George Nicholas Thompson was born 18 March 1832. He received his license to practice law in 1855 after studying in Hillsborough, N.C., for two years. During the Civil War, Thompson was a major in the Home Guard. Thompson was married three times. In 1858, he married Bettie Johnston (1837-1880); they had five children: Luly, Mary, Roberta Lea, Samuel Nicholas, and Bessie Thompson. On 26 January 1876, he married Roberta Ann Neal; they had four children: Anabel Lea, James Neal, Sarah (Sallie) Lewis, and Ida Virginia. On 5 December 1883, he married Ella Williams Graves, who had graduated with diplomas in liberal arts and music from Roanoke College in 1868 (now Averett College) in Danville, Va. They had three children: Azariah Graves, Ella Graves, and George Nicholas Thompson Jr. George Nicholas Thompson served as superintendent of schools of Caswell County; as a trustee of the University of North Carolina; and, in 1885, as a representative in the North Carolina legislature. Ella Graves Thompson never married. She graduated from Meredith College in 1909 and then attended the University of Chicago. She taught at Meredith College for two years and then taught Latin at East Carolina Teachers College for a few years. In 1936, she toured Europe for three months and then returned to Leasburg, N.C., where she lived until her death in 1970. James Neal Thompson, a hotel manager in North Carolina and Florida, married Lillie Hammond in 1891.
From the description of Thompson family papers, 1906-1931. WorldCat record id: 422782326
