Thompson family.
Biographical notes:
Jonah Thompson (1702-1780), a Quaker minister from Compton, England sent his son John Thompson (1744-1819) to America in 1770, where he aided fellow Quaker Anthony Benezet. John Thompson helped Benezet run his Quaker school for a few years, but soon became a merchant. He married Rebecca Chalkley James, who was the daughter of merchant Abel James. They had five children that lived to adulthood: James B. (1785-1818); Jonah (1786-1861); Rebecca (1790-1866); George (b. 1794); and Samuel (1797-1851). Shortly after the death of their brother James, Jonah and George became the proprietors of the Phoenix Nail Works in 1821, which specialized in the manufacture of iron nails, and they owned a store on Front Street in Philadelphia. George also assumed the title of warden at the Eastern State Penitentiary from 1839 to 1850, and held financial interests in the Pennsylvania Salt Company. James B. Thompson appears to have been the only Thompson brother to marry. He married Lydia Poultney and had two children, Rebecca (1811-1881), who married Isaac P. Morris, and John James (1815-1875), who married Elizabeth Hough Trotter (1818-1886). John James Thompson joined his brother-in-law in the firm I.P. Morris and Company in 1847, which specialized in iron manufacturing and supplying. The firm would eventually be renamed the Port Richmond Iron Works. John J. Thompson's three sons, James Beaton, Charles Trotter, and John James, followed their father in the iron trade. Elizabeth Hough Trotter Thompson's brothers also were involved in the metal manufacturing. Charles West Trotter (1827-1903) and William Henry Trotter (1822-1898) operated Nathan Trotter and Company, which manufactured tin items.
From the description of Thompson family papers, 1607-1936, bulk 1770-1870. (Historical Society of Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 122590058
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Subjects:
- Copper mines and mining
- Steam engines
- Iron industry and trade
- Land speculation
- Land titles
- Manufacturing industries
- Quakers
- Quakers
- Shipment of goods
- Sugar Act, 1763
- Transatlantic voyages
- Women
Occupations:
- Merchants
Places:
- Burlington (N.J.) (as recorded)
- Philadelphia (Pa.) (as recorded)
- Pennsylvania--Philadelphia (as recorded)
- United States (as recorded)
- Pennsylvania (as recorded)
- New Jersey--Bridgewater (as recorded)
