GEORGE WILBER MOORE THOMPSON

MOORE, HOGLE, SIMPSON, WADDELL, DRAKE

Posted By: Tim S. Dupy (email)
Date: 8/25/2002 at 19:01:25

GEORGE WILBER MOORE THOMPSON

George W.M. Thompson, engaged in merchandising at Kirkville, has for a considerable period been closely associated with the commercial activity of his part of the state, and intelligently directed effort, unfaltering enterprise and laudable ambition have constituted the keynote of his success. He was born in the Mohawk Valley of Coshocton County, Ohio, March 31, 1860. His father, William Thompson, was a native of Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland, and was the son of a Scotch Presbyterian minister. The mother [Note: I think this should read, "The wife of …" instead of "mother". TSD] of William Thompson was in her maidenhood Miss Belle Moore, likewise a native of Ireland, and of Scotch Presbyterian stock. Reared in his native land, William Thompson came to the United States as a young man and in Ohio was united in marriage to Polly Hogle, who was born and reared on the banks of the Walhonding River in Ohio. She was born of American parentage. To Mr. and Mrs. William Thompson came three sons, the brothers of our subject being: John Quigley, who was assistant attorney general of the United States and died in 1913, while serving his country in that capacity; and James Sites, a farmer living near Bancroft, South Dakota. There were also four daughters in the family: Eva and Fannie, residents of Kirkville; and Mrs. Harriett Simpson and Mrs. Bertha Thompson, who are residents of Canton, Kansas.

In the public schools of his native county, George W.M. Thompson pursued his education. His early experiences were those, which usually fall to the lot of the farm lad, and in early manhood, he took up the occupation of farming, which he followed for some time. Later, however, he turned his attention to merchandising, establishing a store in Kirkville, of which he is still the proprietor. He carried a large and well-selected line of goods and his energy; close application and unfaltering determination are the salient features in his continued success.

In the Methodist Episcopal church at Kirkville, on the 24th of March, 1889, was performed the marriage ceremony which united the destinies of George W.M. Thompson and Miss Myrtle Waddell, a daughter of John N. and Sarah (Drake) Waddell. The father was a graduate of the Phopopathic Medical Institute at Cincinnati, Ohio, with the class of 1844, and in 1853 removed westward to Iowa, coming to Kirkville, Iowa in 1866. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are widely and favorably known in Kirkville, having a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintance.

Mr. Thompson has been quite active in connection with public matters. For twelve years, he was a member of the Kirkville board of education and during a part of that time served as its president, in which connection he did important service for schools of the city. For three terms, he was treasurer of the Kirkville Mutual Insurance Company. His political allegiance has always been given to the Republican Party, and he does everything in his power to promote its growth and insure its success. He belongs to the Masonic lodge of Kirkville, in which he has filled all of the chairs, and his life exemplifies its beneficent spirit. He is likewise a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Thus, he manifests a deep and active interest in educational, social and moral progress in the community.

Published in the History of Wapello County, Iowa, Volume II, S.J. Clarke, Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1914, Pages 571-572