Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II, Part 142

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 1314

USA > Mississippi > Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II > Part 142

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

900

BIOGRAPHIICAL AND HISTORICAL

of different states and amounted to more than $3,000,000. The actual custody of these bonds, as were customary, was left in the hands of a clerk of the Indian bureau. Mr. God- dard Bailey, a young man whose character was above suspicion and reproach, was made appeal and disbursing clerk of this bureau and was given charge of this trust fund. For nearly four years, until near the end of Mr. Thompson's term, he discharged all his duties faithfully and acceptably. In the meantime a certain business firm, known as a transporta- tion company, Russell, Majors & Waddell, had entered into large contracts with the war department, amounting to millions of dollars. The funds of the company, for a long time thought by every one to be almost inexhaustible, in course of time began to run short, and in order to raise money the company secured permission of the secretary of war to anticipate its earnings, and to draw drafts for the amounts on the secretary. These drafts the secretary accepted and they were known in money circles as acceptances of the war department.

In 1860 the earnings of the company proving less than what was anticipated, the leading members of the company applied to Mr. Bailey, the custodian of the Indian trust fund, to let him have these bonds; first, $150,000; at another time, $387,000; and various sums at other times, and to take in lieu thereof the company's notes, in order to save from protest the acceptances of the secretary of war. To this proposal, strange to say, the custodian of the bonds acceded, all without the knowledge of Mr. Thompson, and on each request delivered, to the party applying, the bonds asked for. Whenever it became necessary to do so the clerk would submit his accounts all neatly and accurately made out as if everything was in proper order, in a manner easy to be done so as to excite no suspicion. Finally, Mr. Bailey, the clerk and custodian of the bonds, learning that Mr. Thompson was soon to resign, presumed that the time had come when the safe itself would be examined, and believing that he would soon be detected, hastened to make a confession of his guilt to the secretary of the interior and to explain why he had committed the crime. This was the first intimation Mr. Thomp- son had of the abstraction. With the secretary of state and attorney general, Mr. Thomp- son made an examination of the safe and found it all as represented. He on the next day informed the house of representatives officially of the matter, and asked an investigation. A special request he made of the speaker was that he select a committee to be composed only of those who were known to hold political opinions adverse to his own (the secretary's), which request was complied with, a committee of five being appointed. After a thorough examination, unanimous report was made, from which the following extract is taken:

"They (the committee) deem it but justice to add that they have discovered nothing to involve the late secretary, Hon. Jacob Thompson, in the slightest degree in the fraud, and nothing to indicate that he had any complicity in the abstraction, or that he had any knowl- edge of it until the time of the disclosure of Goddard Bailey."

This, however, was not to be the last of it. It afforded material sufficient for his political enemies to work slander out of from time to time when needed. The circumstance was brought fresh to the public mind again in 1876, when Secretary of War Belknap was impeached, and when he resigned his office in order to escape conviction. The argument of General Belknap and his supporters was that having resigned, and being no longer an official, he could not be impeached. Mr. Chandler, then secretary of the interior, insisted that if congress should claim the right to prosecute General Belknap after he had resigned his office, that it had a right also to prosecute Mr. Thompson, even at that late date, after he had resigned, charging at the same time that Mr. Thompson had, while secretary of the interior, abstracted a large amount of bonds belonging to the Indian trust fund. Not only this, but Mr. Chan- dler stated that he would insist on Mr. Thompson's prosecution, if congress should continue

901

MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

the Belknap prosecution. On seeing a report of this, Mr. Thompson immediately went to Washington. After conferring through friends with Mr. Chandler, the latter promised to withdraw the charge as publicly as he had made it, but after Mr. Thompson had left the city, instead of withdrawing the charge as promised, he instituted a civil suit against Mr. Thomp- son for recovery of $2,000,000 instead of a criminal action. To this civil action Mr. Thomp- son filed his plea of non assumpsit. A presidential campaign was on hand during that year, and this case was continued upon the docket through the campaign. It was used both for campaign purposes and for Belknap's protection. As soon as the presidential canvass was- over the bubble burst, the case was ordered by Mr. Chandler to be dismissed at the cost of the government, which was accordingly done. Mr. Thompson's vindication on this occasion was complete, and these old charges thus suddenly brought forward failed to serve the pur- pose for which they were renewed.

When Mississippi seceded from the Union, January 9, 1861, Mr. Thompson resigned and returned to his home in Oxford, Miss. During the war he served for short periods in various capacities, and after the fall of Vicksburg he returned to his home, and represented Lafayette county in the legislature for two terms. In 1864 he was sent to Canada on a secret mission by the Confederate authorities; this mission failed, and in 1865 he started back to the Con- federacy; on his way from Montreal to Halifax he heard of the assassination of President Lincoln. To divert suspicion from Mr. Johnson, charges were made that implicated Mr. Thompson, and a proclamation was made offering a large reward for him and others. He and his family sailed for Europe at once and passed several years there. When he did return he removed from Oxford, Miss., to Memphis, where he lived a retired life as far as politics were concerned; he was engaged in mercantile pursuits until his death, which occurred in 1885. He was a member of the Episcopal church, was a zealous supporter of all movements of an educational character, and served as a member of the board of trustees of the University of Mississippi from 1844 to 1864, with one interval of four years; he was the second president of that body, and filled that office until the law went into effect which made the governor of the state president ex-officio.

William Thompson, Oxford, Lafayette county, Miss. The gentleman whose name is found at the head of this sketch was born in the state of North Carolina, in the year 1818. He received his education in the university of his native state, and was graduated in the class of 1840. Having determined upon the profession of law as his calling in life, he began its study under Judge Pearson at Mucksville, N. C., and was admitted to the bar in 1842; he practiced there until 1845, and in that year he came to Mississippi, and settled in Pontotoc county. His residence there was of short duration, however. In 1846 he volunteered as a private in the Mexican war, and participated in the battle of Buena Vista. In 1847 he returned to Mississippi and settled in Oxford, where he resumed his professional work. The following year he was united in marriage to Miss Martha A. Jones, a native of Georgia, and a daughter of William S. Jones, a pioneer of this county. Mrs. Thompson died in 1877, leaving a family of seven children: Maria L., wife of Dr. Chandler, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume; William J., a resident of Mexico; Annie T., wife of Ed Dial, of Meridian, Miss. ; Nicholas O .; Jacob, Lewis W. and Kate. The family are worthy and con- sistent members of the Episcopal church. Mr. Thompson belongs to the Masonic order. In 1863 he raised a company in this county for the Confederate service, being elected captain. In connection with his professional work he has given a great deal of time and attention to agriculture. He owns thirty-eight hundred acres of creek and river bottom lands; this is in three different tracts, and five hundred acres are in an advanced state of cultivation. Mr.

902

BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

Thompson is a man of a genial disposition, and has a host of friends in Oxford and vicinity, where he has resided since his coming to Mississippi. The brothers and sisters of Mr. Thomp- son will be mentioned in the following order: A full sketch of Jacob Thompson will be found on another page of this history; James Y. was born in North Carolina in 1808, and was graduated in the university of his native state. He was married in Alabama to a Miss Shanklin, and afterward settled in Monroe county, Miss., where he practiced the profession of medicine; became a prominent citizen, and was elected to the state legislature from that county. Dr. John Thompson was born in North Carolina, about the year 1816, and was graduated in medicine from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1842 he began to practice in Lafayette county, Miss. He married Miss Laura E. Hunt, of Panolo county; he farmed quite extensively in Calhoun county, and during the war served as a surgeon in the army. After the surrender he returned to Oxford, where he lived until his death, which occurred about 1875. He was also a surgeon in the Mexican war, and was in attendance upon Jeffer- son Davis at Buena Vista. The eldest brother, Joseph Sidney, spent his entire life in North Carolina, where he accumulated a large fortune; he was born in 1805. The youngest brother, George Nicholas, was born in 1833, and was graduated from the University of North Carolina; he studied law and is now practicing at Leasburg, N. C., residing on the old homestead; Ann Eliza Thompson married Yancy Wiley; Sarah Thompson married Abner Lewis; the sisters were both natives of North Carolina.

John S. Thompson, a merchant and planter of Quitman, Clarke county, Miss., was born February 4, 1838, in Sumter county, Ala. He was the second child in a family of five chil- dren born to William H. and Alice (Rosser) Thompson. His father was born in Washington county, Ala., in 1808. He spent his early life in that state, and was married there. In 1845 he removed to Clarke county, Ala., and settled on a farm, where he lived through life. He was a successful planter, and an extensive landowner, a public-spirited citizen, who died in 1871, in Newton county, Miss., having been for many years a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church. The mother of our subject was born in 1817, in Sumter county, Ala., and died in Newton county, Miss., in 1879. She was a daughter of Eleazer Rosser, and her father and mother both died in Alabama. Mr. Thompson's father removed to Newton county in 1867. His children are named as follows: Eliza J., John S., William D., Sadie E. and Martin J. The early life of John S. Thompson was passed in Clarke county, Miss., where he came with his parents at the age of seven years. He was educated at Quitman, and began life for himself as a soldier in 1861, enlisting in company D, of the Fourteenth Mississippi regiment, in which he was a sergeant. He was in the battles of Fort Donelson, Jackson, Miss., and in the engagements of the Georgia campaign and in those of the Tennessee cam- paign. At Fort Donelson he was captured and taken to Camp Douglas, at Chicago, where he was held a prisoner for seven months, until he was exchanged. After the war he settled at Quitman, and engaged in farming for the next two years. He then engaged in mercantile business, at which he prospered very well. He is the owner of a large tract of land in Clarke county. Mr. Thompson was first married in 1866, to Miss Mary McDonald, a daughter of William McDonald, of this county. Our subject has one child by this marriage, William A., who is living in Quitman, and is a clerk in his father's store. Mrs. Thompson died in 1869. Mr. Thompson married again in 1870, to Miss Millie Bowen, the daughter of Rev. P. Bowen, of the Baptist church, who is now dead. By this marriage there were seven children born; there names are Nora E., Charles B., Henry C., Stella, John S., Sallie and Nellie. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mr. Thompson is recording steward. In politics he is a democrat, and, although he has never sought office

903

MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

and is in no sense an active politician, he was at one time elected mayor of the town of Quit- man. He is an enterprising, public-spirited citizen, deeply interested and always ready to aid any cause, which in his opinion has a tendency to advance the interests of his fellow- citizens, and he is especially interested in schools, churches and charitable institutions. He can properly be termed one of the pioneers of Clarke county, and here he has lived during the greater part of his life, and built up a reputation for honesty and integrity which causes him to be highly regarded by all who know him.

J. R. Thompson was born in October, 1841, in Monroe county, and is the son of William J. and Elizabeth (Rommoly) Thompson, natives of South Carolina. His father moved to Monroe county in 1839, and died in 1871. Mr. Thompson was reared on a plantation, and planting has been his only occupation through life. He received a fair education in the public schools, and was a student in 1861, when the war began. When the first call was made for volunteers he enlisted as private in the Fourteenth Mississippi infantry. The first fight in which he was engaged was the Fort Donelson fight, where he was captured and taken to Camp Douglas, Chicago, and there held prisoner of war for eight months, at the end of which time he was taken to Vicksburg, and there exchanged. Rejoining his regiment he participated in the battles of Clinton and Jackson, Miss., after which he was detailed to go to Choctaw county, Miss., on conscription service, in which he was employed for eight months, afterward joining General Johnston's command, at Marietta. Later he was in the battles of Altoona, Atlanta, Franklin and Nashville. At the close of the war he returned to Monroe county, and was employed on his father's plantation until 1869. May 5, 1870, he married Ella, daughter of Joseph and Mildreth Johnson. They are the parents of eight children, and have lost one by death; those living are named: Willie J., Ruth A., Horace L., Sybil C., Guy, Russel R., Tolbe and Isma. Mr. Thompson, after his marriage, engaged in planting on his own account until 1863, when he removed to Carlville, Tenn. He remained there only a short time, however, when he returned to Monroe county, and purchased the plantation on which he now lives. Politically he is a democrat, but takes no active part in public affairs, his home interests demanding and receiving his undivided attention. As a planter he is successful, and as a business man has won the regard of the entire community in which he lives.

J. T. Thompson, one of the oldest citizens of Chickasaw county and a planter, was born in Franklin county, Ala., in 1837, a son of John I. and Ann (Williams) Thompson, the for- mer a native of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky. They located in Franklin county, Ala., with their parents, the former at the age of fifteen, the latter in childhood. To their union eleven children were born, only seven of whom lived to maturity: Sarah L., wife of R. Longest; Evelina E., wife of J. W. Hamilton; James T., Mary Adaline, wife of John Curry; Hannah H., wife of R. T. Humston; John L., who died in the army at Chattanooga, and Susan D., wife of A. Delishment. John I. Thompson removed to Chickasaw county, Miss., with his family in the fall of 1838, at which time there were comparatively few settlers in this region. He chose a fine body of land two miles north of Houlka, which he cleared and on which he resided until his death in 1876, owning at this time a section of land. His widow still survives him, a worthy member of the Methodist church. The boyhood days of J. T. Thompson were spent in Chickasaw county, mostly on his father's plantation, but he received only such education as the schools of that time and place afforded, and acquired a common-school education. In 1860 he began farming for himself, on land which is now a part of his present plantation, his first purchase of land amounting to a quarter of a section. At the opening of the Civil war he entered the service with the first company sent out from

904

BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

Chickasaw county under Captain Tucker, and in January, 1861, found himself in Pensacola navy yard. The company was afterward placed in the Eleventh Mississippi volunteer infantry and served in the. army of Virginia. Owing to failing health Mr. Thompson was discharged in July of the same year, and returned to his home in Mississippi, where he soon regained his accustomed vigor and once more entered the service, becoming a member of Company L, Forty-first Mississippi infantry. In the battle of Murfreesboro he was slightly wounded and he also took part in the engagements at Atlanta, Chickamauga, Resaca, Frank- lin, as well as numerous minor engagements and skirmishes. He surrendered at Greens- boro, N. C., and upon returning to his home at once began to till and improve his land, which had been laid waste during the war. He has devoted his attention to planting throughout life, at all times aiming to be a practical farmer, and that he has succeeded is shown by his well-kept and productive plantation. For a short time he was interested in a store for grangers, but the entire stock of goods afterward passed into his possession and for some time he conducted the business, but with little success. In his planting operations he has made cotton his principal crop, but has made his place self-sustaining. He is the owner of about eleven hundred acres, eight hundred of which are in Chickasaw county and the remainder in Cross county, Ark. He was a charter member of the Houlka Grange, and has been a member of the Masonic fraternity, since he attained his majority, and at one time was senior warden for a number of years, and although elected worshipful master declined to fill the position. He is a member of John S. Kane lodge No. 259, of Redland, formerly, but now located at Houlka. Mr. Thompson, his wife, and family are members of the Baptist church, of which he became a member and was baptized while in the army during the war, being immersed by Dr. T. C. Teasdale, in Duck river, Tenn. He was married in 1867 to Miss Car- rie Delishment, a native of Chickasaw county, and a daughter of Seley and Mary A. (Rawes) Delishment, both of whom were born, reared and married in South Carolina. They came to Chickasaw county, Miss., about 1835, and here became well-to-do planters. Mr. Thompson and his wife have seven children: Annie L., John Seley, James F., Robert L., W. Henry, Mary, Sue and Benjamin A.

Julius Thompson, the subject of this sketch, well and favorably known to a host of acquaintances in this section, was born in 1845, and, like many of the other residents of Washington county, is a native of North Carolina, Bertie county being the place of his birth. His father, Louis W. Thompson, was born in that state also, in the year 1812, being the third of four children, all of whom came to Mississippi in 1846, remaining here until their death, with the exception of Noah Thompson, who went to Alabama in 1863. All were planters with the exception of a half-brother, Dr. William Sutton, who became a physician of Madison county, Miss. The brothers are now deceased. A sister, Margaret L., married Jolin T. Johnson, of North Carolina. The father of these children became a prosperous planter of Madison county, Miss., which place was his home from the time of his arrival in the state until his death in October, 1888, at the age of seventy-six years. He was a success- ful financier, and at the time of his death left a fine property to be divided among his heirs. He was a Baptist. His wife was Martha Ellen Britton, of North Carolina, and their union resulted in the birth of eleven children, whose names are as follows: Margaret E. (who mar- ried Augustin Chew, a native of Maryland; he spent the most of his life as a planter of Mis- sissippi, and died in February, 1889; his widow, now residing in Washington county, near Holandale), Louis W. (died in infancy), Ellen (also dying when a babe), Henrietta E. (became the wife of Edward Tarry, of Virginia; both being now deceased), Lucius A. (lives in Washington county), Mary E. (is the wife of John D. Britton, a Virginian; now a cotton

905

MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

merchant of New Orleans), Parmelia (wife of Henry Moorman, a native of Kentucky), Louis W. (died in infancy), Hattie (deceased, was the wife of G. A. Baldwin), and Herbert (who is now dead). The Thompsons are of Scotch descent, and the Brittons are English. Julius Thompson was reared to man's estate in Madison county, Miss., and received his education in its public schools. In 1868 he began for himself as a planter of Washington county, Miss., and by his own endeavors he has become the owner of two hundred and forty acres of land, besides three hundred and fifty acres inherited from his father's estate, two hundred and fifty acres of which he has put under cultivation himself, building thereon a residence begun in 1868, at a cost of $2,000. His marriage, which took place in 1870, was to Miss Hettie Moor- man, a native of Owensboro, Ky., and a daughter of Mercer Moorman, also of that state, and a merchant by occupation, his wife being a Miss Talbott, of Tennessee. To Mr. and Mrs. Thompson six children have been born: Louis W., Sarah M., Mercer M., Edward, Julius, and Herbert, all of whom are at home. This family are all members of the Baptist church, and are favorites in the social circles in which they move. In 1863 Mr. Thompson enlisted in the late war, becoming a member of company B, Third Mississippi cavalry, as a private, serving until the close of the war, and taking part in the following battles: New Hope church, Kenesaw mountain, and the engagements around Atlanta. At the surrender he was near Natchez, where he had been sent as a scout in Bradford's battalion, never having been seriously wounded during his entire service. Mr. Thompson is a very agreeable and enter- taining gentleman to meet, and is a very strict member of the Baptist church, taking great interest in religious matters and in training his children to be Christian men and women. No man in the county stands higher in public esteem than does he, and this good opinion he fully deserves. Although he gives proper attention to his plantation, he does not devote all his time to the accumulation of gain, for he has a higher idea of life than simply the acquire- ment of wealth, and believes that home is the place for a parent, and is usually found within the family circle.

Dr. M. J. Thompson, of the firm of Thompson, Hyer & Partin, physicians and surgeons of Meridian, Miss., was born in Choctaw county, Ala., a son of William H. and Alice (Rosser) Thompson, natives of Georgia and Alabama, respectively. His father was a planter and removed to Mississippi in 1847, locating in Clarke county. though he ended his days in New- ton county. He had five sons, of whom Dr. M. J. Thompson was the fourth born. The Doctor was reared in Clarke county, and educated in private schools. At the age of twenty- one years he began the study of medicine, and graduated at Mobile, Ala., in the year 1872. He took post-graduate courses at the New York polyclinic, 1886-8. He practiced for a time in Landerdale county, and removed to Meridian, Miss., in 1880. Seven years later he formed a partnership with Dr. I. P. Partin, and in November, 1888, Dr. W. F. Hyer was admitted to the firm, which then became known as Thompson, Hyer & Partin. Dr. Thomp- son takes high rank in his profession. He has served as vice president of the State Medical association, and as president of the Lauderdale County Medical association, and is, at this time, vice president of the Alumni Medical association of Alabama. He has also served as a member of the board of health of the city of Meridian, Miss. He has been too much devoted to his profession to take much part in other affairs, and he has attained to a high place in the esteem of his fellow practitioners. He has been especially prominent in the department of surgery, and has established at Meridian a private infirmary for surgical cases and the diseases of women. This was opened about two years ago and has accommodations for about fifteen patients. Dr. Thompson is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Knights of Pythias. He was married in 1875 to Miss Augusta Stennis, of Lauderdale county, Miss., who

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II, Part 142

Author: Goodspeed Brothers Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed Number of Pages: 1314

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 1314