My 4th great grandparents are Henry and Nancy Cunningham Thompson.  They are the grandparents of John Frank Thompson.

Henry was born on March 9, 1803 in Virginia.  Some researchers have identified his parents as Robert Thompson and Margaret Gray.  He ventured westward at some point prior to 1830, settling in Washington Township in Gibson County, IN.  He married Nancy Cunningham on April 20, 1830 in Gibson County.  Not a lot is known about Nancy since she died prior to 1850 when the Census listed each person individually.  She is thought to have been born between 1805 and 1810 and died between 1846 and 1850.  Henry died in 1853 and is buried in Vermillion County, IL.  It’s not obvious what he was doing that far from home since the boys remained in the Knox-Gibson area for the duration of their lives.

Henry and Nancy had six children that were alive in 1850 or later.

• Stewart (1832-1904) married Margaret Jones (1841-1911) in 1858 in Knox County.  They had eight children – Florence, Alice, Eleanor, Thomas, Nancy, Maggie, William and Emma.  According to newspapers of the time, Stewart was a prominent farmer in Johnson Township.
• Margaret (1835-?)
• Robert C (1837-1880) married Sarah Roderick (1837-?) in 1860 in Knox County.  They had six children – Charles, Riley, Ora, Frank, James and Robert.
• Sally (1840-?)
• Elenor (1843-?)
• Henry G. (1846-?) married Isadore Jones in 1866.  They had one daughter named California.  After 1870, Isadore and California cannot be found in any of the databases.  Henry disappears until the 1910 census which lists him as a widower working as a cook for the Anthis household in Decker.

The whereabouts of the girls is unknown after their father died in 1853.  They are not showing up in the 1860 census records or the Indiana marriage index.

It doesn’t appear that any of Henry’s sons fought in the Civil War, based on a quick glance of the 80th Indiana Infantry rosters.  Most of the men living in the Knox, Gibson area belonged to that regiment, although it’s not out of the question for them to have  joined up with another unit.

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Washington Township is in the north central part of Gibson County, IN, bordered by the White River on the north.  It sits east of Patoka.

Vermilion County IL is west of Lafayette, IN along the Indiana-Illinois border.