Mary A. Thompson Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
James Madison University
Second Floor Room 203, MSC 1704
Carrier Library
James Madison University
880 Madison Drive
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Tiffany Cole
Phone: (540) 568-3444
Phone: (540) 568-3612
Fax: (540) 568-3405
Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk. (library-special@jmu.edu).

Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box, folder #], Mary A. Thompson Papers, 1882-1974, SC 0152, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Summary

Extent:
0.4 cubic feet 1 box
Creator:
Thompson, Mary A., 1903-1997 and Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society
Abstract:
This collection documents the life and activities of members of the Thompson family of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, Virginia, particularly John W. Thompson and his wife Elizabeth F. Thompson, and also contains items relating to the Mt. Zion Church of the Brethren in Dayton, Virginia.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box, folder #], Mary A. Thompson Papers, 1882-1974, SC 0152, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Background

Scope and content:

The Mary A. Thompson Papers, 1882 - 1975, consist primarily of documents and notebooks pertaining to the lives of John W. Thompson and his wife Elizabeth F. Thompson. These materials include notebooks of various household income and expenses from the years 1935 - 1974, including lists of purchases for gasoline and various auto parts from several different stores including Wayne Motor Sales, Standard Oil Co., and Madrid Fil[l]ing Station. Other materials comprise a notebook of church council meeting minutes and legal documents from the Mt. Zion Brethren Church of Dayton, Virginia from 1895 - 1945, various financial and legal papers from 1892 - 1932 that include fire insurance appraisals and policies for the farm, tax receipts, estate debts, land deeds, and a 1930 Farm Census.

Other materials within the collection relate to Mary A. Thompson, daughter of John and Elizabeth Thompson, from the years 1921 - 1945. These papers include temporary nursing permits and a letter from the principal of Dayton High School. There is also a small amount of Thompson family genealogical materials including written birth and death dates, newspaper clippings relating to the Thompson Geological Museum and various Thompson family members from 1921 - 1980, and three photographs. Other genealogical materials relate to the Heatwole and Weaver families and include the pamphlet, "A History of the Heatwole Family" from 1882. Also included is a small folder of schedules and list of staff for the WSVA radio station in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Biographical / historical:

John W. Thompson, born in 1874 and died in 1932, lived in the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County area where he operated a small farm. His wife was Elizabeth F. Thompson who was born in 1872 and died in 1958. They had five children, one of which was Mary Anna Thompson, who lived from 1903 to 1997. John W. Thompson and other Thompson family members were involved in the purchase of land for the Mt. Zion Brethren Church of Dayton, Virginia around 1895 and the later sale of the church and land around 1945.

Mary A. Thompson (1903-1997) spent her life in the Harrisonburg area. She went to Pleasant Hill Elementary and Junior High School and then to Dayton High School, graduating in 1925. She was accepted into the Rockingham Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in 1929 and graduated in 1933.

Acquisition information:
Deposited by contract with the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society in 1998.
Processing information:

In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017. This collection was previously cataloged as SC 3097.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in 6 folders.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Brethren Church -- Virginia -- Rockingham County -- History
Home economics -- Accounting
Prices -- Virginia -- Harrisonburg -- History
Finance, Personal -- Sources
Deeds -- Virginia -- Rockingham County -- History
Real property -- Virginia -- Sources
Land titles -- Virginia -- Rockingham County
Debt -- Virginia -- Sources
Farm life -- Virginia -- History
Nurses -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Fossils -- Collection and preservation -- Virginia -- Rockingham County
Service stations -- Records
Radio stations -- Employees -- Virginia -- Harrisonburg
Radio programs -- Virginia -- Harrisonburg
Industries -- Virginia -- Harrisonburg -- Sources
World War, 1939-1945 -- Women -- United States
World War, 1939-1945 -- Military care -- United States
Account books -- Virginia -- Rockingham County
Ledgers (account books)
Housebooks
Financial Records
Legal documents
Genealogies (histories)
Names:
Mt. Zion Brethren Church (Dayton, Va.) -- History
United States. War Manpower Commission
WSVA (Radio station : Harrisonburg, Va.)
Thompson Museum
Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society
Thompson family
Heatwole family
Thompson, Mary A., 1903-1997
Thompson, J. W. (John William), 1874-1932
Thompson, Martha E. Liskey, 1844-1919
Layne, George L.
Heatwole, Justus B., 1883-1959
Places:
Harrisonburg (Va.) -- History
Harrisonburg (Va.) -- Social life and customs -- Sources
Harrisonburg (Va.) -- Genealogy
Dayton (Va.) -- History
Rockingham County (Va.) -- History
Rockingham County (Va.) -- Social life and customs
Rockingham County (Va.) -- Genealogy
Virginia -- Genealogy
Virginia -- History, Local
United States -- Census, 1930. -- General farm schedule
United States -- Military care -- 20th century