Biography Folder -- The THOMPSON Family

THE THOMPSON FAMILY

Bickley, in his history of Tazewell County, says nothing about the coming of the Thompsons to the Clinch Valley; and the male descendants of the pioneers of that name who are now living in the county seem to have little knowledge of when their ancestors came here and what they did after they became settlers. From Mrs. George W. Gillespie, of Tazewell, who is a great-granddaughter of William Thompson, a pioneer; and Mrs. C.W. George, of Albany, Missouri, who is a great-great-granddaughter of the said William Thompson, I have procured very satisfactory information. With this, and such data as the county records supply, I will do the best I can in preparing a sketch of the Thompsons who were of the pioneers.

The Thompsons are of the Scotch-Irish people, who migrated from Ulster and settled in Pennsylvania. They came from that province to the Valley of Virginia, and thence to the Clinch Valley. In the Surveyors "Plot Book" of Fincastle County, which book is now kept with the records of Montgomery County, at Christiansburg, I find that Captain Dan Smith, assistant surveyor of Fincastle County, in the year 1774 surveyed for one William Thompson a tract of 229 acres of land, situated "on the north waters of the South Fork of Clinch River, Beginning at a black walnut at the foot of Morris' Knob." The date of this survey indicates that William Thompson certainly came to the Clinch VAlley as early as 1774, and possibly previous to that date. If he ever lived on this tract, which he purchased from the Loyal Company, there is no evidence now in existence of his having such residence. He did, however, acquire under a settlers' right a large boundary of valuable land in the present Thompson Valley, six miles above Morris' Knob and built his home at the place where Milton Thompson, his great-grandson, now lives, about six miles south of the town of Tazewell.

I appears that William Thompson, the first, was twice married. He had two sons, John and Archibald, by his first wife; and three more sons by his second wife. On of the sons by his second wife was known as "Lawyer James Thompson". He was eccentric, but a man of ability, and was the first Commonwealth's Attorney for Tazewell County. Another son of the second family was named William. He was called "Roan Billie", because of the peculiar color of his hair, which was red and gray in spots, somewhat similar to the hair of a roan horse. A third son of the second marriage was Andrew. He lived at the old home place after his father's death; and he erected the tombstones that mark the grave of his father and the graves of other kindred in the Thompson family graveyard. One of these stones records the fact that William Thompson was born in the year 1722, and died in 1798; and another stone gives the date of the birth and death of "Lawyer James Thompson.".

John Thompson, son of William, married Louisa Bowen. She was the daughter of Lieutenant Rees Bowen, who was killed in the battle at King's Mountain. Archibald, his brother, married Rebecca Peery, a daughter of George Peery, who settled in Abb's Valley, and who was one of the justices of the first county court of Tazewell County.

John Thompson, after his marriage, settled in Thompson Valley, about 3 miles below Plum Creek Gap. He had four sons, William, James, Archibald, and Walter, and several daughters. William, son of John, married Matilda Witten, daughter of James Witten, the famous scout. This William Thompson established his home at the foot of Clinch Mountain on the old wagon road which crossed the mountain to Poor VAlley, and thence down through Laurel Gap, by Broad Ford, and on to Preston's Salt Works. His three brothers had their homes above his place on the road that then passed up the valley to the Plum Creek Gap. They each had large and valuable boundaries of land, most of which still remains in the possession of their descendants.

Archibald Thompson, son of the first William, after his marriage with Rebecca Peery settled in the upper section of Thompson Valley, at the place where Joseph Neal now lives. Archibald had four sons -- William, George, John and James. He acquired an extensive boundary of land in the head of the valley, which he divided between his son, William, George and James. Nearly all this land is still owned by his descendants. In 1813 he purchased from Captain James Patton Thompson, a tract of three hundred acres of land in Burke's Garden, and gave it to his son John. The tract embraced the greater part of the four hundred acre boundary upon which James Burke built his cabin in 1753 or 1754. Rufus Thompson, grandson of Major Archie, as he was called, now owns and lives upon this noted and valuable farm.