Person:Henry Thompson (62)

Henry Thompson was born around 1822 at Billinghay in Lincolnshire, son of Mary Thompson, formerly Ladd, and her husband Abraham Ralph Thompson, a surgeon. No birth or baptism record has been found for Henry, but nor have any baptisms been found for any of Henry's siblings, suggesting the family was non-conformist.^[10]

The 1841 census finds Henry at Gosberton, nearly twenty miles south of Billinghay. He was described as an apprentice and was in the household of a draper and grocer called John Butterfield. Henry's older brother Mark was in the same household, and a few days later Mark married John Butterfield's daughter Ann. Whether Henry was therefore just there for his brother's marriage or living there as John's apprentice is not clear.

By 1847 Henry had settled at South Kyme. He was married there on 20th April 1847 to Eleanor Addison, who was 23 and from South Kyme. They went on to have eleven children between 1848 and 1866, although at least five died young.

The 1851 census described Henry as a grocer and draper. He later became a miller and baker, as he was described in the 1861, 1871 and 1881 censuses. The family appears to have been comfortably off, always having at least one servant. In 1871 the census notes that as well as working as a miller and baker, Henry owned 54 acres of land and employed two labourers on the land as well as employing one man in his milling and baking business. In 1881 Henry and Eleanor also had a granddaughter living with them.

Eleanor died on 23rd December 1881, aged 57.

A couple of years later, Henry married again. His second wife was a widow called Martha Vessey, formerly Ward. She had lived at South Kyme for over thirty years with her first husband, who had died in 1882. However, she had then moved to Quarrington, a suburb of the nearby town of Sleaford, and Henry and Martha were married there on 7th June 1884.

Henry and Martha were only married for just over two years. Henry died on 20th August 1886 at South Kyme. Martha survived him by about fifteen years.

1. ↑ England. 1841 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 607; Book 11; Folio 65; Page 18, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Gosberton, Lincolnshire
   John Butterfield, male, 40 [1796-1801], Draper & Grocer, not born in county
   Susanna Butterfield, female, 40 [1796-1801], born in county
   Joseph Butterfield, male, 15 [1821-6], not born in county
   Ann Butterfield, female, 15 [1821-6], born in county
   Julia Butterfield, female, 12 [1828/9], born in county
   John Butterfield, male, 10 [1830/1], born in county
   William Butterfield, male, 8 [1832/3], born in county
   Richard Butterfield, male, 7 [1833/4], born in county
   Sarah Butterfield, female, 6 [1834/5], born in county
   Mark Thompson, male, 20 [1816-21], born in county
   Henry Thompson, male, 15 [1821-6], Ap[prentice], born in county
   Sarah Usher, female, 20 [1816-21], Shop Woman, not born in county
   Mary Seamore, female, 20 [1816-21], F[emale] S[ervant], born in county
   Mary Dewey, female, 50 [1786-91], Ind[ependent], born in county
   Amy Thompson, female, 13 [1827/8], born in county

2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 England. 1851 Census Returns for England and Wales. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 2101; Folio 136; Page 8, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Henry Thompson, head, married, male, 28 [1822/3], Grocer & Draper, b. Billinghay, Lincolnshire
   Eleanor Thompson, wife, married, female, 27 [1823/4], b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Mary Ann Thompson, daughter, female, 2 [1848/9], Daughter, b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Jane Thompson, daughter, female, 1m [1851], Daughter, b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Mary A. Thompson, visitor, unmarried, female, 27 [1823/4], House Proprietors Daughter, b. Billinghay, Lincolnshire
   Mary J. Addison, visitor, unmarried, female, 20 [1830/1], Farmer's daughter, b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Sarah Spenser, servant, unmarried, female, 20 [1830/1], House Servant, b. Billinghay, Lincolnshire

3. ↑ England. 1861 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG9; Piece 2345; Folio 11; Page 16, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Private House, South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Henry Thompson, head, married, male, 38 [1822/3], Miller & Baker, b. Billinghay, Lincolnshire
   Eleanor Thompson, wife, married, female, 37 [1823/4], b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Mary A. Thompson, daughter, female, 12 [1848/9], Scholar, b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Jane E. Thompson, daughter, female, 6 [1854/5], Scholar, b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Emily Thompson, daughter, female, 3 [1857/8], Scholar, b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   John E. Thompson, son, male, 1 [1859/60], South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Benjamin A. Thompson, son, male, 2 months [1861], b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Rebecca Elkington, servant, unmarried, female, 19 [1841/2], House Servant, b. Timberland, Lincolnshire
   Eliza Rylatt, servant, female, 14 [1846/7], Nursemaid, b. Heckington, Lincolnshire

4. ↑ England. England and Wales. 1871 Census Schedules. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG10; Piece 3352; Folio 9; Page 11, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Bridge Foot House, South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Henry Thompson, head, married, male, 48 [1822/3], Miller & Baker - employing 1 man / Landowner - 54 acres - employing 2 laborers, b. Billinghay, Lincolnshire
   Eleanor Thompson, wife, married, female, 47 [1823/4], Millers wife, b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Mary A. Thompson, daughter, unmarried, female, 22 [1848/9], b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Clara Thompson, daughter, female, 7 [1863/4], scholar, b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Eliza Thompson, daughter, female, 4 [1866/7], scholar, b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Elizabeth Clatticoats, servant, unmarried, female, 19 [1851/2], Gen[eral] Serv[an]t (Domestic), b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire

5. ↑ England. 1881 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands: . (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG11; Piece 3225; Folio 6; Page 6, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Town Street, South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Henry Thompson, head, married, male, 58 [1822/3], Miller, Baker &c., b. Billinghay, Lincolnshire
   Eleanor Thompson, wife, married, female, 56 [1824/5], b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Jane E. Thompson, daughter, unmarried, female, 26 [1854/5], b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Emily Thompson, daughter, unmarried, female, 23 [1857/8], b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   John E. Thompson, son, unmarried, male, 21 [1859/60], b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Clara Thompson, daughter, unmarried, female, 17 [1863/4], b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Florence E. Watson, granddaughter, female, 5 [1875/6], Scholar, b. Waddington, Lincolnshire
   Fanny Mason, servant, unmarried, female, 20 [1860/1], General Serv[ant], b. Sibsey, Lincolnshire

6. ↑ Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. Henry THOMPSON, September Quarter 1886, Sleaford Registration District, Volume 7a, page 281, aged 64 [1821/2]

7. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Parish Church of South Kyme (Lincolnshire). Parish registers, 1654-1964. (Lincoln: Lincolnshire Archives).

   BURIALS in the Parishes of South & North Kyme in the County of Lincoln in the Year 1886
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   358	Henry Thompson	South Kyme	August 22 1886	64	J.C. Underwood, Off[iciating] Min[ister]

8. ↑ Stamford Mercury, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 1, 3 Sep 1886.

   Deaths.
   THOMPSON.-South Kyme, Aug. 20, Henry Thompson, aged 64. Deeply lamented.

9.   England. National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations),1858 onwards. (Ancestry.com).

   1886
   THOMPSON Henry.
   Personal Estate £1,591 7s.
   20 October. The Will of Henry Thompson late of South Kyme in the County of Lincoln Miller and Farmer who died 20 August 1886 at South Kyme was proved at Lincoln by William Bell Baldwick of South Kyme and Samuel Baldwick of Kirton Fen in the Parish of Kirton in the said County Farmers the Executors.

10. ↑ The family should not be confused with another couple called Abraham and Mary Thompson who lived at nearby South Kyme who were having children baptised there - the 1841 census finds Henry's parents and siblings at Billinghay (with Abraham described as a surgeon, as he was also described on both Henry's marriage certificates) and the other family at South Kyme, with that Abraham described as a grocer. Whilst Henry did settle in South Kyme as an adult, this would appear to be a coincidence.