The Moses S. Thompson Family: From Tennessee to Arkansas to Texas

The grave of Moses S. Thompson found in Bethel Cemetery - Erath County, Texas

Moses S. Thompson is not directly related to me, but I searched for him to find more clues about my Hairston family. This is a good practice known as cluster or collateral genealogy. If you've lost hope of finding your ancestor, research those related to him in some way - siblings, neighbors, cousins, in-laws, witnesses on deeds, and any other associates.

Martha Elizabeth "Mattie" Hairston
Chisum Thompson

John A. Thompson, a son of Moses S. Thompson married Martha Elizabeth Hairston Chisum, my great-grandfather's sister. While I didn't find any wall-breaking information while searching for this family, I did find new information and new family.  Thompson family information has been on my website for at least 15 years, so I hoped it has helped others looking for this family. As my website is old, harder to find, AND needs updating, I am posting the Moses S. Thompson notes, along with updates, to this blog. 

I have written about many of the Thompson family members and have included links to these posts throughout this post. 

Census Records for the Moses S. Thompson family show they lived in Henry County, Tennessee in 1850. All family members were born in Tennessee except Moses who, along with his parents, was born in North Carolina.  Moses, his wife, and six children are shown below.  Note the census record indicates age, gender, occupation, and place of birth. 

Moses S. Thompson 40 M Farmer NC

Martha 39 F Tenn

Mary 10 F Tenn

William 8 M Tenn

Lucy 7 F Tenn

Sarah 5 F Tenn

John 3 F Tenn

Robert 3/12 M Tenn 

The family was living in the Griffith Township of Conway County, Arkansas in 1860 and Ellen, a four-year-old daughter, was the only change in the structure of the family. 

Moses Thompson 55 M Farmer North Carolina

Martha Thompson 49 F cooks Tennessee

Mary E. Thompson 21 F cooks Tennessee

Wm. Thompson 18 M works on farm Tennessee

Lucy A. Thompson 15 F cooks Tennessee

Sarah Thompson 13 F Tennessee

John Thompson 11 M Tennessee

Robt Thompson 10 M Tennessee

Ellen Thompson 4 M Arkansas

This family moved from Henry County, Tennesee to Conway County, Arkansas. According to Google Maps, this would take over 100 hours to walk. Conway County to Dallas County was another 100+ hours. 

The Moses Thompson family moved to Dallas County, Texas in 1865 where Sarah Thompson married John Neely Bryan II on October 10, 1867. 

The family looks much different on the 1870 census. Sarah was married and no longer living at home. Martha may have died - the date and place are not known. William Thompson is no longer living with the family and Ellen, age four in 1860, must be the 14-year-old Margaret E.  

Two new additions are Amanda Paschal and her young son, William. Note this census record indicates age, gender, race, occupation, and place of birth. 

Thompson, M.S. 64 M W farmer Tenn.

Thompson, Mary 30 F W keeps house Tenn.

Thompson, Lucinda 26 F W Tenn.

Thompson, John A. 20 M W Tenn.

Thompson, Robert W. 16 M W Tenn.

Thompson, Margaret E. 14 F W Ark.

Paschal, Amanda 19 F W Tenn.

Paschal, William 1 M W Texas

In 1880, Moses Thompson was found on the census in Somerville, Texas along with his daughter Margaret and her family. Lucille, John, and Robert were found in Erath County, Texas. Note this census record indicates relationship to the head of the household, marital status, gender, race, age, place of birth, and occupation. More information can be found by looking at the actual census records. For more information about these records and free resources, go to U.S. Census Records.

Sam Anderson Self Married M W 37 MS farmer

Margaret Anderson Wife Married F W 24 AR keeping house 

Moses Thompson FatherL Widower M W 74 NC 

Richard Barber Other Single M W 35 VA farm labor 

J. A. Thompson Self Married M W 32 AR Farmer

Mary A. Thompson Wife Married F W 23 TX Keeps House

Mollie B. Thompson Daughter Single F W 1 TX

R. W. Thompson Self Married M W 26 AR Farmer 

S. E. Thompson Wife Married F W 21 TX Keeps House

Leroy Thompson Son Single M W 1month TX 

Tom Neuton Married M W 47 England Farmer

Lucinda Neuton Wife Married W 39 TN keeps house

M. E. Daughter Daughter Single F W 3 TX

E. H. Neuton Daughter Single F W 4/12 TX

Although this 1880 record indicates that both John and Robert were born in Arkansas, earlier census records indicate that they were actually born in Tennessee. 

Summaries of what I know about these Thompson family members can be found below. 

Moses S. Thompson

Census records indicate that Moses Thompson was born in North Carolina. He was married to Martha Warnick who was born in Tennessee. It is assumed that Martha died prior to 1870 as she is not listed on that census. A Moses S. Thompson fought for the Confederate Army in the 48th Tennessee Infantry, however, it is not known if this is the same Moses S. Thompson. In 1880, Moses Thompson was living with his youngest daughter, Margaret and her husband Sam Anderson in Somerville County. He died in 1890 and is buried in Bethel Cemetery in Erath County, Texas.

Martha Warnick Thompson

Martha Warnick was born January 5, 1811 in Rutherford County, Tennessee. She died between 1860 and 1870 in Arkansas or Texas.  She married Moses S. Thompson on July 6, 1839 in Henry County, Tennessee. Martha's parents were Lucinda or Lucy Griffin and John Warnick.

John A. Thompson

John Thompson married his wife, Mary A. Lowery in 1878. It is unknown when she died. The census reports a daughter named, Mollie. Descendants of John Thompson's sons remembered that their father had a half-sister, Mahaley. She married W.B. Smith in Erath County.  On August 28, 1884,  John A. Thompson married Martha "Mattie" Elizabeth Hairston Chisum in Erath County, Texas.  John and Mattie had five children; Floyd William, Aaron Whitney, Edgar Richard, Jessie Mae, and Claud Clarence. Mattie also had three children from her previous marriage; Walter, Philip, and Stella Chisum. They lived in the Bethel community of Erath County where John died following a wagon accident that occurred while he was building a new home.

Two descendants of John Thompson and Mattie Hairston Chisum Thompson described this as their grandmother's home. This home can be seen near Bethel Cemetery. Could this be the home John A. Thompson was building when he died?

Robert W. Thompson

Robert Thompson married Sarah Elkins. They had two children; Leroy who was born in 1880 and Agness who died as an infant in 1895.  Sarah also died in 1895. After Sarah's death, Leroy lived with his Elkins grandparents. I have not yet found Robert in any later census records. He died in 1918. Robert, Sarah, and Agness are all buried in Bethel Cemetery.

Robert Thompson sold land some of his land in the Bethel area of Erath County to Phillip A. Hairston, my great-grandfather, in December 1883. My grandmother was three years old when the Hairston family moved that year from Falls County to Erath County.

Margaret E. Thompson

I am assuming that Margaret E. Thompson is Margaret Ellen Thompson, the youngest Thompson sibling. She can be found in 1880 living with her husband Sam Anderson and her father Moses Thompson in Somerville County, Texas. In 1900, Margaret was living with her husband and children in Hood County, Texas. Her birthday was listed as June 1856. She and Sam had been married 21 years and had seven children. Six children were living. The children listed on the census were Nina, Byrom, Chula, Samualla, Harris, and Gella. In 1910, Margaret was a widow and was living in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma. She lived with her children Horace and Gella as well as her married daughter, Samuella Spaulling and family.

Lucinda Thompson

In 1880, Lucinda Thompson Newton and her husband Tom were living in Erath County. Tom was a farmer and reported he and both of his parents were born in England. They were living with their two young daughters listed as E.H. Newton and M. E. Newton.  In 1900, Thomas and Lucinda Newton were living in Palo Pinto County with their sixteen-year-old twins, Joe and Mary. Tom died on July 19, 1902. In 1910, Lucinda was a widow and living with daughter, Mary, and son-in-law, John Dalton. Sons, Thomas and James were coal miners. Thomas had a wife, Ellen, and James' wife was Cleo.  In 1920, Lucinda was found living in Erath County with her daughter, Eliza, and son-in-law, Mace P. Oyler. Her daughter Emma lived nearby with her husband, Will Oyler. Lucinda died on July 13, 1921. Lucinda and Tom Newton are buried in Old Gordon Cemetery in Palo Pinto County.

Sarah Jane Thompson

Sarah Jane Thompson was born January 16, 1846 in Weakley County, Tennessee. According to the book, Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County, Sarah Jane "Sallie" came to Dallas with her family in 1865 and settled on a farm. She married John Neely Bryan, Jr. on October 10, 1867. John Neely Bryan, Jr.'s father, John Neely Bryan, was one of the early pioneers of Dallas. John Neely Bryan, Jr. is known as the first male child born in the city of Dallas, Texas. By 1880 the family was living in Llano County, Texas and can be found in Clay County, Texas by 1900. Sallie remained in Clay County until her death in 1935 and is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Wichita Falls, Texas.


If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2019

Sources

Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 

Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 

Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 

Ancestry.com. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 

Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 

Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 

Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 

Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 

Colton, J. H. (1861) Colton's map of the southern states: including Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas: showing also part of adjoining states & territories locating the forts & military stations of the U. States & showing all the rail roads, r.r. stations & other internal improvements. New York: Published by J.H. Colton. [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2009579197/.

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn.

Lewis Publishing Company. Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County, Texas., book, 1892; Chicago, Illinois. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth20932/m1/544/: accessed September 15, 2019), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Public Library. 

Quinn, Diana Bryan. “Thompson Family.”  http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~bryanquinn/genealogy/Thompson,%20Moses.htm. Accessed 15 Sep. 2019.