Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#1460
THOMPSON FAMILY PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: Thompson family members included: Joseph B.
Thompson (d. 1849), who left Alabama to grow cotton
in Louisiana; his uncle, Lawrence Thompson (d. ca.
1864), who grew cotton around Tuscumbia, Franklin
County, Ala., and his aunt, Rebecca Thompson (d.
1856); Joseph's nephew Jacob Thompson of Oxford,
Miss., congressman (1839-1851), secretary of the
interior (1857-1861), and Confederate official; and
Joseph N. Thompson, wounded and taken prisoner
during the Civil War. Also the related Malone
family, represented chiefly by planter Goodloe W.
Malone of Franklin County, Ala., and Lucie
Blackwell Malone (b. 1847) who married Joseph N.
Thompson in 1869.
Chiefly Thompson and Malone family letters and
financial and legal materials, especially indentures
and other items relating to land acquisition and
sales. Goodloe Malone's account book lists about
seventy names and ages of "Negroes in Miss." Also
included are a few Civil War letters to Joseph N.
Thompson during his captivity, and writings of three
family members, including a Cockrill family genealogy,
written by Granville Goodloe around 1898; Lucie
Blackwell Malone Thompson's autobiographical sketch
about her childhood in Alabama and Civil War days,
which she spent at Salem Academy, Winston-Salem, N.C.;
and reminiscences by Joseph N. Thompson, chiefly about
his Civil War experiences in the 35th Alabama Infantry
Regiment. There are no materials in the collection
relating to Jacob Thompson's public career.
On-line Alabama--Biography--History--19th century.
Catalog Children--Alabama--Social life and customs--19th
century.
Terms: Cockrill family.
Confederate States of America. Army. Alabama
Infantry
Regiment, 35th.
Cotton growing--Alabama--History--19th century.
Cotton growing--Louisiana--History--19th century.
Family--Alabama--Social life and customs--19th
century.
Goodloe, Granville, fl. 1898.
Malone, Goodloe W., fl. 1840s-1870s.
Malone family.
Salem Academy (N.C.)--History--19th century.
Slavery--Alabama.
Thompson, Jacob,
Thompson, Joseph B., d. 1849.
Thompson, Joseph N., fl. 1861-1924.
Thompson, Lawrence, d. ca. 1864,
Thompson, Lucie Blackwell Malone, b. 1847,
Thompson, Rebecca, d. 1856.
Thompson family.
Tuscumbia (Ala.)--Social life and customs--19th
century.
United States--History--Civil War,
1861-1865--Prisoners and
prisons.
United States--History--Civil War,
1861-1865--Personal
narratives, Confederate.
Women--Alabama--Biography--History--19th century.
Size: About 150 items (0.5 linear feet).
Provenance: Received from Lucien M. Thompson of Memphis,
Tennessee, in May 1946.
Access No restrictions.
Processing Note: This collection was rehoused under the
sponsorship of a grant from the National
Endowment for the Humanities, Office of
Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers,
or their descendants, as stipulated by United
States copyright law.
INTRODUCTION
Thompson family members included: Joseph B. Thompson (d.
1849), who appears to have left Alabama for Louisiana to raise
cotton around 1839; his uncle, Lawrence Thompson (d. ca.
1864), who grew cotton around Tuscumbia, Franklin County,
Alabama, and his aunt, Rebecca Thompson (d. 1856). Also
significant were Joseph's nephew Jacob Thompson of Oxford,
Mississippi, who was a congressman (1839-1851), secretary of
the interior (1857-1861), and Confederate army inspector
general and confidential agent to Canada; and Joseph N.
Thompson, who was wounded and taken prisoner during the Civil
War. There are no materials in the collection relating to
Jacob Thompson's public career.
The connection between the Thompson family and the Malone
family, represented chiefly by letters and financial materials
relating to planter Goodloe W. Malone of Franklin County,
Alabama, appears to have been forged by the 1869 marriage of
Lucie Blackwell Malone (b. 1847) and Joseph N. Thompson.
The collection consists chiefly of Thompson and Malone
family letters and financial and legal materials, especially
indentures and other items having to do with land acquisition
and sales. Goodloe Malone's account book lists about seventy
names and ages of "Negroes in Miss." Also included are a few
Civil War letters to Joseph N. Thompson during his captivity,
and writings of three family members. These writings include
a genealogy of the Cockrill family that was compiled by
Granville Goodloe around 1898; Lucie Blackwell Malone
Thompson's autobiographical sketch about her childhood in
Alabama, and giving an account of Civil War days, which she
spent at Salem Academy, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and
three reminiscences by Joseph N. Thompson, chiefly about his
Civil War experiences.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Correspondence and Related Items
1839-1907. About 50 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Letters of Thompson and Malone family members, chiefly
about family matters, but also about business interests and
other matters. Included are the following:
1839: March, Joseph B. Thompson (d. 1849), who had
gone to Louisiana to raise cotton, to his aunt,
Rebecca Thompson (d. 1856), in Florence, Alabama,
about his life in Louisiana.
1843-1846: Letters to Lawrence Thompson (d. ca. 1864),
Rebecca's husband, from cotton factors in New
Orleans about sales of his cotton.
1849-1859: Letters to Lawrence and Rebecca Thompson in
Tuscumbia, Franklin County, Alabama, following
the death of Joseph B. Thompson. The letters are
from Joseph's nephews, John Thompson of
Nashville, Joseph B. Thompson, and Jacob Thompson
of Oxford, Mississippi. The latter was a
congressman, 1839-1851; secretary of the
interior, 1857-1861; and Confederate army
inspector general and confidential agent to
Canada. The letters are concerned with plans for
their deceased uncle's children, family matters,
and crops.
1855: Joseph S. Thompson of Leasburg, North Carolina,
to Lawrence Thompson, catching him up on family
news after a silence of 21 years.
1864-1865: Three letters to Joseph N. Thompson, in hospital
at Point Lookout, Maryland, after being wounded
and taken prisoner.
1869: October, announcement of marriage of Lucie
Blackwell Malone (b. 1847) and Joseph N.
Thompson.
1871-1907: Scattered papers of Goodloe W. Malone, Joseph N.
Thompson, and other family members, including a
few items about Confederate reunions.
Folder 1 1839-1846
2 1849-1857
3 1860-1869
4 1871-1907 and undated
Series 2. Financial and Legal Materials
1809-1899. About 95 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Financial and legal materials relating to Thompson and
Malone family members. Included are account statements,
indentures, stocks, bonds, receipts, tax blanks, and deeds.
Early papers are chiefly deeds documenting land acquisition by
Lawrence and Joseph B. Thompson. Papers
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS (continued)
in the 1840s and 1850s relate to cotton sales of Lawrence
Thompson of Tuscumbia, Alabama, and to Goodloe W. Malone's
serving as guardian of John S. Malone, Robert Malone's heir.
There is also a 16 January 1846 indenture of Goodloe W. Malone
for Franklin County, Alabama, land purchased from Pamela
Reynolds, a Chickasaw Indian. In the 1860s, there are a few
bills and other items relating to Joseph N. Thompson of Barton
Station, Alabama. There is also a small account book, with
entries dated 1861-1862, that may have belonged to Goodloe W.
Malone. The book includes a list, entitled "Negroes in
Miss.," consisting of about seventy names and ages. There are
also few undated items relating to land ownership.
Folder 5 1809-1839
6 1840-1848
7 1849-1859
8 1860-1868
9 1871-1899 and undated
Series 3. Writings
1898-1924 and undated. 5 items.
Reminiscences and genealogical writings by Thompson
family members and Granville Goodloe, who was related to the
Thompsons.
Folder 10 Granville Goodloe: Cockrill genealogy, 4
p., compiled by Goodloe of Arkadelphia,
Arkansas, for publication in American
History Magazine, October 1898.
Lucie Blackwell Malone Thompson:
autobiographical sketch, 23 p., undated, touching
briefly on her parents, her childhood in Alabama,
and giving an account of Civil War days, which
she spent at Salem Academy, Winston-Salem, North
Carolina.
Joseph N. Thompson: three reminiscences:
Battle of Franklin, 30 November 1864, 7 p.,
undated.
Prisoner of war experiences, 1864-1865, 25 p.,
undated.
History of the 35th Alabama Infantry Regiment,
11 p.,
1924.
SHELF LIST
Box 1 (only)