4. Andrew Thompson Jr.

Andrew Thompson Jr. is the second child of Andrew Thompson Sr. and his wife Ann. He was born in 1781, and died in 1856. The 1850 Wythe County Census lists him as 70 years old. It is clear that the Andrew Thompson age 70 listed in the 1850 census is Andrew Jr., the son of Andrew Sr. by the comparison presented in Chapter 1. (Where it aids clarity, I will refer to father Andrew as Andrew Sr., and his son as Andrew Jr.)

Andrew Jr. was married ca. 1799. This date is calculated based on ages of children listed in the censuses. The name of the spouse is not known. She was also born about 1780, and died between 1830/1840.

Harris lists Andrew's spouse as Joanna Devor, and their marriage as 1830 [Harris, 1976 notes]. As discussed in the previous chapter, the 1850 Wythe Census lists an Andrew Thompson in Wythe, aged 42, married to a Joanna, aged 41. An 1830 marriage would be ideal for that Andrew and Joanna. But that Andrew (b. 1808) cannot be Andrew Jr. because of the age of Andrew Jr. in previous censuses, and the ages of siblings surrounding Andrew Jr. in the birth order. Furthermore, Andrew (b. 1808) and Joanna make a land purchase in 1859, three years after Andrew Jr. passed away. Therefore, Harris had incorrect information on this matter. Perhaps she made an incorrect assumption about the spouse of Andrew based on the 1850 census already noted. In fact, the Andrew Thompson who married Joanna Devor in 1830, is one of two candidates to be the son of Andrew Jr.

The children of Andrew Thompson (Jr.) and his wife are:

William Thompson b. 1799
Virginia Thompson b. ca 1801
Andrew Thompson b. 1800 or 1808
Mary Thompson b. 1804
Elizabeth Thompson b. 1809
Archibald Thompson b. 1810/1813
Francis Thompson b. 1812
Patton Thompson b. 1813/1815
Barbara Thompson b. 1819

Land records after the Andrew's death in 1856 provide the names of Andrew's children [Thompson, Letter 16 Oct. 1994][Thompson, Conversation 8 Nov 1994]. On May 22, 1857, land titles for nine pieces of land on Walker Creek are transferred from Andrew's estate to Andrew's children. Andrew died intestate [Wythe Will Book #9; Appraisement started 21 Feb 1856, pg 74; Sale Bill, 10 Mar 1856, pg 75; Settlement 11 Aug 1856, pg 365][Thompson, Letter 27 Oct 1994]. Apparently some of the children owed their father more than the others, and Andrew's son Andrew took his other siblings to court. Isaac Leftwich was appointed by the court to divide the land equitably. This has left us with a clear record of who the children of Andrew were. It also suggests that there are no other children, at least none that lived to maturity.

The names of the children and the land transfers that occurred as a result of the equitable division are shown below. Page numbers are from [Wythe Deed Book #20][Thompson, Letter 7 Nov 1994]. All of the lots are on Walker Creek.

Date Page Transfer To Transfer From # Acres Lot #
22 May 1857 726 Virginia Thompson Andrew Thompson Est. 35 1/4 5
22 May 1857 732 Mary Thompson Andrew Thompson Est. 31 4
22 May 1857 733 Andrew Thompson Andrew Thompson Est. 38 2
22 May 1857 734 Francis Thompson Andrew Thompson Est. 36 1/2 6
22 May 1857 737 Archibald Thompson Andrew Thompson Est. 36 1/2 8
22 May 1857 737 Barbara Snider Andrew Thompson Est. 36 1/2 7
22 May 1857 738 Patton Thompson Andrew Thompson Est. 26 1
22 May 1857 739 Elizabeth Lambert Andrew Thompson Est. 27 9
22 May 1857 739 William Thompson Andrew Thompson Est. 31 3

There are some bonuses to the land records -- reference is made to George Snider as the husband of Barbara and to Joseph Lambert as the husband of Elizabeth.

Four of the children sell their interests in the following three years. These land sales give us the names of the spouses of three of these sons [Thompson, Letter 16 Oct 1994, p 2][Thompson Letter 7 Nov 1994] William & Mahaly Thompson sell 31 acres to Archibald Thompson in June 1857. Archibald and Polly Thompson then sell their 36 1/2 acres and the 31 acres from William to Randolf Waddle in July 1859. Francis and Malvina Thompson also sell their 30 acres to Randolf Waddle in August 1859. (It is very likely that Randolf Waddle is related to William Waddle who married a daughter of Mary (Thompson) Helvey. The only Randolf Waddle I've found living nearby is the son of Robinette Waddle. If so, Randolf would have been 28 in 1857.) Patton and Elizabeth sell their 26 acres to William Ingram in June 1859.

With these names and the 1810, 1820, 1830 , 1840 and 1850 censuses in hand, we are able to place virtually all of the children of Andrew Jr.

Mary

Mary Thompson is still single and living at home in 1850, aged 40. She is one of the females at home in 1840, also. After her father Andrew dies in 1856, Mary apparently lives with Archibald and his family. She is found listed with his family in the 1860 census, [Douthat, Wythe Census 1860, family 997 pg 40] although here her age is listed as 55. She is still living with Archibald in the 1880 Census, age 76 [Thompson, Letter 11 Dec 1994].

Archibald

Archibald Thompson, his wife and children are all living at home with Andrew Jr. in the 1850 census. From the 1850 census alone, one might think Polly was a daughter of Andrew, but the organization of the census indicates she is a spouse, a fact borne out by the 1860 census [Douthat, Wythe Census 1860, family 997 pg 40] and the 1857 land transaction to Randolph Waddle. The 1850 census lists Archibald's age as 37, the 1860 census as 50, making his birth year 1810/1813. Polly's age is given as 30 and 42 in the same two censuses, making her birth year 1818/1820. The five children are (listed in both censuses): Darthula (F 1841), Liza (F 1843), Winton/William (M 1845), Ludena (F 1847), Henry (M 1849).

Archibald and Polly, together with the same children are found in the 1860 Wythe census. Mary is now living with them. It is interesting to note that Archibald ages 13 years, Polly 12, and Mary 15 years. We observe this same kind of inaccuracy with John Thompson, son of John Thompson, and his sister Nancy; they both age five years more than the 10 years between censuses.

Archibald's will is dated May 1884 [Bland Wills, pg 444][Thompson, Letter 28 Oct 1994]. The will mentions: his wife, Polly; a son, James W.; a son, Henry; a daughter, Ledema Stowers; a sister, Mary, who is to be cared for by James W. Thompson; and Paris Peskey, Laura Peskey, and Albert Peskey, who are the children of his daughter Darthula and William A. Peskey (or Perkey). James is not mentioned in the 1850 nor 1860 censuses. It is possible the W. stands for William.

Patton

Patton Thompson and his wife Elizabeth are found living relatively close to Francis and Phoebe Thompson in the 1850 census [Wythe Census 1850, family 1546 pg 668]. Here is their family structure:

1546 Patton Thompson 35 M
  Elizabeth 38 F
  Ellen 12 F
  Mary 12 F
  Agness 7 F
  Jane 2 F

Patton and Elizabeth are found in the 1860 Census [Wythe Census 1860, family 789][Thompson, Letter 17 Nov 1994]:

789 Patton Thompson 47 M
  Elizabeth 46 F
  Barbara 22 F
  Mary 20 F
  Agness 16 F

There are no other Thompsons named Patton in the area, and he fits in well into the ages for children of Andrew. There are a some Pattons in a Thompson line in a nearby county, that of James Thompson of Augusta County (presented in Chapter 11). But there is no Patton in that line who matches the age nor wife's name. Further, in 1850, that line is all in Tazewell County.

I conclude that Patton and Elizabeth are the right Patton. I have not found records of them in the 1840 nor 1860 census.

Francis

Francis Thompson is easy to identify because of his wife's name Malvina, shown in the land transfer to Randolf Waddle.

Francis, also known as Frank, was born in 1812 and his wife in 1818. They left Wythe in the early 1840's and moved to Logan County, Virginia (which is now Lincoln County, West Virginia.) [Thompson, Letter 8 Dec 1993] They had one male child, Johile, b. 1839, whom they took with them when they moved.

The family structure is as follows [Ibid.]:

Johile Thompson b. 1839 Wythe, VA md. Susannah Hager
James G. Thompson b. 1842 VA.  
John Wesley Thompson b. 1844 Logan, VA. md. Armilda Adkins
St. Clair Thompson b. 1846 Logan, VA. md. 1) Emeline 2) R. Naylor
Fernandes Thompson b. 1849 Boone, VA. md. 1) Barbara Miller 2)Susan
Andrew Thompson b. 1851 Boone, VA. md. Harriet Francis Hager
Jeserell Thompson b. 1854 Boone, VA. md. Matilda Adkins
Nichitiah Thompson b. 1856 Boone, VA.  
George W. Thompson b. 1857 Boone, VA. md. Rebecca
Jefferson Thompson b. 1861 Boone, VA. md. Lucretia Naylor
Squire Thompson b. 1863 Boone, VA. md. Mary A. Adkins

The 1860 census of Boone County lists the birth place of Francis and Malvina as Wythe. Normally, the 1860 census lists only state of birth, but the diligent census taker in Boone County, perhaps misunderstanding his task, listed the county of birth as well. This error is a boon to us, since it clearly shows where Francis and Malvina are from and, by looking at the birth counties of their children, the approximate year they moved from Wythe. [Thompson, Conversation Oct 16 1994]

It is most likely that the Francis who appears in the 1840 Census [Douthat, Wythe Settlers, pg 46, (page 91 of the census)] is Francis (Frank) Thompson. The other Francis, Francis M. Thompson (son of Amos Thompson), was not married until 1843. Here is the record of Francis (Frank) Thompson and family in 1840:

Francis Thompson
M 20-30
F 20-30
F 10-15
M 0-5

The 10-15 yr. female in the household was possibly a worker "serving", a common occurrence.

Elizabeth

The land records tell us that Elizabeth married Joseph Lambert. Joseph and Elizabeth are found in the 1860 census, [Douthat, Wythe Census 1860, dwelling 999]. The information for the family is given as follows:

999 Joseph Lambert 53 M farmer
  Elizabeth 51 F
  Polly 19 F
  Thomas Klin 16 M laborer on farm
  Eliza Lambert 50 F
  Kate Ory 42 F
  William Lambert 25 M laborer on farm

In 1850, Joseph appears to be living with his parents [Douthat, Wythe Settlers, p 144 family 1546]:

1546 John Lambert 70 M farmer
  Christina 74 F
  Joseph 44 M farmer
  Elijah 42 M
  Catherine Oury 38 F
  Polly Lambert 10 F
  James Franklin 7 M
  Elizabeth Lambert 44 F

From the 1860 record, if we leave out the farm laborers, we see Joseph & Elizabeth, a daughter Polly and two other females, who we will assume are related to Joseph, Eliza and Kate. Eliza is probably a sister, as is Kate, though less certainly so. Kate was apparently married to an Ory, and is now widowed. Joseph, Polly, and Kate (Catherine) are also found in 1850. The Elizabeth Lambert listed as 44 in 1850 is either Elizabeth, the wife of Joseph, or Eliza, the assumed sister of Joseph. They cannot be the same person because they both appear in the 1860 census. Arguments as to which is which would be futile without more information.

The identity of Kate's (Catherine's) husband may be John Oury, who lived between Andrew Thompson and John Thompson on Walker Creek in 1840 with a younger female [Douthat, Wythe Settlers, pg 53]. John is aged 50-60 and the female in his household is 20-30. We cannot tell if the female was a daughter or a spouse, but she is the right age to be Kate (Catherine). John Oury apparently dies between 1840 and 1850, because I cannot find him in the 1850 census. All this is very circumstantial, but fits the situation of Kate. In relation to John Lambert, more research is required to determine whether Kate is a sister, or some other tie to the family.

William

William and his family are just two doors away from cousin Crockett, and 7 doors away from Andrew Jr. in the 1850 census. William is clearly identified by his wife, Mahaly (Douthat transcribes it Malaula), who is mentioned in the land transaction with Randolf Waddle. William was born in 1799, making him the oldest child of Andrew Jr. He shows up as the male child age 10-16 in the 1810 census; then, as a male child age 16-26 in the 1820 census; then, living alone as William Thompson age 20-30 in the 1830 census.

Here is the information for William Thompson and family from the 1850 census [Douthat, Ibid.]:

1308 William Thompson 51 M farmer
  Malaula 39 F
  Alexander 20 M
  Archibald 15 M
  Noble 13 M
  Barbara 8 F
  Minerva 4 F

Based on the censuses, it appears William married between 1820 and 1830. Alexander was born in 1830 according to the census. Mahaly would have been 18 in 1829.

Barbara

Barbara Thompson's spouse is clearly identified in the land records as George Snider. They married on 7 Oct 1837 [Vogt & Kethley, Wythe Marriages, pg 24]. The marriage record records her father as Andrew. A comparison of the 1830 to 1840 census shows that a daughter moves away from home in that time. George Snider and his wife are living next door to Andrew Jr. in the 1840 census, which records the age of both of them as 20-30. This would mean Barbara's birth year was between 1810 and 1820. From her marriage in 1837, we would estimate her birth as 1817. We find from the 1860 census her birth year is 1819.

George and Barbara Snider are found in the 1850 and 1860 Tazewell Census [Thompson, Letter 17 Nov 1994]. They are living in Burkes Garden. Their birth years from comparing the censuses are:

George Snidor b. 1816
Barbara b. 1819
Cosby J. b. 1841 (female)
Ballard P. b. 1844
Andrew W. b. 1847
Elizabeth b. 1766
Eliza b. 1811

Andrew

There are two Andrews who can fill the requirements for Andrew the son of Andrew Jr., whom we could call Andrew III for clarity (although there is no evidence he ever went by that name). These two Andrews are the same two Andrews that were presented in detail in Chapter 3 as potentials to be the son of John. All other Andrews in Wythe are the wrong age, or clearly belong to another family.

These two Andrews are Andrew Thompson (b. 1808), who married Joanna Devor, and Andrew (b. 1800) who apparently never married. In Chapter 3, I mentioned that since John also had an Andrew, if one Andrew fits in the family of John then the other must fit the family of Andrew Jr., and vice versa. After comparison, I concluded that Andrew (1808) fits better in both families than Andrew (1800), but that Andrew 1800 could not be ruled out for either family. Currently there is no way to decide which Andrew is which.

One fact that may mean something is the apparent error that Harris made about Andrew Jr. being married to Joanna Devor. I explained earlier why I disagree with her conclusion. However, this same conclusion is listed by Bertha (Thompson) Albertson in her submission to the DAR [DAR Record 590408]. Both Harris and Albertson list Andrew Sr.'s children with Andrew Jr. as the seventh child, his wife as Joanna Devor, and the other children in nearly the same order as each other and the probate record. It appears to me that Harris and Albertson had the same source for their information. Albertson submitted her application in 1974. Harris' notes are dated 1976. I have no indication they ever met.

The question is, how did Harris and Albertson come to this same conclusion? If they got their information from someone else, how did their source(s) arrive at that conclusion? Is it possible that Harris and Albertson (and their sources) made precisely the same error, just as I did when first researching the Thompson family? Or was there some other piece of knowledge or family tradition held by their source which suggested that the father of Andrew (1808) was an Andrew!

Other than Andrew Sr., the only other choice for a father named Andrew who could be the father of Andrew (1808) is Andrew Jr. If there is a record showing Andrew's (1808) father is named Andrew, it would mean Andrew's (1808) father was not John, and we would be able to more confidently assign both Andrew (1808) and Andrew (1800). The very coincidence of Harris and Albertson both reaching the same conclusion indicates to me that there may be such a record someplace. Therefore, I have developed a leaning towards Andrew (1808) being the son of Andrew Jr., and Andrew (1800) being the son of John.

Virginia

Virginia Thompson is the only child we don't have any other identifying records for. However, since we know the approximate births of the other daughters, and since the land records imply there are no other descendants of Andrew, we can approximate her birth by comparing censuses.

The 1810 census shows three females between 0 and 10. We know Elizabeth was born in 1809, and Mary in 1804. Barbara was most likely born after 1810, probably closer to 1817. So Virginia appears to be the other female born between 1800 and 1810.

The 1820 census shows two females 10-16 and one female 0-10. Elizabeth would be 11, and Mary, 16. Barbara would be between 0 and 10. That would suggest Virginia was not at home at that time. If so, it pushes her birth year closer to 1800. I have found no evidence that Virginia was ever married. Spouses are mentioned for all the other married children in the 1857 land settlement. The fact that no spouse was mentioned and her name is listed as Virginia Thompson leads to the conclusion that she was still single in 1857.


© Copyright Brian J. Cragun, 1994, 1997. All rights reserved.