Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/113

Rh studied law there, and was admitted to the bar in 1823, after which he returned to Vermont and settled in Montpelier. He was register of probate in 1824, and clerk of the legislature in 1830-'3, and was then appointed to compile the "Laws of Vermont from 1824 down to and including the Year 1834 " (Montpelier, 1835). He was judge of probate from 1837 till 1840, from 1843 till 1845 clerk of the supreme and county courts, and from 1853 till 1855 secretary of state. From 1849 till 1856 he edited a weekly political paper called the " Green Mountain Freeman." He was a popular lecturer before lyceums and orator on public occa- sions. Mr. Thompson began to contribute poems and sketches to periodicals while he was in college, and continued to write frequently for the news- papers and magazines, besides publishing political pamphlets. He took part in the anti - Masonic controversy, and published a satirical novel on the subject, entitled " The Adventures of Timothy Peacock, Esq., or Freemasonry Practically Illus- trated," which appeared under the pen-name of " A Member of the Vermont Bar " (Middlebury, 1835). In 1835 he wrote for the " New England Galaxy," of Boston, a prize tale called " May Martin, or the Money-Diggers," which was issued in book-form (Montpelier. 1835), and reprinted in London. Next appeared " The Green Mountain Boys," a romance, in which the principal men connected with the his- tory of Vermont in the Revolutionary period are brought into the plot (Montpelier, 1840; repub- lished in Boston and London) ; " Locke Amsden, or the Schoolmaster " (Boston. 1845); "Lucy Hosmer, or the Guardian and the Ghost " (1848) ; and " The Rangers, or the Tory's Daughter " (1851). His later romances are " Tales of the Green Mountains " (1852); "Gaut Gurlev, or the Trappers of Lake Umbagog" (1857); "The Doomed Chief, or Two Hundred Years Ago," based on the story of King Philip (Philadelphia, 1860) ; and " Centeola, and other Tales " (New York, 1864^. He was also the author of a " History of Montpelier, 1781-1860, with Biographical Sketches" (Montpelier, 1860). In later life he published monographs on topics of American history and on biographical subjects in various magazines. A novel, with the title of " The Honest Lawyer, or the Fair Castaway," was left unfinished.

THOMPSON, David, Canadian explorer, b. in the parish of St. John, Westminster, England, 30 April, 1770; d. in Longueil, near Montreal, 16 Feb., 1857. He was educated at Christ's hospital school, London, and at Oxford, and when he was nineteen years old entered the service of the Hudson bay company. He was afterward employed in explora- tion, and on 27 April, 1798, discovered Turtle lake, which he claimed to be the source of the Missis- sippi, as it is from this spot that the river takes its most direct course to the sea. His course in reach- ing the head-waters of this river is well delineated on his " Map of the Northwest Territory of the Province of Canada, made for the Northwest Com- pany in 1813-14." He also surveyed the south shore of Lake Superior in 1798, in June, 1807, crossed the Rocky mountains by what is now known as the Howse pass, and in the spring of 1811 as- cended Columbia river from the junction of Canoe river to its source, and then descended it to its mouth, where he arrived on 16 July the same year. On 27 May, 1812, he reached Red Deer lake, or Lac la Biehe, which Schoolcraft, who visited it in 1832, claimed to be the true source of the Mississippi, and the same year resurveyed the north shore of Lake Superior to Sault Ste. Marie. He left the service of the Hudson bay company, 23 May, 1797, and entered that of the Northwest company, in which he was for many subsequent years a partner. From 1816 till 1826 he was engaged in surveying and defining the boundary-line on the part of Great Britain between Canada and the United States, being employed in 1817 on the St. Lawrence. Pro- ceeding westward around the shores of the great lakes, he reached the Lake of the Woods in 1825. In 1834 he surveyed Lake Francis, in 1837 he made a survey of the canoe route from Lake Huron to Ottawa river, and a few years later a survey of Lake St. Peter. His last years were spent either in Glengarry county, Ont., or in Longueil. Of the early explorers, few rendered more valuable services or estimated their achievements more modestly.

THOMPSON, David, Canadian member of par- liament, b. in Wainfleet, Welland co., Ont., 7 Dec, 1836. His father, the son of a Scotchman, repre- sented Haldiinand from 1841 till 1851. The son was educated at Upper Canada college, and became a flour and grain merchant. He represented Hal- dimand in the Canada assembly from 1863 till the union, was elected to the Dominion parliament in 1867, re-elected by acclamation in 1872 and 1874, and chosen again in 1878 and 1882. He is actively connected with various financial and industrial or- ganizations, is major of volunteers, a Liberal in politics, and favors a prohibitory liquor law.

THOMPSON, Edward R., naval officer, b. in Pennsylvania about 1808 ; d. in Philadelphia, Pa., 12 Feb., 1879. He entered the navy as a midship- man on 1 Dec, 1826, became a lieutenant on 8 March, 1837, served during the Mexican war on the brig " Porpoise " and the frigate "Potomac" in the Gulf of Mexico, cruised on the coast of Africa in the " Porpoise " in 1851-'2, and in com- mand of the " Dolphin " in 1856-'7, having been promoted commander on 14 Sept., 1855. He had charge of the steamer " Seminole " in the early part of the civil war, but, being unfit for further active service, was placed on the retired list on 3 Dec, 1861. On 4 April, 1867, his rank was raised to that of commodore.

THOMPSON, Edwin, reformer, b. in Lynn. Mass., in July, 1809 ; d. in East Walpole, Mass., 22 May, 1888. He was of Quaker descent, and early interested himself in the anti-slavery movement. At the suggestion of Wendell Phillips, he became a public speaker in its furtherance, travelling through the state, often on foot,, lecturing in churches and school-houses, and winning a reputa- tion as an orator by his fluency and great fund of anecdotes. While speaking in New Bedford, he roused Frederick Douglass to take up active work in behalf of his race. He was also interested from an early period in the temperance reform, which he did much to promote. Mr. Thompson was ordained as a Universalist clergyman in 1840, and afterward resided at East Walpole.

THOMPSON, Egbert, naval officer, b. in New York city, 6 June, 1820 ; d. in Washington, D. C., 5 Jan., 1881. He entered the navy as a midshipman, 13 March, 1837, served in Com. Charles Wilkes's exploring expedition in 1838-'42, and became a passed midshipman, 29 June, 1843. As executive officer of the schooner "Bonita," in the Gulf squadron during the Mexican war, he participated in the expedition against Frontera, and the capture of Tobasco, Tampico, Vera Cruz, and Tuspan. His vessel covered the landing of Gen. Win- field Scott's army at Vera Cruz, and captured several prizes during the war. He served in the steamer "Michigan" on the lakes in 1847-50, and at Philadelphia navy-yard in 1850-1. He was commissioned a lieutenant, 27 Sept., 1850, and was