Author: Thompson, Thomas
Biography:
THOMPSON, Thomas (1773-1816: findmypast.com)
The best early source of biographical information about “Tommy” Thompson is Allan’s Illustrated Edition of Tyneside Songs (1891), which was written when Thompson’s youngest son was still alive to be consulted. Thompson was baptised on 7 Oct. 1773 at Hurworth on Tees, Durham, the son of William and Elizabeth Thompson; his father died when he was still an infant. He was educated to be a merchant and about 1790 went into business in Newcastle upon Tyne, eventually trading as a general merchant on the quayside. As a young man he volunteered for the Newcastle Light Horse, where he served as quartermaster and was promoted to the rank of captain in the cavalry. On 18 Apr. 1805 he married Jean Robertson at Tynemouth, Northumberland. They had three sons and two daughters and built a house for the family, Cotfield House, on Wind Mill Hill in Gateshead from where Thompson could be ferried across the water to his workplace. On the night of 29-30 Dec. 1815 they had heavy rains and flooding: his attempts to save the property led to what sounds like pneumonia and then to his death early in Jan. 1816. He was buried in the churchyard of St. John’s, Newcastle, on 12 Jan.; his wife was buried in the same place on 29 Jan. 1822. Bell contributed songs both in conventional English and in dialect to local newspapers and was a popular performer on special occasions. Some of his work is included in Bell’s Rhymes of Northern Bards (1812) in this bibliography, but most did not achieve wider recognition until after his death with the rise of interest in folksong in the later nineteenth century. Besides the three collections listed here under his name, the extra titles listed under William Midford (q.v.) may contain songs by him. (findmypast.com 25 Aug. 2024; Allan’s Illustrated Edition of Tyneside Songs [1891], 34-53; Newcastle Weekly Chronicle 14 Jan. 1816)
Other Names:
- Thompson