As February is winding down, this will be the last in the series of my rabbit hole searches using FamilySearch full text search. I hope that these posts have shown the wide variety of documents and articles that might not easily be found without the help of AI. If you haven’t tried it out, go to FamilySearch’s labs page to access the experimental search portal. You will need to log into your FamilySearch account to use it.

Today’s finale is a bit different than the other BSOs I’ve chased this month. Instead of sharing the various documents, which aren’t anything of any great surprise, I will share an updated timeline for Laurence/Lawrence Thompson, who is one of my husband’s 5X great grandfather.

No vital records have been found for Lawrence or his wives with birth and death certificates lacking for his children, too. That makes primary documents and records like deeds, tax lists and court records extremely important.

Here is what is known about Lawrence Thompson’s life:

c1740 – Lawrence Thompson born, probably in Pennsylvania
1757 – Lawrence Thompson Sr. (c1712-1790 in Sumner County, TN)) was named sheriff in Orange County, NC.
c1768 – married Margaret Logue
c1770 – Ephraim, son, born, probably Orange County, NC
c1772 – Margaret, daughter, born, probably Orange County, NC
c1774 – David, son, born, probably Orange County, NC
c1778 – Grace, daughter, born, probably Orange County, NC
c1785 – married (2) Ann (MNU)
1789 – Lawrence Thompson is taxed in Sumner County, TN.
1789 – Lawrence and Ephraim Thompson on tax list, Mercer County, KY
1792, 25 March – Margaret Thompson married Emmer Stalcup, Mercer County, KY with permission of Lawrence, her father.
1793 – Lawrence and Ephraim Thompson on tax list, Mercer County, KY
1796, 6 November – Lawrence Thompson bought land from John Davis in Mercer County, KY.
1796, 7 December – David Thompson married Malinda Neville/Newell, Mercer County, KY.
1797, 28 March – Lawrence Thompson and wife Anne sold land in Mercer County, KY
1798, 18 October – Ephraim Thompson married Sarah Curry, Mercer County, Kentucky.
1799, 25 February – Grace Thompson married Henry Landes, Washington County, KY with permission of her father Lawrence.
1799, 3 December – Lawrence Thompson appraised the estate of Samuel Snodgrass, Washington County, KY
1802, 6 December – Land of Lawrence Thompson mentioned in Aaron Philips land claim in court minutes of Washington County, KY
1804, 7 September – Lawrence Thompson sold to Ephraim Thompson, 110 acres, Washington County, Kentucky
1805 – Ephraim Thompson served as administrator of the estate of Emmer Stalcup, Washington County, KY.
1810 – Lawrence Thompson enumerated in Washington County, KY
1811 – Lawrence Thompson is taxed in Washington County, KY.
1812 – Lawrence Thompson is taxed in Washington County, KY.
1813 – Lawrence Thompson is taxed in Washington County, KY.
1814 – Lawrence Thompson is taxed in Washington County, KY.
1815 – Lawrence Thompson is taxed in Washington County, KY.
1818, 11 May – Ephraim Thompson sold 110 acres in Washington County, KY and removed to Howard County, MO.

Who is this Lawrence Thompson???

There are Thompsons there in the 1840 census, but no Lawrence. At this time, I believe he is not part of “my” Thompson family. There are other Thompsons there in 1840, but seem to be a different group.

1830 – Lawrence Thompson taxed in Washington County, KY
1833 – Lawrence Thompson taxed in Washington County, KY
1838 – Lawrence Thompson taxed in Washington County, KY
1842 – Lawrence Thompson taxed in Washington County, KY

The Thompson family was large and there are thousands of descendants today with unanswered questions about some of the family relationships still lingering.