My great-grandfather, J.E. Thompson, really admired his uncle, architect and builder Joseph Ough. The respect didn’t stem from Ough’s financial success. It was due to the man’s artistic and spiritual achievements. “In your mother’s family, and mine, there were those that were stars in a financial way,” wrote J.E. Thompson in a letter to his son, “but the man […]
Archives for March 2010
Thompson Line Seems to End at William Thompson, Sr.
Like most amateur genealogists, I have reached a maddening dead-end in the quest to trace my family roots. The end of the line is William Thompson, Sr., who appears to have lived most his life in Ontario, Canada, but was probably born in Scotland. Thompson’s very common name, which shows up often in Census counts, […]
J.R. Boyce Pays Tribute to Dead for Benefit of Living
James R. Boyce was a real sweetheart, a deep believer in the nobility of womankind. The one-time major in the Confederate Army, who became a merchant in Virginia City, Montana, wanted to make sure that his ancestors knew the great stock from which they came. So he left behind an incredible letter addressed to his children and […]