Where was J. O. Thompson after his mother died?

After J.O.'s mother died, his father was so upset by her passing that he didn't feel fit to care for his three children, so he sent them to live with his brother John Thompson. When J.O.'s father remarried, his new wife would take his two daughters to live with them, but said that she didn't want to have to raise a "big 'ol boy," so J.O. stayed with his uncle John. J.O. was only 12 years old.

J.O. loved his uncle John. When Grandma was telling me about J.O.'s stay with John Thompson, she said this several times. "My daddy loved his uncle John." John taught him how to farm and run a farm, among many other things. The skills J.O. learned when he was with his uncle John helped him land his job as manager of a farm in or near Charlotte when he met Grace Campbell, my great-grandmother.

Here's the 1910 census showing him with his uncle John Monroe Thompson's family. J.O. was the oldest child there by a long shot. If you sign in to Family Search to view the picture, you will need to go to the previous image to see the rest of John M. Thompson's family.

Sources: Grandma Izzy, Cousin Rita, 1910 US census

J.O. Thompson and Grace Campbell's courtship

After J.O. Thompson's first wife and both of their children passed away from a measles epidemic, J.O. couldn't stand to be in Georgia any longer, so he bought a train ticket and rode until he ran out of money in Charlotte, NC. Once there, he got a job as the manager of a hospital's farm.

While he was working there, he met the beautiful and lovely Grace Campbell. At the time, she was engaged to another man. The two had been engaged for 3 years when J.O. came into the picture. After he assessed the situation, he told Grace, "That man is a fool," meaning, of course, that her fiance was a fool for being engaged to her for 3 years but not marrying her.

Grace saw his point, and broke off her engagement with the other man. She and J.O. were later married and had 9 children.

Grace and J.O. after a lifetime together

Source: Grandma Izzy