James S. Thompson

James S. Thompson was born on March 30, 1876 in Rock Rapids, Iowa. You can read about his parents and brothers and sister here.

We have very few pictures of him, and unfortunately none from when he was young. Neither do we have much information on him other than the basic facts, but we do have some of his granddaughter Helen's memories, as few and far between as they are, that help to make him seem more like a once-living person rather than just a name among those of our (very recent) ancestors.

James Thompson with daughter Helen - Do not know date or place.

James S. Thompson was born March 30, 1876 in Rock Rapids, Lyon Co., Iowa, the youngest child of John and Luanna Thompson. He was a roofer, and that's really all we know about him except that he was married three times.

FIRST MARRIAGE

James Thompson married Eleanor Josephine Goff on December 28, 1898 in Storm Lake, Buena Vista County, Iowa. He was twenty-two years old and Eleanor ("Ellie") was six days away from her sixteenth birthday. They had three children, all born in Cherokee:

-- 1) Helen Luella Thompson, born July 28, 1899
-- 2) Margaret Mae ("Margie") Thompson, born 1902
-- 3) Gerald James Thompson, born on April 12, 1904

Eleanor Goff Thompson

SECOND MARRIAGE

James Thompson married "Unknown" between 1904 and 1928, somewhere. They had one child.

-- 1) Joe Edwin Thompson
We don't know where Joe Edwin was born, possibly in Iowa or in Nebraska. He died in 1987, possibly in Texas, possibly in Iowa, possibly elsewhere.

Second Wife - Unknown

THIRD MARRIAGE James Thompson married Mrs. Clara Isabelle Dingman on January 16, 1928 in Blue Earth, Faribault County, Minnesota. They didn't have any children together, but Clara had six children by a previous husband -- two boys and four girls. Evelyn Dingman was her youngest and lived with her mother and stepfather (James Thompson).

Clara Dingman Thompson

East Broadway - Eagle Grove, Iowa - No date

Northwestern Depot and Occidental Hotel - Eagle Grove

James died on June 25, 1964 in Eagle Grove in Wright County, Iowa. He was buried in Riverview Cemetery in Rock Rapids, where his parents and his oldest brother, Franklin, were buried. His third wife, Clara, died in 1968 in Eagle Grove.

From album belonging to his daughter, Helen Luella Thompson

James Thompson and Chickens, in Iowa (Eagle Grove?), No date

Note: Elizabeth Thompson, wife of Gerald Thompson (James Thompson's son) said that James Thompson didn't have a middle name, just the initial: S. We don't know if his father's middle initial stood for anything, but it seems likely.