Family story states that Henry's mother passed away when Henry was young. His father remarried to a disagreeable woman, at least to Henry. Henry got angry with the situation at home and at an early age left home, living with a preacher's family until his late teens, never to return home.
Montana Marriage Index
Groom: Henry Thompson
Age: 26
Born: Paris, Lamar, TX
Father: John Thompson
Mother: Emma Shafe or Shape
Bride: Florence May Greer
Age: 20
Born: Oakland, Alameda, CA
Father: Jerome Bonaparte Greer Jr.
Mother: Achsah Sherman
Marries: 15 Sep 1897 at Butte, Silver Bow, MT.
Both Henry and Florence were residents of Butte at the time of their marriage.
The Butte Miner, Thursday 16 Sep 1897
Licensed To Wed
"Henry Thompson and Florence M. Greer, both of Butte, MT."
2 May 1901 Canadian census
Henry Thompson
Born: Dec 3, 1870, age 30
Residence: United States
Racial or tribal origin: Scotch
Nationality: American
Religion: Presbyterian
Occupation: Quartz miner
Months Employed: 8
11 March 1903 their daughter, Mabel Ruth Waldo Thompson was born in British Columbia, Canada.
In 1968 Ruth had to find proof of her birth to claim her Social Security. She tracked down the midwife who delivered her either in Alberta or Saskatchewan Province.
She married Roland Edward George
1906 Ruth is shown immigrating to the United States, most likely with her parents and most likely to Tonopah, Nye, Nevada. (Source 1910 Nye County census)
Tonopah Daily Bonanza, Wednesday 6 Oct 1909
"Mrs J. B. (Achsah) Greer, accompanied by her daughter Ruth Thompson, arrived yesterday from Oakland Cal. Mrs. Greer will be the guest of her daughter, Mrs. Harry (Florence) Thompson."
1 Oct 1909 Emma Laverne Thompson is born in Tonopah, Nye, NV (source birth certificate and Laverne confirming)
20 Apr 1910 census, the Thompson family is enumerated in Tonopah where Henry is a mine foreman (at the Mizpah), they are living on Florence Avenue. Henry and Florence have been married for 12 years, both only married once.
Note: All efforts to find the address of the house on Florence Avenue came up empty and it was learned while searching that at some point addresses in Tonopah were changed making it perhaps impossible to know for sure where the family home was.
Feb 1911 Henry is listed in the Tonopah Directory, residence Florence Avenue, phone 1143.
Note: Partial directories were found and rescued from the trash. Henry was in Tonopah in other years besides the ones listed but the directories don't exist.
Feb 1912 Henry is listed in the Tonopah Directory
18 Jan 1913 Oakland Tribune, Oakland, Alameda County, CA
"Two little misses, Ruth and Laverne Thompson 10 and three and a half respectively, have arrived here from Tonopah, Nevada for a short visit with their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome B. Greer (Jerome Bonaparte Greer Jr. and Achsah Sherman Greer) of 678 36th Street. Were they accompanied by a chaperon or guard of any sort ? You can just bet they were not. The two little tots made the trip across two states by themselves.
Grandpa Greer who is the city wharfinger of Oakland, is about the proudest person on the local waterfront and is taking care that the old salts are informed of his nieces (should be his granddaughters) accomplishments. Ruth and Laverne are the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Thompson. Thompson is a superintendent of the Mizpah Mine in Tonopah."
April 1914 Henry is listed in the Tonopah Directory, working for the Tonopah Mining Company.
June 1914 Henry registers his car in Nevada.
Jan 1915 Henry is no longer the Superintendent of the Tonopah Mining Company or the Mizpah Mine.
Sep 1915 Henry is not listed in the directory so one must assume he retired before this date and moved back to California.
His daughter Laverne's last memory of her father was at the Panama Pacific International Exposition World's Fair in San Francisco. This event happened between 20 Feb 1915 and 15 Dec 1915, narrowing down her father's death to sometime after this event.
No World War I draft registration has been found for Henry so it is most likely he died before 1918.
Henry died before 16 Jun 1920 as his wife Florence is listed as a widow in that census for Oakland, Alameda, CA.
30 Sep 1953 Nevada State Journal
"Mrs. Ruth George of San Francisco, who lived in Tonopah while her father, Henry Thompson was foreman of the Tonopah Mining Company from 1906 - 1915 was in Tonopah recently to visit friends. Her husband accompanied her."
According to other family members Henry may have been 37 when he died (1907-1908) this has been disproven; he may have died in the Livermore Sanitarium of miners consumption; he may have died when his daughter Laverne was 8 years old (1917).
His death and burial remain a mystery, his daughter Laverne is still alive (she is 103 and will be 104 in Oct 2013) but has no memory of the exact date of death or location of the burial of her father.
In 2012 a construction project at the San Jose Hospital (Valley Medical Center) in Santa Clara County, CA, unearthed a hospital cemetery under what was a parking lot. It is the opinion of many people that have worked on the whereabouts of Henry Thompson's final resting place, that he is among the burials located there. The cemetery dates back to between 1875 and 1935.
So far all efforts to get a list of those buried there has been unsuccessful.
For the story about this hospital cemetery
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Paupers-Bodies-Found-Buried-at-Valley-Medical-in-SJ-151597015.html
UPDATE: On 21 Nov 2013 Henry's grandson found two documents that have changed Henry's birth from 3 Dec 1870 to the above and provided information of his death. The documents were the marriage of Henry's daughter Ruth and an affidavit of Ruth's birth by the midwife that was there.
Note: Much of the notes in Henry's bio have been left, even though since they were posted his death has been confirmed, having done so to show the process and how the information was searched for and finally found.
Montana Marriage Index
Groom: Henry Thompson
Age: 26
Born: Paris, Lamar, TX
Father: John Thompson
Mother: Emma Shafe or Shape
Bride: Florence May Greer
Age: 20
Born: Oakland, Alameda, CA
Father: Jerome Bonaparte Greer Jr.
Mother: Achsah Sherman
Marries: 15 Sep 1897 at Butte, Silver Bow, MT.
Both Henry and Florence were residents of Butte at the time of their marriage.
The Butte Miner, Thursday 16 Sep 1897
Licensed To Wed
"Henry Thompson and Florence M. Greer, both of Butte, MT."
2 May 1901 Canadian census
Henry Thompson
Born: Dec 3, 1870, age 30
Residence: United States
Racial or tribal origin: Scotch
Nationality: American
Religion: Presbyterian
Occupation: Quartz miner
Months Employed: 8
11 March 1903 their daughter, Mabel Ruth Waldo Thompson was born in British Columbia, Canada.
In 1968 Ruth had to find proof of her birth to claim her Social Security. She tracked down the midwife who delivered her either in Alberta or Saskatchewan Province.
She married Roland Edward George
1906 Ruth is shown immigrating to the United States, most likely with her parents and most likely to Tonopah, Nye, Nevada. (Source 1910 Nye County census)
Tonopah Daily Bonanza, Wednesday 6 Oct 1909
"Mrs J. B. (Achsah) Greer, accompanied by her daughter Ruth Thompson, arrived yesterday from Oakland Cal. Mrs. Greer will be the guest of her daughter, Mrs. Harry (Florence) Thompson."
1 Oct 1909 Emma Laverne Thompson is born in Tonopah, Nye, NV (source birth certificate and Laverne confirming)
20 Apr 1910 census, the Thompson family is enumerated in Tonopah where Henry is a mine foreman (at the Mizpah), they are living on Florence Avenue. Henry and Florence have been married for 12 years, both only married once.
Note: All efforts to find the address of the house on Florence Avenue came up empty and it was learned while searching that at some point addresses in Tonopah were changed making it perhaps impossible to know for sure where the family home was.
Feb 1911 Henry is listed in the Tonopah Directory, residence Florence Avenue, phone 1143.
Note: Partial directories were found and rescued from the trash. Henry was in Tonopah in other years besides the ones listed but the directories don't exist.
Feb 1912 Henry is listed in the Tonopah Directory
18 Jan 1913 Oakland Tribune, Oakland, Alameda County, CA
"Two little misses, Ruth and Laverne Thompson 10 and three and a half respectively, have arrived here from Tonopah, Nevada for a short visit with their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome B. Greer (Jerome Bonaparte Greer Jr. and Achsah Sherman Greer) of 678 36th Street. Were they accompanied by a chaperon or guard of any sort ? You can just bet they were not. The two little tots made the trip across two states by themselves.
Grandpa Greer who is the city wharfinger of Oakland, is about the proudest person on the local waterfront and is taking care that the old salts are informed of his nieces (should be his granddaughters) accomplishments. Ruth and Laverne are the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Thompson. Thompson is a superintendent of the Mizpah Mine in Tonopah."
April 1914 Henry is listed in the Tonopah Directory, working for the Tonopah Mining Company.
June 1914 Henry registers his car in Nevada.
Jan 1915 Henry is no longer the Superintendent of the Tonopah Mining Company or the Mizpah Mine.
Sep 1915 Henry is not listed in the directory so one must assume he retired before this date and moved back to California.
His daughter Laverne's last memory of her father was at the Panama Pacific International Exposition World's Fair in San Francisco. This event happened between 20 Feb 1915 and 15 Dec 1915, narrowing down her father's death to sometime after this event.
No World War I draft registration has been found for Henry so it is most likely he died before 1918.
Henry died before 16 Jun 1920 as his wife Florence is listed as a widow in that census for Oakland, Alameda, CA.
30 Sep 1953 Nevada State Journal
"Mrs. Ruth George of San Francisco, who lived in Tonopah while her father, Henry Thompson was foreman of the Tonopah Mining Company from 1906 - 1915 was in Tonopah recently to visit friends. Her husband accompanied her."
According to other family members Henry may have been 37 when he died (1907-1908) this has been disproven; he may have died in the Livermore Sanitarium of miners consumption; he may have died when his daughter Laverne was 8 years old (1917).
His death and burial remain a mystery, his daughter Laverne is still alive (she is 103 and will be 104 in Oct 2013) but has no memory of the exact date of death or location of the burial of her father.
In 2012 a construction project at the San Jose Hospital (Valley Medical Center) in Santa Clara County, CA, unearthed a hospital cemetery under what was a parking lot. It is the opinion of many people that have worked on the whereabouts of Henry Thompson's final resting place, that he is among the burials located there. The cemetery dates back to between 1875 and 1935.
So far all efforts to get a list of those buried there has been unsuccessful.
For the story about this hospital cemetery
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Paupers-Bodies-Found-Buried-at-Valley-Medical-in-SJ-151597015.html
UPDATE: On 21 Nov 2013 Henry's grandson found two documents that have changed Henry's birth from 3 Dec 1870 to the above and provided information of his death. The documents were the marriage of Henry's daughter Ruth and an affidavit of Ruth's birth by the midwife that was there.
Note: Much of the notes in Henry's bio have been left, even though since they were posted his death has been confirmed, having done so to show the process and how the information was searched for and finally found.
Family story states that Henry's mother passed away when Henry was young. His father remarried to a disagreeable woman, at least to Henry. Henry got angry with the situation at home and at an early age left home, living with a preacher's family until his late teens, never to return home.
Montana Marriage Index
Groom: Henry Thompson
Age: 26
Born: Paris, Lamar, TX
Father: John Thompson
Mother: Emma Shafe or Shape
Bride: Florence May Greer
Age: 20
Born: Oakland, Alameda, CA
Father: Jerome Bonaparte Greer Jr.
Mother: Achsah Sherman
Marries: 15 Sep 1897 at Butte, Silver Bow, MT.
Both Henry and Florence were residents of Butte at the time of their marriage.
The Butte Miner, Thursday 16 Sep 1897
Licensed To Wed
"Henry Thompson and Florence M. Greer, both of Butte, MT."
2 May 1901 Canadian census
Henry Thompson
Born: Dec 3, 1870, age 30
Residence: United States
Racial or tribal origin: Scotch
Nationality: American
Religion: Presbyterian
Occupation: Quartz miner
Months Employed: 8
11 March 1903 their daughter, Mabel Ruth Waldo Thompson was born in British Columbia, Canada.
In 1968 Ruth had to find proof of her birth to claim her Social Security. She tracked down the midwife who delivered her either in Alberta or Saskatchewan Province.
She married Roland Edward George
1906 Ruth is shown immigrating to the United States, most likely with her parents and most likely to Tonopah, Nye, Nevada. (Source 1910 Nye County census)
Tonopah Daily Bonanza, Wednesday 6 Oct 1909
"Mrs J. B. (Achsah) Greer, accompanied by her daughter Ruth Thompson, arrived yesterday from Oakland Cal. Mrs. Greer will be the guest of her daughter, Mrs. Harry (Florence) Thompson."
1 Oct 1909 Emma Laverne Thompson is born in Tonopah, Nye, NV (source birth certificate and Laverne confirming)
20 Apr 1910 census, the Thompson family is enumerated in Tonopah where Henry is a mine foreman (at the Mizpah), they are living on Florence Avenue. Henry and Florence have been married for 12 years, both only married once.
Note: All efforts to find the address of the house on Florence Avenue came up empty and it was learned while searching that at some point addresses in Tonopah were changed making it perhaps impossible to know for sure where the family home was.
Feb 1911 Henry is listed in the Tonopah Directory, residence Florence Avenue, phone 1143.
Note: Partial directories were found and rescued from the trash. Henry was in Tonopah in other years besides the ones listed but the directories don't exist.
Feb 1912 Henry is listed in the Tonopah Directory
18 Jan 1913 Oakland Tribune, Oakland, Alameda County, CA
"Two little misses, Ruth and Laverne Thompson 10 and three and a half respectively, have arrived here from Tonopah, Nevada for a short visit with their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome B. Greer (Jerome Bonaparte Greer Jr. and Achsah Sherman Greer) of 678 36th Street. Were they accompanied by a chaperon or guard of any sort ? You can just bet they were not. The two little tots made the trip across two states by themselves.
Grandpa Greer who is the city wharfinger of Oakland, is about the proudest person on the local waterfront and is taking care that the old salts are informed of his nieces (should be his granddaughters) accomplishments. Ruth and Laverne are the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Thompson. Thompson is a superintendent of the Mizpah Mine in Tonopah."
April 1914 Henry is listed in the Tonopah Directory, working for the Tonopah Mining Company.
June 1914 Henry registers his car in Nevada.
Jan 1915 Henry is no longer the Superintendent of the Tonopah Mining Company or the Mizpah Mine.
Sep 1915 Henry is not listed in the directory so one must assume he retired before this date and moved back to California.
His daughter Laverne's last memory of her father was at the Panama Pacific International Exposition World's Fair in San Francisco. This event happened between 20 Feb 1915 and 15 Dec 1915, narrowing down her father's death to sometime after this event.
No World War I draft registration has been found for Henry so it is most likely he died before 1918.
Henry died before 16 Jun 1920 as his wife Florence is listed as a widow in that census for Oakland, Alameda, CA.
30 Sep 1953 Nevada State Journal
"Mrs. Ruth George of San Francisco, who lived in Tonopah while her father, Henry Thompson was foreman of the Tonopah Mining Company from 1906 - 1915 was in Tonopah recently to visit friends. Her husband accompanied her."
According to other family members Henry may have been 37 when he died (1907-1908) this has been disproven; he may have died in the Livermore Sanitarium of miners consumption; he may have died when his daughter Laverne was 8 years old (1917).
His death and burial remain a mystery, his daughter Laverne is still alive (she is 103 and will be 104 in Oct 2013) but has no memory of the exact date of death or location of the burial of her father.
In 2012 a construction project at the San Jose Hospital (Valley Medical Center) in Santa Clara County, CA, unearthed a hospital cemetery under what was a parking lot. It is the opinion of many people that have worked on the whereabouts of Henry Thompson's final resting place, that he is among the burials located there. The cemetery dates back to between 1875 and 1935.
So far all efforts to get a list of those buried there has been unsuccessful.
For the story about this hospital cemetery
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Paupers-Bodies-Found-Buried-at-Valley-Medical-in-SJ-151597015.html
UPDATE: On 21 Nov 2013 Henry's grandson found two documents that have changed Henry's birth from 3 Dec 1870 to the above and provided information of his death. The documents were the marriage of Henry's daughter Ruth and an affidavit of Ruth's birth by the midwife that was there.
Note: Much of the notes in Henry's bio have been left, even though since they were posted his death has been confirmed, having done so to show the process and how the information was searched for and finally found.
Montana Marriage Index
Groom: Henry Thompson
Age: 26
Born: Paris, Lamar, TX
Father: John Thompson
Mother: Emma Shafe or Shape
Bride: Florence May Greer
Age: 20
Born: Oakland, Alameda, CA
Father: Jerome Bonaparte Greer Jr.
Mother: Achsah Sherman
Marries: 15 Sep 1897 at Butte, Silver Bow, MT.
Both Henry and Florence were residents of Butte at the time of their marriage.
The Butte Miner, Thursday 16 Sep 1897
Licensed To Wed
"Henry Thompson and Florence M. Greer, both of Butte, MT."
2 May 1901 Canadian census
Henry Thompson
Born: Dec 3, 1870, age 30
Residence: United States
Racial or tribal origin: Scotch
Nationality: American
Religion: Presbyterian
Occupation: Quartz miner
Months Employed: 8
11 March 1903 their daughter, Mabel Ruth Waldo Thompson was born in British Columbia, Canada.
In 1968 Ruth had to find proof of her birth to claim her Social Security. She tracked down the midwife who delivered her either in Alberta or Saskatchewan Province.
She married Roland Edward George
1906 Ruth is shown immigrating to the United States, most likely with her parents and most likely to Tonopah, Nye, Nevada. (Source 1910 Nye County census)
Tonopah Daily Bonanza, Wednesday 6 Oct 1909
"Mrs J. B. (Achsah) Greer, accompanied by her daughter Ruth Thompson, arrived yesterday from Oakland Cal. Mrs. Greer will be the guest of her daughter, Mrs. Harry (Florence) Thompson."
1 Oct 1909 Emma Laverne Thompson is born in Tonopah, Nye, NV (source birth certificate and Laverne confirming)
20 Apr 1910 census, the Thompson family is enumerated in Tonopah where Henry is a mine foreman (at the Mizpah), they are living on Florence Avenue. Henry and Florence have been married for 12 years, both only married once.
Note: All efforts to find the address of the house on Florence Avenue came up empty and it was learned while searching that at some point addresses in Tonopah were changed making it perhaps impossible to know for sure where the family home was.
Feb 1911 Henry is listed in the Tonopah Directory, residence Florence Avenue, phone 1143.
Note: Partial directories were found and rescued from the trash. Henry was in Tonopah in other years besides the ones listed but the directories don't exist.
Feb 1912 Henry is listed in the Tonopah Directory
18 Jan 1913 Oakland Tribune, Oakland, Alameda County, CA
"Two little misses, Ruth and Laverne Thompson 10 and three and a half respectively, have arrived here from Tonopah, Nevada for a short visit with their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome B. Greer (Jerome Bonaparte Greer Jr. and Achsah Sherman Greer) of 678 36th Street. Were they accompanied by a chaperon or guard of any sort ? You can just bet they were not. The two little tots made the trip across two states by themselves.
Grandpa Greer who is the city wharfinger of Oakland, is about the proudest person on the local waterfront and is taking care that the old salts are informed of his nieces (should be his granddaughters) accomplishments. Ruth and Laverne are the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Thompson. Thompson is a superintendent of the Mizpah Mine in Tonopah."
April 1914 Henry is listed in the Tonopah Directory, working for the Tonopah Mining Company.
June 1914 Henry registers his car in Nevada.
Jan 1915 Henry is no longer the Superintendent of the Tonopah Mining Company or the Mizpah Mine.
Sep 1915 Henry is not listed in the directory so one must assume he retired before this date and moved back to California.
His daughter Laverne's last memory of her father was at the Panama Pacific International Exposition World's Fair in San Francisco. This event happened between 20 Feb 1915 and 15 Dec 1915, narrowing down her father's death to sometime after this event.
No World War I draft registration has been found for Henry so it is most likely he died before 1918.
Henry died before 16 Jun 1920 as his wife Florence is listed as a widow in that census for Oakland, Alameda, CA.
30 Sep 1953 Nevada State Journal
"Mrs. Ruth George of San Francisco, who lived in Tonopah while her father, Henry Thompson was foreman of the Tonopah Mining Company from 1906 - 1915 was in Tonopah recently to visit friends. Her husband accompanied her."
According to other family members Henry may have been 37 when he died (1907-1908) this has been disproven; he may have died in the Livermore Sanitarium of miners consumption; he may have died when his daughter Laverne was 8 years old (1917).
His death and burial remain a mystery, his daughter Laverne is still alive (she is 103 and will be 104 in Oct 2013) but has no memory of the exact date of death or location of the burial of her father.
In 2012 a construction project at the San Jose Hospital (Valley Medical Center) in Santa Clara County, CA, unearthed a hospital cemetery under what was a parking lot. It is the opinion of many people that have worked on the whereabouts of Henry Thompson's final resting place, that he is among the burials located there. The cemetery dates back to between 1875 and 1935.
So far all efforts to get a list of those buried there has been unsuccessful.
For the story about this hospital cemetery
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Paupers-Bodies-Found-Buried-at-Valley-Medical-in-SJ-151597015.html
UPDATE: On 21 Nov 2013 Henry's grandson found two documents that have changed Henry's birth from 3 Dec 1870 to the above and provided information of his death. The documents were the marriage of Henry's daughter Ruth and an affidavit of Ruth's birth by the midwife that was there.
Note: Much of the notes in Henry's bio have been left, even though since they were posted his death has been confirmed, having done so to show the process and how the information was searched for and finally found.
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