US Congressman. He was born one of three children (he also had a sister and a brother) in Culpeper, Virginia, (some sources say Fredericksburg, Colony of Virginia), to Reverend John Thompson and his wife Elizabeth Rootes Thompson on March 26, 1766 (some sources say March 18, 1767). He was educated locally and by private tutors as a child. He was also educated at the prestigious College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he later graduated from. He then studied law, was admitted to the bar, and commenced his practice of law in Fairfax, Virginia. He then entered politics and served a term as the Member of the House of Delegates from 1793 to 1797, and as a Member of the Virginia State Legislature in 1800. He then decided to run for a seat in the United States Congress and was elected. A Member of the Democratic-Republican Party (elected as Republican), he then served Virginia's 18th District (Seventh Congress, Eighth Congress, and Ninth Congress) in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1801, to March 3, 1803. He was succeeded in office by United States Representative Peterson Goodwyn on March 4, 1803. A Member of the Democratic-Republican Party (elected as Republican), he then served Virginia's 9th District (Seventh Congress, Eighth Congress, and Ninth Congress) in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1803, to March 3, 1807. He was succeeded in office by United States Representative Peterson Goodwyn on March 4, 1807. After leaving the United States Congress, he resumed his practice of law until his death. He was also a prosperous farmer having owned several properties during his life, some of which he later sold. He was also one of the founders along with Birket Davenport and Philip Lightfoot of the Culpeper Masonic Lodge in Culpeper, Virginia, of which he served as Worshipful Master. The charter was granted on November 29, 1794, designating the lodge from Culpeper, Virginia, to Fairfax, Virginia. He passed away in Kanawha County, Virginia, (now West Virginia), on July 27, 1837, at the age of 70 or 71. He was buried in College Hill Cemetery in Coal's Mouth, Virginia, (now St. Alban's, Virginia). He was married twice, first to Anna Susannah Davenport Thompson with whom had three children (two boys and one girl). She passed away in Culpeper County, Virginia, on March 9, 1798, at the age of 29. She was buried in Davenport-Thompson Cemetery in Catalpa, Virginia. He married for the second time to Sarah Elizabeth "Sallie" Slaughter Thompson and the couple had nine children (three girls and six boys). She survived her husband and she passed away on Kanawha County, Virginia, (now West Virginia), on March 8, 1852, at the age of 75. She was buried in the College Hill Cemetery in Coal's Mouth, Virginia, (now St. Albans, West Virginia), beside her husband. He also had a child with one of his female slaves out of wedlock in 1820. The town of Philippi, West Virginia, was named for him and he was the nucleus of the beginnings of the Episcopal Church in that city.