $30 being invested for lumber with which to build their cabin, but it was not sufficient and the neighbors helped them out. The first year’s crop consisted of fifteen acres of wheat, which was a good crop considering the dry season. Thus he struggled along, but to-day is amply paid for his energy and grit. He has one of the finest homes in the county. He was married, March 17, 1840, to Miss Mary Ann Earls, who died March 16, 1872, leaving five children, namely: Henry, Melissa, Isidore, Theodore and Alonzo. He was again married in 1872 to Miss Agnes B. Thornell. He has sixty acres devoted to general farming, seven acres to vineyard and about 200 peach and fruit trees.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Davis, Hon. Win. J., An Illustrated History of
Sacramento County, California. Pages 612-613. Lewis
Publishing Company. 1890.
© 2007 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.