Father: Edward Thompson
Mother: Amanda Rhoda Smith

Spouse: Sarah Stephens - b: 29/May/1807 - Steuben Co., NY
  d: 23/Oct/1880 - Gentry Co., MO - bur: Lafayette Cem., Nodaway Co.

Child-1: Elizabeth B.
          2: Sarah Ann
          3: Edward - b: 1835/1836 - OH

Biographical Details:

It seems almost certain that Julius Thompson was born at Goshen in Litchfield County, Connecticut, on April 19, 1801, and that he was the son of Edward and Amanda Rhoda Smith Thompson.  Concomitantly, it would seem that he migrated as a child with his parents and two older brothers, Harvey and Ezra, as well as, perhaps, other members of the family, to Ontario County, New York, by the year 1810.  Presumably he married his wife, Sarah Stephens, in western New York sometime in the later 1820's; however, both the date of their marriage and the identities of her parents remain unknown.  The household of Julius Thompson was listed in the population schedule of the 1830 US Census for Erie County, Pennyslvania, which indicated that they were then resident in Harbor Creek Township.  At this time, the family consisted of an adult couple, both between twenty and thirty years of age and a young daughter less than five years old.  Moreover, as affirmed by later oral family tradition, Julius Thompson became associated with the Latter-day Saints, i.e., the Mormons, perhaps as early as their beginnings in upstate New York.  In any case, by 1835 he had apparently become a Mormon, as well as probably his wife also, and the family moved from Erie County to Kirtland, Ohio, where church records indicate that Julius received "anointing" in the Kirtland Temple on March 16, 1836.¹  Furthermore, there is strong circumstantial evidence that the Thompson family subsequently migrated westward with other Mormons to Missouri and had settled in Caldwell County prior to 1839.  In particular, this conclusion is supported by the existence of two land patents, each for a forty acre parcel, issued to Julius Thompson on May 1, 1843.²   One of these was located on Shoal Creek at the mouth of Tom Creek, which is three to four miles east of the present town of Kingston, Missouri, and was about ten miles east of the largest contemporary Mormon settlement at Far West.  The other parcel also lay nearby.  In addition, the Lyon Settlement near the confluence of Log and Shoal Creeks, which local history indicates was the site of an early grist mill, was located no more than a mile upstream.³  Within this context, Mormon settlement in Caldwell County is believed to have extended all along the course of Shoal Creek from Far West on the western side of the county to Haun's Mill on the eastern side.  The violent history of the "Mormon War" in western Missouri is copiously documented in both Mormon and other contemporaneous records and it is likely that the Thompson family had left Missouri well before the patents were granted.  Indeed, as noted elsewhere, it could have taken several years between the time a land claim was entered and when a land patent was issued; hence, the 1843 date is not necessarily inconsistent with the residence of Julius Thompson and his family in Caldwell County before the Mormon expulsion of 1839.⁴  After their exodus from Missouri, most of the Mormons settled on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River in Hancock County, Illinois, and founded the town of Nauvoo (formerly Commerce).  In the 1840 US Census for Hancock County, the household of Julia Thompson was listed, which consisted of an adult male and female of thirty to forty years of age, a male child under five years of age, and two female children of between five and ten and of between ten and fifteen years of age.  This accords well with the known family of Julius and Sarah Thompson and, therefore, it seems reasonably safe to conclude that the name "Julia" was likely written incorrectly and that this household was, in fact, that of Julius Thompson.  This is further supported by contemporaneous civil records which indicate that Julius Thompson owned two lots in Nauvoo.⁵  Moreover, it appears from an early plat map of the town that one of these lay on the west side of Main and the south side of Hibbard (sic - Hubbard) Streets, which now corresponds to a location just northwest of the Nauvoo Visitors' Center.  Similarly, it appears that the second lot lay about four blocks south of the historical site of the temple (which has been recently reconstructed) and very likely is presently under the waters of the manmade lake in Nauvoo State Park.  In addition, a list of Hancock County taxpayers compiled on August 20, 1842, implies that Julius Thompson then owned land in "Congressional Township Six of Range Eight" (along with Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Brigham Young and various other prominent early Latter-day Saints) and, thus, in a six mile square area immediately southeast of the town of Nauvoo.  As earlier in Missouri, civil disturbances involving non-Mormons soon followed settlement of the Mormons in Illinois.  Indeed, confrontation became so severe that Latter-day Saints founder and prophet, Joseph Smith, and his brother, Hyrum, lost their lives on June 27, 1844, as a consequence of mob violence at Carthage, Illinois, the county seat of Hancock County, where they had been thrown into jail.  After these events, many of the Mormons resolved to carry through with the formation of their own nation in uninhabited lands in the Far West.  Hence, in the spring of 1846 under the leadership of Brigham Young, the first group of Mormons left Nauvoo and set out on a journey west, with the intention of settling beyond the borders of the United States.  At this time, it appears that Julius Thompson had been an active member of the Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo since he was ordained a "seventy" on April 9, 1845.  Even so, he and his family seem to have gone westward only as far as Van Buren County, Iowa, which is about thirty or forty miles from Nauvoo.  It appears that they settled first in Farmington Township since the household of Julius Thompson consisting of five individuals was evidently resident in this locality when a state census was taken in 1849; however, the Thompson household did not appear in the census of 1847, which suggests that they had moved to Iowa during the intervening period.  Concomitantly, the five individuals can plausibly be identified as Julius and Sarah Thompson themselves, their son, Edward, who would have been about fourteen or fifteen years of age, and their two older daughters, Elizabeth and Sarah Ann.  Subsequently, the Thompson family apparently moved a few miles northward to Harrisburg Township and were resident there by the time that the federal census was taken in 1850.  However, as noted elsewhere, Julius and Sarah Thompson along with their children and sons-in-law, John A. and James M. Johnson, apparently did migrate to the Utah Territory by 1856.  Although temple records are not accessible to non-Latter-day Saints, it appears from secondary sources that Julius Thompson received a temple baptism on August 20, 1855, and that Julius and Sarah Thompson were "sealed" in a temple marriage at the Endowment House in Salt Lake City on April 8, 1857.

It seems plausible that the arid western climate of the Great Basin would have seemed alien and inhospitable to settlers familiar only with the well watered East and Middle West.  Alternatively, Julius Thompson may have become disillusioned with the Mormon regime.  Indeed, at this time the governing Mormon "theocracy" led by Brigham Young required strict adherence to all teachings of church leaders and commands of bishops and elders.  Moreover, although the Utah Territory had been incorporated into the United States following the Mexican War, federal control over the region was tenuous at best.  Within this context, there was considerable violent crime as well as distrust between the Mormons and "Gentile" emigrants passing westward through the territory.  This culminated in the infamous Mountain Meadows Massacre in September of 1857.⁶  Circumstantial evidence implies that many of these events occurred in the area of southern Utah where the extended Thompson family had settled; however, it is not known if civil disorder provided any motivation for their return to more populated areas of the Middle West.  In any case, Julius and Sarah Thompson, along with their children, sons-in-law, and grandchildren all returned to Missouri before 1860 and settled in or near the village of Island City, which was located in the southwestern portion of Gentry County within the present territory of Jackson Township.⁷  In contrast to many early settlers, Julius Thompson must have been literate since he served as Postmaster in Island City from July 1, 1862, until September 13, 1863.  According to family tradition, Julius and Sarah Thompson never renounced their Mormon faith.  Therefore, although it can only be a speculation, Gentry County might have been attractive to them because of its proximity to previous Mormon settlements in Caldwell and Daviess Counties and the prominence of Missouri in the prophetical utterances of Joseph Smith.  Indeed, a schismatic branch of the Latter-day Saints later known as the "Reorganized" church did become established in northwestern Missouri and southern Iowa.  (Interestingly enough, after his death, immediate members of Joseph Smith's family became identified with the Reorganized Latter-day Saints, rather than the Mormons.)  According to his tombstone, Julius Thompson died April 22, 1875, at the age of seventy-four years and three days.  His wife, Sarah, died five and a half years later on October 23, 1880.  They were buried together in the Lafayette Cemetery, which lies about two miles west of Island City at the extreme eastern edge of Nodaway County.

1a. Lyndon W. Cook and Milton V. Backman, Jr. (eds), Kirtland Elders' Quorum Record, 1836-1841, Distinctive Mormon Documents Series, Grandin Book Co., P. O. Box 1471, Provo, UT, 1985: pg. 11.
"Kirtland March 16, 1836
     This evening the Elders met according to appointment, in the Lord's house.
     The meeting being duly organized; President [Alvah] Beman consecrated a bottle of oil for the anointing; after which a hymn was sung and he proceeded to anoint Elders Benj. Brown A[g]e 41, James Burnham A[g]e 38, Julius Thompson A[g]e 34, and E. F. Nickerson A[g]e 29.
     Elder [Reuben] Hadlock organized them for prayer.
     The blessings were then sealed by the President, and the meeting dismissed with prayer."

b. ibid.: pg. 105.  "Julius Thompson (c1809-?).  Born at Goshen, Litchfield, CT.  Received anointing in Kirtland Temple 16 March 1836 and elder's license 1 Apr 1836.  Ordained seventy 9 Apr 1845."
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2a. The United States of America; Certificate No. 12,693;  To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting: Whereas Julius Thompson of Caldwell County Missouri has deposited in the General Land Office of the United States, a Certificate of the Register of the Land Office at Lexington whereby it appears that full payment has been made by the said Julius Thompson according to the provisions of the Act of Congress of the 24th of April, 1820, entitled "An act making further provision for the sale of Public Lands," for The North East quarter of the North East quarter of Section nineteen in Township fifty six, of Range twenty seven in the district of lands subject to sale at Lexington Missouri, containing forty acres according to the official plat of the survey of the said Lands returned to the General Land Office by the Surveyor General, which said tracts have been purchased by the said Julius Thompson.
     Now know ye, that the United States of America, in consideration of the Premises, and in conformity with the several acts of Congress, in such case made and provided, Have Given and Granted, and by these presents Do Give and Grant, unto the said Julius Thompson and to his heirs, the said tracts above described: To have and to hold the same, together with all the rights, privileges, immunities, and appurtenances, of whatsoever nature, thereunto belonging, to the said Julius Thompson and to his heirs and assigns forever.
     In Testimony Whereof, I, John Tyler, President of the United States of America, have caused these Letters to be made Patent, and the Seal of the General Land Office to be hereunto affixed.  Given under my hand, at the City of Washington, the first day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty three and of the Independence of the United States the Sixty seventh.  By The President: John Tyler; By R. Tyler Secretary; J. Williamson Recorder of the General Land Office  (US Land Patent Certificate No. 12693; Washington, DC, issued 1 May 1843.)

b. The United States of America; Certificate No. 12,694;  To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting: Whereas Julius Thompson of Caldwell County Missouri has deposited in the General Land Office of the United States, a Certificate of the Register of the Land Office at Lexington whereby it appears that full payment has been made by the said Julius Thompson according to the provisions of the Act of Congress of the 24th of April, 1820, entitled "An act making further provision for the sale of Public Lands," for The North West quarter of the South West quarter of Section twenty in Township fifty six, of Range twenty seven in the district of lands subject to sale at Lexington Missouri, containing forty acres according to the official plat of the survey of the said Lands returned to the General Land Office by the Surveyor General, which said tracts have been purchased by the said Julius Thompson.
     Now know ye, that the United States of America, in consideration of the Premises, and in conformity with the several acts of Congress, in such case made and provided, Have Given and Granted, and by these presents Do Give and Grant, unto the said Julius Thompson and to his heirs, the said tracts above described: To have and to hold the same, together with all the rights, privileges, immunities, and appurtenances, of whatsoever nature, thereunto belonging, to the said Julius Thompson and to his heirs and assigns forever.
     In Testimony Whereof, I, John Tyler, President of the United States of America, have caused these Letters to be made Patent, and the Seal of the General Land Office to be hereunto affixed.  Given under my hand, at the City of Washington, the first day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty three and of the Independence of the United States the Sixty seventh.  By The President: John Tyler; By R. Tyler Secretary; J. Williamson Recorder of the General Land Office  (US Land Patent Certificate No. 12694; Washington, DC, issued 1 May 1843.)
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3. Bertha Ellis Booth, "A Short History of Caldwell County, Missouri", Hamilton Public Schools, Hamilton, MO, 1936.  (Reprint available from the Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation, P. O. B. 3186, Independence, MO, 64055, 1998.)
     "Now we come to the first town in our county.   In 1833, the three Lyons brothers, who were Mormon exiles from Jackson County, settled at Log Creek, two miles southeast of Kingston.  They built a horse mill (the first mill in the county), a blacksmith shop and three cabins for their families.  Four other families were quickly drawn to this little backwoods settlement, among them being Samuel Richey of Ohio.  This made a village which the settlers named Salem.  Salem was the voting precinct for north Ray County (as this county was then called).  In 1839 John Duston came here from New York, and buying several acres of land near Salem (or Salemtown as many called it), he laid it out in town lots, hoping for a future city.  A tavern was built there, and the stage coach which went to Richmond made stops there, but the little village did not grow.  When the county seat was moved from Far West to the new town Kingston after the Mormon exodus from the county, Salem was abandoned, and now nothing is left to mark its site."  (Karen Walker and Marilyn Williams (tr), Caldwell County MOGenWeb Archives, ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/mo/caldwell/misc/booth3.txt, 1997.)
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4. Alexander L. Baugh, "From High Hopes to Despair - The Missouri Period 1831-39", pgs. 44-55, Ensign Magazine, Jul. 2001.
     "As early as 1834, Latter-day Saint families began to settle north and east of Clay County in the more sparsely populated Ray County.  By March 1836, Missouri Church leaders began searching for a permanent site for settlement in the even less inhabited regions north of Ray County.  After extensive explorations, the Church purchased a one-mile square plot situated near Shoal Creek on 8 August 1836.  The site was subsequently named Far West.
     As Latter-day Saint numbers began to increase in this new region, some believed that the Mormon problem might be solved if a county was created exclusively for them.  Alexander Doniphan, Clay County's representative to the state legislature and a friend to the Latter-day Saints, spearheaded a bill to create the new county, Caldwell County.  Passage of Doniphan's bill came on 29 December 1836 and actually called for the establishment of two counties.  The first, 18 by 24 miles, was created in behalf of the Latter-day Saints and was named in honor of Matthew Caldwell of Kentucky, a friend, Indian scout, and fellow soldier of Joseph Doniphan, father of Alexander Doniphan.  Far West was designated as the county seat.  The second, Daviess County, situated to the north of Caldwell was nearly 24 miles square and named after Colonel Joseph H. Daviess, another friend of Doniphan's father and a commander killed at the battle of Tippecanoe in Indiana in 1811.  Gallatin was selected as the county seat, and anyone was allowed to settle there, although Church members were expected to confine themselves to Caldwell County.  While Far West was the largest community in Caldwell County, additional settlements were established on or near Shoal, Log, Bush, Mill, Panther, Mud, and Plum Creeks, and Crooked River.  Many of these settlements were named after their founders or other prominent inhabitants, including the Allred settlement (William, William M., and Wiley Allred); the Curtis settlement (Jeremiah Curtis); the Carter settlement (Simeon and Orlando Carter); the Durfey settlement (James and Perry Durfey); the Free settlement (Absalom and Joseph Free), the Lyon settlement, also called Salem (Aaron C. Lyon); the Myers settlement (Jacob Myers); the Plumb settlement (Merlin Plumb); the Stevens settlement (Roswell Stevens); and the Haun's Mill settlement (Jacob Haun).  These sites were all later abandoned when Latter-day Saints were expelled from the state in 1839.
     The Prophet Joseph Smith visited Far West for the first time for only a few days in late October and early November 1837 before returning to Kirtland, Ohio.  But in January 1838, the Prophet was forced to flee Kirtland.  He arrived in Far West on 14 March 1838, thus making Far West the headquarters of the Church. Little is known about the precise location of the Prophet's home in Far West.  He and his family lived here for less than eight months, during which seven revelations were received, including the Lord's instructions on the official name of the Church (see D&C 115:3-4), the construction of the Far West temple (see D&C 115:7-12), the mission of the Apostles 'over the great waters' to Great Britain (see D&C 118:3-5), and the law of tithing (see D&C 119).
     By late 1838 the Latter-day Saint population in and around Far West numbered 4,000 to 5,000 inhabitants, making it the largest community in northwestern Missouri.  Conservative figures put the Caldwell County total population at about 8,000, although it may have been as high as 10,000. Following the 27 October 1838 issuance of the governor's extermination order, most Latter-day Saints sold their lands and homes at substantially reduced prices or simply abandoned their property."
     This article appeared in Ensign Magazine, the full title of which  is "The Ensign of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints".  Ensign Magazine is the official monthly magazine for the English speaking adult members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A more detailed historical treatment of this period is available from the same author:
Alexander L. Baugh, "A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri", Ph.D. dissertation, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, 1996.
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5. Julius Thompson ... PROPERTY:
Nauvoo: Block 57, Lot 3
Kimball 1st: Block 3, Lot 20, N/2, 1 ACRE
From information compiled into a searchable database by the Land and Records Office in the Illinois Nauvoo Mission and the Pioneer Research Group in Winter Quarters (NE).  (Anonymous, "Early Latter-day Saints", www.earlylds.com, 2007.)
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6. Josiah F. Gibbs, The Mountain Meadows Massacre, Salt Lake Tribune Pub. Co., 1910.  (This work can be viewed electronically at www.utlm.org/onlinebooks/meadowscontents.htm)
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7. Robert Birbeck, "Along the St. Joe Trail - History of the Johnson Family", unpublished.
     "Julius Thompson and wife, the parents of Aunt Lizzie and Sarah Ann were residents of Island City (Couch Town), the next spring after going to Salt Lake City.
    Minerva Gepford has remarked in past letters that when they came from Ill., she was six years old in 1859, and that Julius Thompson was then postmaster when they came here (to Island City).  He used to make coffins and was considered somewhat of a carpenter in that early day."
      Julius Thompson was not postmaster in 1859; however, he did hold this office a few years later and so this account is essentially correct.
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Additional Citations:

8. 1830 US Census Population Schedule for Erie County, Pennsylvania, National Archives, Washington DC:  pg. 263, (microfilm: roll M19_147; img. 521).

9. 1840 US Census Population Schedule for Hancock County, Illinois, National Archives, Washington DC:  pg. 182, (microfilm roll M704_60; img. 364).

10. 1850 US Census Population Schedule for Van Buren County, Iowa, National Archives, Washington DC:  pg. 292A, (microfilm: roll M432_189; img. 96).

11. 1860 US Census Population Schedule for Gentry County, Missouri, National Archives, Washington DC:  pg. 686, (microfilm: roll M653_620; img. 41).

12. 1870 US Census Population Schedule for Gentry County, Missouri, National Archives, Washington DC:  pg. 628B, (microfilm: roll M593_776; img. 476).

13. 1849 Iowa State Census for Van Buren County, State Historical Society of Iowa Library & Iowa State Archives, Capitol Complex, Des Moines, IA.  (Madeline and Joe Huff (comp.), Van Buren County IAGenWeb Archives, 2006.)

14. Tax Records of 1842, Hancock County, Carthage, IL: pg. 215, (LDS Family History Library microfilm: roll #007706 , Salt Lake City, UT, 2003).  (Lyman Platt (tr), "Nauvoo Tax Records, 1842", Orem, UT, Ancestry, Inc., www.ancestry.com, 1999. )  (Judi Gilker (tr), Hancock County ILGenWeb Archives, 2007.)

15. Susan Easton Black, Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: 1830-1848, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, UT: Vol. 43, pg. 303.

16. Sealings of couples, living and by proxy, 1851-1889, Vol. A-A1, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, Salt Lake City, UT, (microfilm: 183395, non-circulating).

17. Nadine McCampell, Johnson Family History, The Printery, Albany, MO, 1982: pg. 15.

18. Lafayette Cemetery, Nodaway County, Missouri (www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=179853&CScn=Lafayette&CScntry=4&CSst=26&CScnty=1470&, continuously updated).

19. Ancestral File: 2ZT5-PX, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, UT, continuously updated.

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