Thompson Family genealogy progress
I’ve made a bit more progress on discovering the history of our Thompson family.
Samuel and Martha Thompson were born in the 1840s in Ohio. They had 5 known children - William R. Thompson; Sarah Alice Thompson; Samuel L. Thompson; Jessie Roy Thompson; Dora May Thompson. Let me start with the parents, and then take each child in turn.
Samuel Thompson and Martha J. Helsel married in Hancock County Ohio - that’s Findlay Ohio on the map, near Michigan. They lived in Orange Township in that county. A Thompson family was among the earliest settlers of that township, but I see no evidence that our Samuel was part of that Thompson family. It’s a common name, and there is more than one Samuel Thompson of the right age in that general area!
The Helsel family was hard to find - because I had an error. A volunteer looked up your grandparents’ marriage record in Lansing Michigan for me - Jessie R. Thompson and Nellie Mae Smith. The marriage record gave all four parents’ names, including maiden names. Nellie’s parents were present at the wedding in 1900. Unfortunately the marriage record said “Hekele” when it should have said “Helsel.” I searched and searched for any relevant Hekele family but found none! The eldest son, Will Thompson, has a marriage record with Helsel - and that was the key to tracing our Thompsons into Ohio.
Someone else has traced the Helsel family back from Hancock County Ohio, to a different county in Ohio, back more generations into western Pennsylvania, and further back into Germany. Meanwhile, Dorothy’s (Ron’s mother) notes refer to Samuel and Martha as “of Prussian descent.” These notes are NOT in Dorothy’s hand writing - they appear to have come from a descendant of Dora May Thompson (adopted to become Dora May Thompson Bullis). I don’t know if Thompson is Prussian, but Helsel apparently is. So that’s one more piece of the puzzle connected up! Martha, incidentally, could neither read nor write.
I still hope to visit Michigan and the library in Findlay Ohio this summer. Perhaps I can find out who Samuel’s parents and family are. The Thompsons moved to Carlton Township, Barry County Michigan (near Grand Rapids), between 1877 and 1879. The four oldest children (grandfather Jessie being the fourth) were born in Ohio; Dora was born in Michigan.
In 1880, Martha’s brother Philip Helsel and family were living next door. Helsel children were listed on the World War I draft listing for the county, and there may still be descendants in or near Hastings, Michigan.
Martha (Helsel) Thompson died in 1881. So far I have found no trace of husband Samuel Thompson after that date. The youngest, Dora, was put into foster care and eventually adopted, so it’s possible that Samuel died at that same time. However, Dorothy’s notes say Martha died 1881, and say nothing at all about Samuel - so I’m guessing he did not die at that same time. Dorothy writes (in her own hand writing) “I never knew them, knew nothing about them except the names.”
The eldest child, William R. Thompson born 1866, is referred to as Will Thompson in Dorothy’s notes. In 1889, he married Mary J. Letson, the daughter of Edward Letson and Artemisia Bockus. Remember that Bockus (maiden) name… there is a later connection. They married in Mason County, Michigan, and descendants were living there as recently as the 1980’s and 1990’s. Their fourth child, Estella, appears to be adopted - her birth parents being a John P. Harley and Elizabeth Bocus. I haven’t yet sorted out the Bockus/Bocus connection - and it’s Estella and children I find living in Mason County. The other children of William Thompson are Jessie E., Seamer, and Audrey, born 1892, 1893, and 1896 respectively. They were born in Mason County, but I haven’t yet traced down any marriages or children. I think it likely that we have Thompson cousins descended from Will and Mary.
Samuel and Martha Thompson’s second child, Sarah Alice Thompson born 1868, is referred to as Alice Lewis in Dorothy’s notes. Alice married John D. Lewis, a Civil War veteran, at a young age. She died when age 16, a month after giving birth to her second child, from inflammation of the stomach. John D. Lewis was probably 34 years older than she, and had been previously married. They had two children, Earnest P. Lewis born 1883, and John B. Lewis, born 1885. Alice died 1885; her husband lived until 1909. Earnest P. Lewis married Osa M. Jeffrey. Osa died in 1980 in Hastings, Michigan. Their third child, Loren, died 1986, also in Hastings, so it’s likely that we have Lewis cousins in the Hastings, Michigan area.
Samuel and Martha Thompson’s third child, Samuel L. Thompson, died in 1884 at age 12. The mother died in 1881; the son in 1884, and the married teenage daughter died in 1885 leaving two children of her own.
Samuel and Martha Thompson’s fourth child, Jessie Roy Thompson, was born 1877 and married Helen Mae “Nellie” Smith on 31 March 1900 in Lansing, Michigan. He was only 4 years old when his mother died and his younger sister was placed out for foster care. So far, I don’t know who he had as family growing up! At around age 6 his older sister married; age 7 his older brother died; age 8 his married sister died. Dorothy’s notes imply that Jessie did NOT live with his younger sister Dora. What happened to Jessie’s childhood? I have no idea! I found his middle name “Roy” on his World War I draft registration card.
Samuel and Martha Thompson’s fifth child, Dora May, was born in Michigan in 1878. Dorothy’s notes give the names of the initial guardian (a nearby farmer with wife and family of his own), the foster parents, and adoptive parents. Dorothy appears to have remained in contact with that part of the family, referring to Dora’s husband as Uncle Charlie. Are we still in contact with any descendants?
Martha (Helsel) Thompson’s parents were Philip Helsel born 1798 in Pennsylvania, and Sarah Houser, born about 1807 in New Jersey. They married 3 May 1826 in Trumbull County Ohio. They had 9 known children, Philip being number 6 and Martha number 7. I know that Philip’s and Martha’s families lived next door to each other in Michigan in 1880; I don’t yet know if there were more cousins who moved to Barry County Michigan as well. Martha’s parents - my great-great-great-grandparents - appear to have ended their days in the 1880s as inmates of the Hancock County Infirmary. All other Helsels seem to have moved away from Hancock county by that time.
