BIOGRAPHY - AMOS THOMPSON
Amos
R. Thompson, who spent his last years in Ford county, was a native of
Pennsylvania, born in Mercer county, in 1829, his father being a miller of
that state. It was during the boyhood of our subject that he left there and
went to Washington, Kentucky, where he worked at the cabinet maker's trade
for about nine or ten years, and in 1849 came to Illinois.
For some time Mr. Thompson made his home in Schuyler county and there he was married in 1852 to Miss Martha Winslow Smith, who was born in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1832 and was a representative of an old Virginia family. They became the parents of nine children, of whom seven still survive, namely: Mary, the wife of Thomas Reed, now living in Indian Territory; A. C. and John A., both farmers of Pella township, Ford county; Ruth I., the wife of William Sullivan, of Oklahoma; Clarissa; Benjamin S., who is also a farmer of Pella township; and Charlotte Columbia, who became the wife of J. P. Glass. James is deceased.
After leaving Schuyler county, Mr. Thompson was engaged in farming in Woodford county, Illinois, for five years, and from there removed to McLean county. In 1859 he sold his property in this state and went to Utah, where he made his home for eighteen months, and on the expiration of that period returned to McLean county, Illinois, locating on a farm, which he cultivated for about fifteen years. On selling that place he removed to Iroquois county in 1874 and ten years later came to Ford comity, where his remaining days were passed. During his residence here, however, he was in poor health most of the time and he died in 1894.
By his ballot Mr. Thompson supported the men and measures of the democratic party, and he was a faithful and consistent member of the Christian church. Upright and honorable in all that he did, he gained the confidence and respect of those with whom he came in contact and his death was widely and sincerely mourned.
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 732-735.
