William  R. Thompson
          William R. Thompson, an early settler of Walnut Township, resides on section 18, on land he bought in 1856.  He bought 230 acres of land, forty acres of which had been broken, and a small cabin had been built by the former owner, Mr. Elam.  His farm now contains 250 acres, 180 acres being under cultivation and the rest being pasture and timber land. He has a fine residence, and has made other substantial building improvements.  Mr. Thompson was born in Bartholomew County, Indiana, January 10, 1824.  His father was a native of North Carolina, and his mother, whose maiden name was  Susannah Stillwell, was born in Shelby County, Kentucky.  The parents were married in Kentucky, and subsequently moved to Indiana, spending the rest of their lives in Bartholomew County.  William R. is the seventh of eight children, six of whom are living:  Silas and  Archibald live in Bartholomew County;  Mrs. Elsie Jackson  lives in Virginia;  Mrs. Martha J. Campbell, in Davis County, Iowa, and  John, in Nodaway County, Missouri.  Mrs. Lucinda Smith  and  James  died in Indiana.  William R. remained with his parents till manhood. March 27, 1849, he was married to  Miss Elizabeth Anna Pyle, a native of Franklin County, Indiana, born December 27, 1825. Three children were born to them:  Archibald F., an attorney, of Centerville;  Mary Ellen  died September 7, 1870, in the nineteenth year of her age, and  Martha  died in infancy.  Mrs. Thompson died November 10, 1877.  She was a most estimable woman, kind and loving as a wife and mother, and a thoughtful friend and neighbor. She had been a member of the Christian church thirty years. September 26, 1880, Mr. Thompson married  Miss Elizabeth Ann Lain,  who was born in Bartholomew County, Indiana, January 24, 1842, a daughter of  Sillick and Permelia (Arvalt) Lain, pioneers of Davis County, Iowa, settling there in 1848.  Her mother died in 1854, and her father in 1872.  She has two brothers and four sister, viz.:  Sarah Jane, the eldest, is in an insane asylum at Mount Pleasant;  John M.,  George W.,  Mrs. Mary Headrick  and  Mrs. Matilda Taylor  live in Davis County, and  Mrs. Clarissa Jeffreys  lives in Ellsworth County, Kansas.  Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are members of the Christian Church. In politics he is identified with the Democrat party.  He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Jackson Lodge, No. 42, Centerville.
Biographical and Historical Record of Wayne and Appanoose Counties, Iowa, Chicago: Inter-State Pub. Co., 1886.

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