The Thompson Family Collection is organized into two series: Papers and Photographs.
Papers (1862-1988) is comprised primarily of sixty-two original letters written by Jackson Thompson, Sarah Throne, and John Throne. The vast majority of the letters were written by Jackson Thompson to Sarah Throne and span the years 1862 through 1865. The letters are evenly spread between the dates, with the exception being only four letters from 1863. Jackson was taken prisoner at Parker's Cross Roads (December 31, 1862), and was later released in a prisoner exchange. He was sent to Camp Randall in Madison, Wisconsin after his release and before he rejoined his unit in Tennessee. A letter dated March 28, 1863 states that he was at Camp Randall and verifies that he and other released prisoners from his unit were waiting to rejoin the 7th Artillery. There are two letters in particular that describe historically significant events. The letter dated April 28, 1865 describes the sinking of the SS Sultana, the worst maritime disaster in American history, in great detail. His description of the Second Battle of Memphis (August 24, 1864) also provides a detailed account of the cavalry attack experienced by the 7th Wisconsin Light Artillery. Subsequent letters written after the attack describe the stress he felt from the surprise raid, with one letter (October 11, 1864) specifically stating he was on edge ever since. The letters from Jackson also express his growing love for Sarah. Each subsequent letter he writes includes more talk of his love for her, and of his desire for the war to end to return to her and his family. The letters written by Sarah to Jackson are from 1864 and 1865, with the majority dated from the latter year. They also center on her love of Jackson and her own desire that the war end soon. The also provide insight into the life of a young woman living in Wisconsin during the Civil War. Sarah includes information about socializing with other town members, engaging in dances and social clubs, and how Sarah and her sister, Maggie, made a life in Wisconsin by running a boarding house for migrant workers. The letters from John Throne to Sarah do not provide the details that Jackson included in his letters. John's letters generally discuss military life and his desire for the war to end soon, but do not provide in depth discussion of battles or other events. He does provide an account of how he was arrested for disobeying orders (November 18, 1864), which gives a look into military police practices during the Civil War. Some of the letters are addressed to the family instead of just to Sarah, but the information he writes about remains the same. The miscellaneous correspondence folder includes a letter written by Sarah to her sister, Maggie, a letter written by P. Darlington to someone that was her schoolmate, and two other unidentified manuscripts written around the time of the Civil War. The identity of the recipient of the P. Darlington letter is unclear and at the time, Darlington was living in Detroit, Michigan. The two other manuscripts are small notes that do not appear to be the handwriting of Jackson, Sarah, or John. Biographical material includes photocopies of records of various service records and pension documents, along with census data, handwritten accounts, and a newspaper article describing the descendants of Elisha Thompson. Biographical material is included pertaining to Charles A. J. Higgins and Charles E. Munn. It is likely that the images for both men were friends of either Jackson or Elisha, and their images were kept in the collection by decedents of the Thompson brothers. Also included are articles wrote for New Month magazine by Stephen Tomski, that feature transcriptions of a selection of letters by Sarah and Jackson. Researchers should note, however, that these transcriptions may not be perfectly accurate.
Photographs (1861-1985) are comprised primarily of tintypes and carte-de-visite of members of the Thompson Family. Tintypes include images of only the Thompson brothers and John Throne, and show the men in their uniforms. Carte-de-visite images include those of Alfred, Elisha, Charles Higgins, and Charles Munn in uniform, along with an image of Sarah Throne. Also included is an image of Stephen Thompson, father of the brothers, and Laura Thompson, sister of the brothers.
