Sedgwick County KSGenWeb

Portrait And Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan.

Chapman Brothers 1888

Pages 765 - 766 

JOHN G. THOMPSON. Among the many sturdy young men who came into Sedgwick County in an early day, and became pioneers in one of the finest sections of the great State of Kansas was Mr. J. G. Thompson, of Salem Township. He is now one of its prominent and enterprising citizens, and resides upon section 34. He first drew the breath of life beneath the roof of the house of his parents, Joseph O. and Mary A. (McGee) Thompson, in Jefferson County, Ohio, May 6, 1845.

            Joseph O., the father of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Fayette County, Pa., and the descendant of John G. Thompson, an Irishman by birth, who had come to the United States and settled in the Keystone State many years before. The mother of our subject was born in Jefferson County, Ohio, and was also of Irish descent. While still a boy, in 1853, the gentleman whose memoir we are writing removed with his parents to Allen County, Ind., where they were among the earliest settlers of that region. There the family took up a farm, where his father died in 1882. His mother is still a resident of Allen County, and is in her seventieth year. She was the mother of eight children, as follows: Margaret A., wife of John Redding, of Eldorado Springs, Mo.; Phoebe J., Mrs. Charles Hart, of Rolling Prairie, Ind.; William M., a resident of Michigan; Sarah E.; Florence M., wife of George Spice, of Huntington, Ind.; John G., the subject of this sketch, Ida B., Mrs. Z. Johnson, who is living in Huntington, Ind., and one who died in childhood.

            The subject of this memoir was reared to man's estate in Indiana, and received the elements of a good education in the district schools of that locality. Having a laudable thirst for knowledge, he has, by a course of extensive reading, become very well informed upon most subjects, and in the general topics of the day. From early youth he was engaged in farming, and while occupied in assisting his father in his agricultural labors, he was rudely awakened from his quiet dreams by the tocsin of war, which then broke upon our devoted country. Hastening with patriotic ardor to the defense of his flag and country, he enlisted, Aug. 6, 1862, in Company H, 75th Indiana Infantry, the Colonel commanding being Milton S. Robinson; Lieutenant Colonel, William O'Brien; Major, J. C. McCole; Captain, William McGinnis; First Lieutenant, William Wilkinson; and Second Lieutenant, William Riley. The regiment was attached to the Army of the Cumberland, and with that body he participated in the sanguinary conflicts at Hoover's Gap, Tullahoma and at Chickamauga. At the latter place, Sept. 19, 1863, he was severely wounded in the left leg, and taken prisoner by the Confederate troops. Having been paroled upon the field, he was sent to Chattanooga, and on reaching the Federal lines was placed in a hospital, where he remained for some time. On his convalescence he rejoined his regiment at Big Shanty, in the vicinity of Atlanta, Ga., and found them attached to the column of Gen. W. T. Sherman. At Peachtree Creek and all the numerous engagements that took place in and around Atlanta, he bore a gallant part, and when their matchless leader, cutting himself off from his base of supplies, traversed Georgia and the Carolinas, Mr. Thompson marched in the ranks of his regiment. After participating in the grand review at Washington, he was mustered out of the service, and discharged June 8, 1865.

            After the dissolution of the volunteer armies, Mr. Thompson, like Cincinnatus, returned to his home, and resumed his agricultural labors. He remained in Indiana until 1871, when he came to Kansas, and located on section 34, where he preempted 160 acres of land. This tract he has brought to a perfection in cultivation that is a model for the neighborhood. He prefers to follow the advice of Horace Greeley, who said that a small farm well tilled was worth two large ones comparatively neglected. He has, by industry, energy and perseverance, accumulated considerable capital, and is among the well-to-do farmers of the township.

            February 22, 1880, the marriage ceremony took place which united the destinies of Mr. Thompson and Miss Annie M. Bowles. His wife is a daughter of Jesse P. and Maria P. (Bivin) Bowles, a sketch of whom is given elsewhere in the pages of this ALBUM. She is a native of Logan County, Ill., and was born on the 25th of August, 1856. There has been born of this marriage one child, Alma E., whose birth took place Feb. 27, 1881. Both Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are members of the Christian Church, and consistent followers of the Master. In politics, Mr. Thompson is a Republican, but does not aspire to public office. He is a member of Mulvane Post No. 203, G. A. R., at Mulvane, and is the present Senior Vice Commander.

[ Home ]