Roger Quarles was born in Virginia in the 1770s; around 1801, he moved to Fayette County, Kentucky, where he acquired a large estate, handled land transactions, and invested in the Georgetown and Lexington Turnpike Road Company. He and his wife Jane had one daughter, Anna Eliza.
Patrick Henry Thomson, the son of Anna Eliza Quarles and William Z. Thomson, was born on August 31, 1819, and studied medicine before returning to his grandfather's estate in Fayette County, where he became a farmer. He served as a clerk for the Cane Run Church, ran a private school, and was involved in the affairs of the Georgetown and Lexington Turnpike Road Company. On May 9, 1839, he married Julia Maria Farnsworth (1821-1916), the daughter of Benjamin Franklin Farnsworth. They had nine surviving children: Anna Eliza, Rodes, Franklin, William, Sarah, Roger Quarles, Nellie Stevenson, Amelia, and Patrick Henry. Patrick Henry Thomson, Sr., died in 1901.
From the guide to the Thomson-Quarles collection, 1796-1869, 1805-1851, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)