BIOGRAPHY - A. THOMPSON
A.
C. Thompson is the owner of seven hundred and twenty acres of fine land in
Ford county and in addition to general farming he makes a specialty of
stock-raising. He was born in Schuyler county, Illinois, August 12, 1858,
his parents being Amos R. and Martha W. (Smith) Thompson, who are
represented elsewhere in this volume.
A. C. Thompson remained under the parental roof until he attained his majority, when he started out in life on his own account by renting a farm in Missouri. He remained in that state for a year and then returned to Illinois, purchasing eighty acres of land in Iroquois county, which he successfully operated until 1887. In that year he came to Ford county and again rented land for five years, on the expiration of which period he returned to Iroquois county, where he farmed a tract of rented land for thirteen years. He then purchased a farm in that county but sold it in 1900 and purchased four hundred and eighty acres on section 21, Pella township, Ford county. He increased his holdings from time to time until he now has seven hundred and twenty acres of rich and productive land in this county in the beautiful valley of the Pan Handle. He is one of the prosperous and enterprising agriculturists of this part of the state and in addition to his extensive farming interests he also makes a specialty of raising stock, in which branch of his business he has met with a gratifying measure of success.
ln 1888 Mr. Thompson was united in marriage to Miss Mary Patterson, a native of Wyoming county, New York. Her father has passed away, but her mother still survives, making her home in Steele county, North Dakota. Mrs. Thompson is one of a family of eleven children and by her marriage she has become the mother of eight children, six of whom are living: Walter, who is a student in the high school at Piper City; Lottie; Jennie; Leslie; Benjamin; Margaret; and two who are deceased.
In 1903 Mr. Thompson removed to Freeland Park, Indiana, where he conducted an elevator until the spring of 1907, when he sold out and returned to this county in order to supervise his agricultural interests here. He has erected a handsome fifteen room residence on his farm, three miles north of Piper City, in which he expects to spend the remainder of his life. Except for the assistance he has received from his estimable wife, Mr. Thompson owes his success entirely to his own well directed labor and unfaltering diligence, combined with capable business management. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian church. In his political views he is a republican and a believer in high tariff. He has served as school director altogether for nineteen years in the different counties in which he has lived, the cause of education ever finding in him a warm friend. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America at Piper City and is also a member of Piper City Lodge, No. 608, A. F. & A. M. and is a Knight Templar in the commandery at Fairbury. Both he and his wife are widely and favorably known throughout the community, having won the unqualified confidence and regard of all with whom they have come in contact.
Extracted 17 Oct 2016 by Norma Hass from History of Ford County, Illinois, From Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, author E. A. Gardner, Volume 2, pages 806-809.
