The Thompsons are another branch of my husband’s family tree who have been tricky to sort out.

After much research, I was able to put together the family of Ephraim Thompson, born c1770, probably North Carolina and Sarah Curry, who died before 1842 when Ephraim married (2) Isabelle Dorcas W. Jones in Boone County, Missouri. They had one child, a son, William P. aka David Thompson, who is accounted for.

Back in 2021, I ended my Thompson post with: Unless new clues appear, it is unlikely that the unidentified son and daughter of Ephraim Thompson will ever be known. This is a great example of never say never because a document dated 1852 has now been found, naming the heirs of Ephraim Thompson, with each receiving 1/9 share. I believed that Ephraim and Sarah lost a son, born c1811-1815, who was not at home in the 1830 census.

However, their last known child was a daughter born 1821-1825 who remained a mystery.

Up until now, this is what was known about Ephraim’s and Sarah’s children:

1. Annie, born c1799, Washington County, Kentucky; died before 1830; married James Madison Holland, 27 November 1818, Howard County, Missouri.

2. Sarah, born c1801, Washington County, Kentucky; died after 1850, possibly Howard County, Missouri; married Samuel W. Scott, 26 February 1821, Howard County, Missouri.

3. Elmore, born c1805, Washington County, Kentucky; died before 13 September 1840, Howard County, Missouri; married Martha (Patsey) Smith, 25 February 1830, Boone County, Missouri.

4. Elias, born 6 October 1808/09, Washington County, Kentucky; died 23 April 1877, Howard County, Missouri; married Permelia Smith, c1835. Ann Smith lived with the family in 1850 and is apparently the source for Permelia’s maiden name.

5. Hannah, born c1810, Washington County, Kentucky; died after 1870, probably Howard County, Missouri; married William Alexander, 10 January 1833, Boone County, Missouri. Their son, Commodore Perry Alexander lived with his uncle, Ervin Thompson, in Cow House, Coryell, Texas in 1860.

6. Rebecca, born 18 June 1811/13, Washington County, Kentucky; died 2 December 1877, Boone County, Missouri; married (1) James Copeland, 31 October 1831, Howard County, Missouri (2) Calvin A. Thornton, 24 February 1844, Boone County, Missouri. Rebecca’s son, James Copeland, lived with his uncle, Ervin Thompson, in Cow House, Coryell, Texas in 1860.

7. Son, born 1811-1815, Washington County, Kentucky; died after 1830, probably Howard County, Missouri if he died young.

8. Ervin, born c1818, Howard County, Missouri; died 4 May 1884, Harrison County, Iowa; married (1) Mahala Mussett, c1839, possibly Missouri or Texas. Mahala was born c1814, Ohio; died after 1860 (2) Harriet Charlotte Vessel, 26 February 1870, Douglas County, Nebraska. This marriage record names his parents as Ephraim Thompson and Sarah Curry.

9. Amended: Elizabeth, born c1823, Howard County, Missouri; died after 1840, probably Howard County, Missouri if she died young.

Full-text search has come to the rescue once again.

Beginning with the last entry on the left side:

Elias Thompson , William Alexander and Hanna Alexander his wife , Robert T. Slate and Isabella D. Slate his wife , William P. Thompson by Robert T. Slate his guardian , James E. Head and Sarah Head his wife , John Holland, Ephraim Holland, Edmund Holland, James Holland, Stokely Wyatt & Polly Wyatt his wife, Enoch Holland , Thomas Richards and Sarah Ann Richards his wife and Permelia Thompson, Mary F. Thompson and Elizabeth Thompson by George P. Bass their Guardian and Patsey Thompson Plaintiffs Pet for Part against – Ervin Thompson Defendant . Now at this day comes the Plaintiff to 21 December 11th A.D. 1852. aforesaid by their attorneys and after having made proof of the Publication required herein, represent to the court that they are the legal heirs of Ephraim Thompson Deceased and as such heirs are the owners as tenants in common of the following land to wit : The North West quarter of Section eighteen ( 18 ) Township forty nine ( 49 ) Range fourteen ( 14 ) situate in Howard County Missouri containing 151 31/100 acres , in the following proportions that is to say : said Elias Thompson is entitled to one ninth thereof in his own right as heir of said deceased and three months thereof by purchase as follows from Calvin A. Thornton and Rebecca his wife and one ninth , from James E Basye and Elizabeth his wife, one ninth , from Sarah Scott one ninth , the said Rebecca Elizabeth and Sarah being daughters of Deceased, that William Alexander in right of his wife Hanna is entitled to one ninth , that William P. Thompson son of Ephraim Thompson Decd who was a son of said deceased now is entitled to one ninth subject to the dower right of the widow of said Ephraim Thompson Decd. that said Isabella D. Slate wife of Robert I. Slate, the said James E. Head and Sarah his wife, John Holland, Ephraim Holland, Edmund Holland, James Holland, Stokely Wyatt and Polly his wife and Enoch Holland are collectively entitled to one ninth of said land or each to one sixty third part each thereof as the children of Ann Holland Deceased, the said Head and wife and the said Wyatt and wife claiming in right of the said Sarah and Polly that the said Thomas Richards and Sarah Ann his wife and Mary F., Permilia and Elizabeth Thompson are entitled to one ninth thereof collectively subject to the dower interest of Patsey Thompson who is the widow of the son of said Decd and are entitled each to one thirty sixth thereof , and the said Defendant Ervin Thompson is entitled to one ninth part thereof; that partition of said lands cannot be made in kind without great prejudice to the interests of the owners It is therefore ordered by the Court that the Sheriff of Howard County proceed to sell all the right, title and interest of the above named Petitioners and Defendant, in and to the above described lands at the Court house door at the Town of Fayette at the next term of the Howard Circuit court to be begun and held on the first Monday in June next A.D. 1853, to the highest bidder on a credit of 12 months and secure the purchase money with bond and approved security and execute to the purchasers thereof a deed or deeds and report his proceedings to this court and this cause is continued.

Having worked extensively on this family, I know exactly who everyone is. Ephraim had nine children with wife Sarah. As believed, one son died in childhood. Further, Elmore Thompson predeceased his father, dying in 1840. He had married Martha (Patsy) Smith and had four children – Sarah Ann, Permelia, Mary F. and Elizabeth.

Isabella Slate is the widowed second wife of Ephraim who married (2) Robert Slate.

Annie, my husband’s ancestress, married James Madison Holland in 1818 and predeceased her father by many years. She and James had a number of children: John, Sarah who married James Head, Ephraim, James and Mary, who married Stokely Wyatt and Edmund.

Edmund Holland was a surprise to me. I had not come across his name anywhere, but in 1850, he was living in Grass Valley, Yuba, California with three Jackman brothers who were also from Howard County. They must have all had gold fever! However, the 1852 court document is the last record I have found. Edmund disappeared.

Elizabeth who married (1) James Edwin Basye is the mystery daughter of Ephraim and Sarah who was born c1823! they married on 25 October 1842 in Howard County, Missouri. James died in 1857 in Boone County, Missouri and Elizabeth married (2) John S. Brooks, 13 September 1860, also in Boone County.

This was an excellent find – identifying Ephraim’s mystery daughter and learning that James and Annie (Thompson) Holland had a son, Edmund, born c1825. Now I need to take a new look at James Holland, too.

As I begin this deep dive in to the Thompson family, it isn’t going to be an easy project. After perusing the Buchanan book, I’m finding it’s not a simple book to navigate with chapters, sections and numbers, but no quick method of identifying which line is being discussed. With multiple Lawrences who have confounded researchers for years, that makes checking data and sources in the footnotes a bit tedious. Good thing there is an index to help out.

A quick overview of my husband’s line:

Ephraim Thompson & Sarah Curry
James Holland & Annie Thompson plus Samuel Scott & Sarah Thompson
James Holland & Eramanthus Scott (first cousins)
John Henry Stufflebean & Mary Elizabeth Hollen (spelling change)
Earl Marcus Stufflebean & Pearl Lillian Brasher
Edward Earl Stufflebean & Ruby Jewel Sturgell
My hubby

Ephraim Thompson married Sarah Curry on 18 October 1798, Mercer County, Kentucky. Sally was born c1780 and survived her husband, as estate papers dated February 1849 indicate a payment made to the “widow.” However, Sally isn’t found in the 1850 census and probably died before that date.

They were the parents of nine children:

1. Annie, born c1799, Kentucky; died before 1830; married James Madison Holland, 27 November 1818, Howard County, Missouri
2. Sarah, born c1800, Kentucky; died after 1850; married Samuel W. Scott, 26 February 1821, Howard County, Missouri
3. Elmore, born c1805, Kentucky; died before 13 September 1840, Howard County, Missouri; married Martha Smith, 25 February 1830, Boone County, Missouri
4. Elias, born 6 October 1809, Kentucky; died 23 April 1877, Howard County, Missouri; married Permelia Smith, c1834
5. Hannah, born c1810, Kentucky; died after 28 August 1870; married William Alexander, 10 January 1833, Boone County, Missouri
6. Son, born 1811-1815, Kentucky; died after 1830; no further record.
7. Rebecca, born c1813, Kentucky; died 2 December 1877, Boone County, Missouri; married James Copeland, 31 October 1831, Howard County, Missouri
8. Ervin, born c1818, Howard County, Missouri; died 4 May 1884, Harrison county, Iowa; married Mahala Mussett, c1839
9. Daughter, born 1821-1825, Howard County, Missouri; died after 1840. This could be either Malinda Thompson who married Carroll Polk, 12 February 1841 or Mary Jane, who married Asa Thompson Prewitt, 9 February 1841, both in Howard County, Missouri. If either, I tend to think it was Mary Jane, as Malinda’s age varied, but she appears to have been born before 1820. Mary Jane died by 1846, but was of marriageable age by 1841 if born 1821-1825.

I was curious as to what I would find about Ephraim in the Buchanan book. Surprisingly, there was very little about him. His marriage to Sarah Curry is mentioned, but then, curiously, Buchanan states that it isn’t likely that the younger children belong to Ephraim and Sally, Since both were enumerated in the 26045 age bracket, I’m not sure why that conclusion was drawn.

The paragraph does include the info that Ephraim was made a Justice of Washington County in 1810 and resigned in 1817. Further, on 11 October 1817, he and Sarah sold their 110 acres of land and “no doubt moved west.” Yes, they did move west, almost directly so, just about 500 miles to Howard County, Missouri.

Before moving back in time in the next post, let’s close with the fact that the author of Thomas Thompson & Ann Finney and I agree that Ephraim was the son of Lawrence Thompson. Which one of the five needs to be sorted out.

As I long ago covered the families of Ephraim’s and Sarah’s two oldest children, Annie, who married James Madison Holland, and Sarah, who married Samuel W. Scott, and then recently covered the family of their son Ervin, I decided I need to share the families of their four remaining identified children – Elmore, Elias, Hannah and Rebecca.

Here are the basics on each:

Elmore Thompson was born c1805, likely in Washington County, Kentucky. He died before 13 September 1840, Howard County, Missouri, when his father was appointed administrator of his estate. Elmore married Martha Smith, 25 February 1830, Howard County, Missouri. She was born c1808, Kentucky and died 12 October 1881, Boone County, Missouri, where she lived with her daughter Elizabeth Long’s family.

Children (All events Howard County, Missouri):

1. Sarah Ann, born 8 January 1831; died 10 February 1913; married Thomas Henry Richards (1824-1911) on 19 October 1848.
2. Permelia, born 27 April 1833; died 29 August 1875; married William J. Rowland (1825-1862) on 2 February 1854.
3. Mary F., born c1835; died between 1860-1870 censuses; married Robert Alexander Cornelius (1829-1893) on 25 October 1855.
4. Elizabeth, born 27 March 1837; died 26 July 1915; married John Milton Long (1835-1920) on 29 October 1857.

Elias Thompson (administrator of his father’s estate) was born 6 October 1809, Washington County, Kentucky; died 23 April 1877, Howard County, Missouri; married Permelia Smith, c1834. She was born c1809 and died in 1890.

Children Cynthia, John and Nancy were not mentioned in Elias’s will.

Children (All events in Howard County, Missouri unless noted):

1. Hannah Ann, born 28 March 1835; died 23 September 1897, Boone County, Missouri; married Edward M. Thornton (1826-1913), 14 March 1854, Boone County, Missouri.
2. Cynthia, born c1838; died after 1850; no further record
3. Catherine Zerilda, born 1840; died 13 March 1888, Missouri; married James F. Epperson (1830-1900), c1857.
4. George Wilcox, born c1843; died 12 November 1917; married Eliza Wilcox Forbis (1844-1903) on 16 October 1866.
5. Mary Ellena, born 23 January 1845; died 5 September 1893; married (1) Henry Clay McKinney (1848-1880), c1872 and (2) Samuel Alexander Chitwood (1848-1922), 1 September 1880, Boone County, Missouri.
6. John H., born c1846; died after 1850 census; no further record
7. Nancy Jane, born c1847; died after 1850 census; no further record.
8. Thomas D., born 26 January 1849; died 22 February 1910; married Rebecca A. Hart (1855-1941) on 9 September 1879, Boone County, Missouri.

Hannah Thompson was born c1810, Washington County, Kentucky, died after the 28 August 1870 federal census, probably in Howard County, Missouri; married William Alexander, 10 January 1833, Boone County, Missouri.

Children: (All events in Howard County, Missouri unless noted.)

1. Commodore Perry (aka C.P.), born c1834; died 18 November 1897, Lampasas County, Texas; a railroad man who never married. In 1860, he was unmarried and living with his uncle Ervin Thompson’s family in Cow House, Coryell County, Texas.
2. Amanda Ellen, born February 1836; died 1935, Caldwell County, Texas; married John Hocker (1834-1908), c1861.
3. Irvin, born c1839; died after the 1860 census; no further record.
4. Elizabeth, born 1839; died 1909; unmarried.
5. Robert Bruce, born 4 September 1843; died 10 March 1915; married Mary Elgin (1847-1926) on 1 December 1870. No children.
6. Sallie, born 21 February 1849; died 14 February 1920; unmarried.

Rebecca Thompson was born c1813, Washington County, Kentucky; died 2 December 1877, Boone County, Missouri; married (1) James Copeland (c1810- c1844) and (2) Calvin A. Thornton (1817-1900) on 11 February 1844, Boone County, Missouri.

Rebecca had three known children, one son with James Copeland and two daughters with Calvin Thornton.

Children:

1. John COPELAND, born c1833; died after the 1860 census when he was unmarried and living with his uncle Ervin Thompson’s family in Cow House, Coryell County, Texas.
2. Laura THORNTON, born c1847, probably Boone County, Missouri; died after 1850 census; no further record.
3. Cornelia THORNTON, born c1850, Boone County, Missouri; died 22 January 1902, Leavenworth County, Kansas; married John W. Barnett (1842-1890), c1872.

Although this ends my coverage of the Thompson family, at least for quite a while, Ephraim and Sarah (Curry) Thompson have many descendants today.

Among the grandchildren who lived to adulthood and married, only Robert Bruce Alexander has no known children.

I hope my research has helped piece together much of the Thompson puzzle as online information about these children had a lot of loose ends.

Speaking of loose ends, Ephraim had one surviving son named David, born c1847, with his second wife, Isabella Jones. I’ve previously written about him, too.

I believe that, for whatever reason, his name was changed to William P(erry?) Thompson. I think he is the William P. Thompson, born 6 December 1846 and who died 26 December 1899 and is buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Boone County, Missouri.  William married Mary Frances Coonce (1850-1916), 26 August 1879, Boone County, Missouri.

They were the parents of Bertha, born January 1884 and died after 1900 census, Cornelia B., who died in 1893, George E. (1882-1883), Pauline (1891-1985) who married James Henry Bloomer and Myra, born June 1896 and died after the 1900 census.

If you are descended from the William Thompson family, I would love to correspond with you.