Thompson, Alexander

ALEXANDER THOMPSON.

The Thompson family, one of the most influential in Monroe township, are of Irish extraction. William Thompson, the grandfather of the subject of this biographical sketch, was for years a resident of Chester, where his death occurred. His children were George, Robert, Phineas H., Benjamin, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Keturah. Of this number, Phineas H., the father of Alexander, was born July 4, 1789, and was, Dec. 23, 1812, united in marriage to Miss Rachel, daughter of Birdseye Young. To Mr. and Mrs. Thompson eleven children were born in the following order: Elizabeth, Harrison, Charles, Phineas, Alexander, Cornelia Y., Keturah, Isaac H., Virgil, Nathan Y., and Edmund. Alexander, whose life is here briefly reviewed, was born Aug. 27, 1820, in the township of Monroe, upon the homestead which is his present residence. He availed himself of such limited advantages of education as the public school afforded, and afterwards determined to render himself independent of the freaks of a capricious fortune by the acquirement of a substantial trade. He repaired to Newburgh and became a skillful carpenter, continuing his pursuits for some years, and eventually returning again to the homestead. Mr. Thompson was married, Feb. 19, 1856, to Miss Eleanor, daughter of Peter Bush, Esq., of Monroe. Their children are Phineas H., Ella B., and Alexander, all of whom reside with their parents. Mr. Thompson has latterly devoted his energies to the labors of an agriculturist, and has made the dairy a specialty. In this, as in other occupations to which his abilities have been directed, he has been eminently successful. He is actively interested in the Farmers’ Creamery Association of Turners, of which organization he is president. In his political affiliations Mr. Thompson is a Democrat, though in no sense a politician, preferring rather the quiet routine of his daily employments to the excitements of public life. He is a worshiper at the Presbyterian Church in Monroe, of which Mrs. Thompson and her daughter are members.