Name/Title
Thompson FamilyEntry/Object ID
MSS-02-012Scope and Content
This box contains correspondence and financial information regarding the Thompson family, as well as a ledger written by Cephas Giovanni Thompson.Context
The material in this collection is largely related to the Cephas Thompson branch of the Thompson family. Cephas Thompson was born July 1, 1775 and spent the majority of his life in Middleborough, MA. As a self-taught artist, he painted many portraits and landscapes that were well known in his time. In 1802, he married Olive Leonard, and they would go on to have six children together, including Marietta Thompson, Jerome Thompson, and Cephas Giovanni Thompson. Although Marietta and Jerome were also artists like their father, Cephas Giovanni would go on to become more renowned than his siblings and father. Olive Leonard Thompson died in 1819, and later that year Cephas Thompson married his second wife Lucy Thompson, who gave birth to their son, Julius, in 1824.
Cephas Giovanni Thompson was taught by his father and had a studio in Plymouth, but he also spent time living in New York, Providence, New Bedford, and Italy. He painted many notable portraits in his career, including those of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Robert E. Lee, and his friend Nathaniel Hawthorne.Archive Details
Archive Size/Extent
This series contains one box with three folders.
