Locals remember the scene when J.E. Thompson first visited Greer, Arizona, on his way from New York to Phoenix. He arrived in 1919 with his clan in a Twin 6 Packard touring car, which was about the grandest thing that many residents had ever seen. He was referred to as the local millionaire. But the […]
J.E. Thompson’s Greer Cabin Went Up in Flames!
Great-Grandfather J.E. Thompson (1875-1950) used to vacation at a cabin in the White Mountains on a plateau about 1,000 feet above Greer, Ariz. Great-grandfather called the small, one-room building far from civilization his “hunting shack.” It’s unclear how much hunting he did there. There will be no opportunity for forensics. The cabin burned a few […]
Thompson Family History: The First Chapter
The project started out innocently enough. I merely wanted to confirm some of the often bizarre stories my parents and grandparents had told me at family events, typically after a few drinks.
Earliest North American Relative Jailed for Assaulting Tailor
Genealogical research often turns up more than you really want to know. I got a rude reminder of this truism before the Christmas holidays, when a genealogist working in Cobourg, Ontario discovered that my earliest North American ancestor, William Thompson (1806-1849), assaulted a tailor, didn’t pay the fine, and spent time in the lock-up. The […]
The Work of Joseph Ough: Not Entirely Gone, But Largely Forgotten
Dear Long-Lost Uncle Ough, I know that you are dead—in fact, you died more than 130 years ago—but that’s no excuse for not writing to you about my recent fact-finding trip to your old hometown of Sacramento. Things have certainly changed since you lived there, and not all for the better. But I think you […]
Rancho Joaquina Needed a Facelift Before It Could be Shown to the Public
The year was 1970. The occasion was the annual Phoenix Home and Garden Show. The opportunity was to open my great grandfather J.E. Thompson’s 46-year-old Rancho Joaquina estate for public viewing. The problem: It was a mess, inside and out. In stepped the local chapter of the American Institute of Interior Designers, along with The […]