US Congressman. Born in Brookville, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, he graduated from Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and was in the process of reading law when the Civil War began. He enlisted in the Union Army in the summer of 1861, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in Company C, 105th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, which was composed mostly of Brookville men. Promoted to Captain and commander of Company K on December 1, 1861, he led his men through the Spring 1862 Peninsular Campaign in Virginia, where he was wounded at the May 31, 1861 Battle of Fair Oaks. He recovered in time to participate in the August 1862 2nd Bull Run Campaign, and at the battle on August 29, 1862 he was severely wounded. His injuries were such that he could not resume field command, and he was honorably discharged due to disability on January 10, 1863. He resumed the study of law, and in December 1864 was admitted to the Pennsylvania State Bar Association. The next year he removed to Portsmouth, Ohio, where he established a law practice. He rose steadily in the local judiciary, serving as the Probate Judge of Scioto County, Ohio beginning in October 1869, and was elected as the Common Pleas Judge of the Seventh Judicial District of Ohio in October 1881. In 1884 he was elected as a Republican to represent Ohio’s 12th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, where he served three terms from 1885 to 1891. Unsuccessful in an attempt to be re-elected for a fourth term, he resumed his private law practice in Portsmouth after leaving Congress. When the United States Congress passed an act in June 1897 to revise and codify the criminal and penal laws of the United States, Judge Thompson was appointed by President William McKinley to the commission, and was elected it’s chairman. He performed those duties until 1898, when he accepted the appointment as District Judge of the Southern Ohio District. He served in that role until his death in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1910. He was the son-in-law of Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General John Alexander Turley.
US Congressman. Born in Brookville, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, he graduated from Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and was in the process of reading law when the Civil War began. He enlisted in the Union Army in the summer of 1861, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in Company C, 105th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, which was composed mostly of Brookville men. Promoted to Captain and commander of Company K on December 1, 1861, he led his men through the Spring 1862 Peninsular Campaign in Virginia, where he was wounded at the May 31, 1861 Battle of Fair Oaks. He recovered in time to participate in the August 1862 2nd Bull Run Campaign, and at the battle on August 29, 1862 he was severely wounded. His injuries were such that he could not resume field command, and he was honorably discharged due to disability on January 10, 1863. He resumed the study of law, and in December 1864 was admitted to the Pennsylvania State Bar Association. The next year he removed to Portsmouth, Ohio, where he established a law practice. He rose steadily in the local judiciary, serving as the Probate Judge of Scioto County, Ohio beginning in October 1869, and was elected as the Common Pleas Judge of the Seventh Judicial District of Ohio in October 1881. In 1884 he was elected as a Republican to represent Ohio’s 12th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, where he served three terms from 1885 to 1891. Unsuccessful in an attempt to be re-elected for a fourth term, he resumed his private law practice in Portsmouth after leaving Congress. When the United States Congress passed an act in June 1897 to revise and codify the criminal and penal laws of the United States, Judge Thompson was appointed by President William McKinley to the commission, and was elected it’s chairman. He performed those duties until 1898, when he accepted the appointment as District Judge of the Southern Ohio District. He served in that role until his death in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1910. He was the son-in-law of Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General John Alexander Turley.
Bio by: RPD2
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