Thompson, Lewis, 1808-1867

Lewis Thompson was the owner of plantations near Woodville (also called Hotel), Bertie County, N.C., and at Bayou Boeuf, near Alexandria, Rapides Parish, La. Thompson was also a political leader in North Carolina, serving in the House of Commons and State Senate, 1831-1852, and as a member of the General Convention of 1865. He was a UNC trustee from 1848 until his death.

The Thompson family of Bertie County, North Carolina, appears to be descended from Hezikiah Thompson, who died in Bertie County in 1771. Because his will lists much land in South Carolina, it is possible that Hezikiah came to Bertie County from that state.

Hezikiah Thompson had six sons: Noah, Arthur, Rubin, and William apparently by his first wife, and Hezekiah, Jr. (d. 1820), and Thomas (d. circa 1827) by his second wife. Thomas Thompson was Lewis Thompson's father. Lewis Thompson was born in 1808 and graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina (A.B., 1827; A.M., 1832). He went on to become a successful businessman, owning plantations near Woodville (also called Hotel), Bertie County, and in Rapides Parish, Louisiana. It appears that most of Thompson's Louisiana land was acquired through his father-in-law, William M. Clark, who had purchased these lands shortly before his death in 1837. From around 1849 to 1858, these sugar plantations seem to have been managed in Thompson's behalf by this brother-in-law Kenneth M. Clark. Around 1858, when Moore Rawls took over the day-to-day management, William Thompson, Lewis's younger son, appears to have taken up permanent residence on the family's Louisiana lands. His brother, Thomas W. Thompson, gradually took over the management of the Bertie County plantations. The brothers appear to have remained on their respective plantations after their father's death.

In addition to his plantations, Thompson made many investments, chiefly through bankers in New York. During the Civil War, he was a heavy investor in Confederate bonds. Thompson was also a political leader in North Carolina, serving in the House of Commons and the State Senate, 1831-1852, as a member of the General Convention of 1865. He was a trustee of the University of North Carolina from 1848 until his death.

Lewis Thompson's wife, Margaret Ann Cathcart Clark (fl. 1840s-1880s) was a daughter of William M. Clark and Martha Bodie Williams (d. circa 1843). Lewis and Margaret had four children: sons Thomas W. and William and daughters Pattie and Mary. Pattie appears to have died shortly before 1867; Mary eventually married Burges Urquhart and was the mother of the donor of these papers.