David M.Thompson was born in Rushville, a town in Rush County, Indiana, on March 18th, 1833. Having heard all about the splendors of Oregon, he joined the many other young men and women who headed West and arrived in Albany in the Oregon Territory in 1852, at the age of 19. In a U.S. Census taken in 1860 he listed his occupation as a harness maker, but many things had happened in those 8 years. Some time after arriving in Albany he must have noticed Loueasa Matilda Burkhart, a daughter of John and Rebecca Burkhart, one of three founding families of the town. She was 3 years younger than David and he courted her, then asked for her hand in marriage. The happy couple were wed on July 9th, 1855. Loueasa disliked her name, so she went by Laura, even when they obtained their marriage license and were wed. Their union produced first a daughter on June 25th, 1859, whom they named Harriett Louise. Harriett never liked her first name either and went by Hettie all of her life. Five years later, in 1864, a son was born to them.
They named him Louis E. Both children were raised with good educations, and Louis was able to join with Mr. Hartman in establishing a real estate and banking firm in Portland, which was known for its respectability and honesty. The family also attended church and had a strong and abiding faith in God, having close relatives who were in the ministry. David joined the Masonic Order, always aspiring to live up to their code of ethics. The Thompson family was doing well in 1870, per the U.S. Census taken that year. They owned the property that they lived on and that David used for his business. Then, at the age of 46, David Thompson died on Nov 9th, 1879, for reasons not known to me. He was buried at the Albany Masonic Cemetery and was named "An Oregon Pioneer of the Year 1852". Engraved upon his headstone was "Came to Oregon in 1852". Hettie was a widow with two children who grieved for her husband for 3 years. Hettie finally remarried 3 years later to James H. Foster of Albany. Their marriage only lasted from 1882-1888 when he also died and was buried with his 1st wife. Loueasa then moved to Portland, OR to live with her daughter, Hettie, who had married a dentist, Dr. Charles Ritchey Templeton. Loueasa had 3 grandchildren she adored and she was now closer to her son as well, whose business was doing well in Portland. She stayed in Hettie's home at 571 Glisan St. until she passed away on Friday, January 18th, 1907, even though her headstone gives her date of death as Jan 15, 1907. {See newspaper article in her memorial.} Her remains were sent by train back to Albany and she was interred next to David M.Thompson in the Albany Masonic Cemetery, Albany, Linn County, Oregon.