Thomson, Ruffin, 1841-1888.

William H. Thomson, originally of Orange County, N.C., was a physician and small planter in Hinds County, Miss. His son Ruffin Thomson was a student at the University of Mississippi and the University of North Carolina; a private in the Confederate Army; and, in February 1864, a Confederate Marine Corps lieutenant. After the Civil War, he studied medicine and practiced in Hinds County. In 1888, he went to Washington Territory as a clerk to the United States Indian Agency, dying soon after his arrival.

From the description of Ruffin Thomson papers, 1822-1889. WorldCat record id: 25280926

William H. Thomson, born in Hillsborough, N.C., lived there and in Chapel Hill, N.C., attending the University of North Carolina. He taught in Alabama and attended medical school at Transylvania University. He practiced first in Tennessee, where he married Hannah Lavinia in 1831. In 1835, Thomson moved to Hinds County, Miss., where he lived thereafter at a place called Spring Ridge, combining medical practice with the operation of a small plantation.

Ruffin Thomson was the oldest child and only son of William H. Thomson and Hannah Lavinia Thomson. He studied at the University of Mississippi and the University of North Carolina, leaving school in 1861 to enter the Confederate Army, serving as a private until February 1864, when he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Confederate Marine Corps. After the Civil War, he studied medicine in New Orleans and began a practice in Hinds County. In 1873, he married Fanny Potter. In 1888, he went to Fort Simcoe, Washington Territory, as clerk to the Yakima Indian Agency, hoping to recover his failing health, but instead died soon after his arrival.

From the guide to the Ruffin Thomson Papers, 1822-1889, (Southern Historical Collection)