John Frank Thompson and Sarah Hannah Butler are my 2nd great grandparents.  Frank was born to Robert C. and Sarah (Roderick) Thompson on October 19, 1872 in Knox County.  Sarah, also known as Sadie, was born to Eli and Amanda (Newcomb) Butler on October 4, 1875 in Indiana.  They were married on June 7, 1894 in Knox County.  They lived their lives together in Johnson Township where Frank farmed.  Frank and Sarah had four daughters together: Ethel, Edith, Pearl, and Gertrude.

Ethel (1895-1949) married August Cardinal in 1915.  They had seven children: Donald, Virginia, Marlin, Norma, Dorothy, Morris, and Wayne.  Ethel was my great-grandmother.

Edith (1896-1991) married Everett Williams in 1916.  They lived in Knox County until about 1936 when they moved to Owensville in Gibson County.  They had eight children: Kenneth, Inez, Marvin, Eldon, Max, Everett, Billy, and Bobbie.

Pearl (1902-1997) married Cleatus Beamon sometime around 1924.  They lived in Vincennes and had nine children, including a pair of twins:  Frank, Erma, Dorothy, Mary, Harry, Betty, Paul, Dale, and Pearl.

Gertrude (1906-2001) married Ewing Steffy around 1928.  Ewing farmed and they lived a time with his parents in Palmyra Township, which is essentially in the middle of the county between Vincennes, Wheatland, Bruceville, and Monroe City.  They did not have any children prior to 1940 and no one was listed in Gertrude’s obituary.  After Ewing died, Gertrude lived in Vincennes, just down the alley from my grandmother.  She would mention often about going to check on Aunt Gerty.

In January 1937, the Ohio River Valley suffered massive flooding.  This included the rivers that feed into the Ohio, such as the White River and the Wabash River which both border southern Knox County.  Johnson Township borders the White River and the area does sit in a known flood plain.  It was reported that levies were breached impacting the local residents.  Sarah died on January 22, 1937 at Good Samaritan Hospital.  The newspaper did not specify the cause of death, but there is always the possibility that it was related to the weather or the flooding.  The paper did say her body was returned to the Thompson home in Rural Johnson Township, so it’s possible they were not affected adversely by the flooding after all.

On January 26, 1939, Frank died of tuberculosis which he had been suffering from for a number of years.  He had been a patient at the Hillcrest Hospital which over the years served as a quarantine facility for various infectious diseases, especially tuberculosis.  With the advances of modern medicine, the hospital closed in 1971.  The building still stands and is thought to be haunted.