He was born about 1850/1855 to Jasper Markle Thompson & Eliza (nee Carothers). <To see Jasper M. Thompson, click here>

He was a wealthy coal baron in Fayette County, Pennsylvania and was the president of The First National Bank of Uniontown, the same bank with which his father had been a major stockholder. He was obsessed with recording family history and for many years he travelled, conducted interviews, and recorded genealogical information within his personal journals (27 in all). These are known today as "The Thompson Journals".