Talk:John E. W. Thompson

ERRORS OMISSIONS ETC

This was my great great grandfather. 1) His first wife was Elizabeth Augusta McLinn. She was the daughter of Charles McLinn who was the head joiner at Yale and the first African American on the New Haven City council. He was part of a legendary group of young black free men who had be bonded to William Hancock in North Carolina and trained in carpentry. Her mother Ellen Augusta Mclinn was the daughter of her slave mother Charity Skinner and Joshua Smith Skinner III, their master and a prominent lawyer/judge in North Carolina. His cousin was Aaron Skinner, the mayor of New Haven. Joshua's will instructed his son and his cousin to provide his emancipated slave Charity and their 6 children a home in New Haven. Prominent and respected in the community Thompson was well connected via his marriage. 2) Thompson's father in law was a close family friend (and Church brother at Dixwell Avenue Congregational Church the oldest of African American church of this denomination in the world) of Ebenezar D. Bassett who was the first African American diplomat appointed in 1869 by President Grant to Haiti and the Dominican. This is likely how Thompson was selected given that the position was initially given to another African American male who never took office (Williams I think was his name). There was a scramble when Grover Cleveland had to make the switch. 3) Thompson's only biological children were Yvonne Carmen Thompson my great grandmother who I knew well, and Reid Edward McGlynn Thompson. He divorced Elizabeth at some point possibly related to her having an addiction to opium. Mary was a white female widow whose two sons you mention were by her husband. Love letters to her written from prison suggest that the were happily married and in love. My Great grandmother was on the record in the Chicago Defender at the time of his death correcting the misrepresentations regarding his biological children. 4) Thompson's son Reid was the father of Reid E Thompson of the Red tails of the Tuskegee Airmen. He received the Distinguished flying cross in the same incident as Roscoe Brown. Thompson's great grandson Reid Edward Motley, M.D., my father, was the first African American accepted to train in one of the 12 disciple Ophthalmology programs. He trained at the University of Iowa. 5) Thompson was charged and found guilty of "Depositing non mailable matter" likely under the Comstock Act as he was charged with sending abortifacients to immigrants in the mail. From March 26 1911 to April 23 1914 he was imprisoned in Atlanta Federal prison. There is a photo that goes with his prison file. He was purportedly 50 years old when imprisoned. 6) Thompson raised chickens in his yard when released from prison until he received a presidential pardon and was allowed to practice medicine again.

This is what I recall off the top of my head. I will return later.

Rebecca K. Motley, M.D. RKWM77 (talk) 19:42, 15 September 2024 (UTC)