Stacy C. Thompson’s Scrapbook July 14, 1873
On July 14, 1873, Stacy C. Thompson signed his name to the first page of a scrapbook which was to be in his possession for the remainder of his life. It would grow over the years to contain articles on religion, temperance and humor. It would chronicle his political and family life. It would contain articles from his newspaper The Independent. And it would give a glimpse into his interests and character.
The scrapbook, now almost 150 years old, is falling apart. In May of 1944, shortly after Stacy’s death, it came into the possession of my Grandfather, Walter Stacy Thompson, Stacy’s first son. After Walter died in 1960, it was kept by Stacy’s granddaughter, Hazel Thompson until she died. It then went to my cousin, Edward Thompson and later to my brother, Herbert Thompson. Last year, it came into my possession.
Many of the pages have separated from the binding. The articles and memorabilia it contains are now yellowed and brittle. The glue that adhered the many items on its pages is now showing through the print, making the reading of its content difficult and sometimes impossible. Nevertheless it is now my privilege to present to you this collection of poems, prayers, articles, family memorabilia and political information spanning the life of Stacy C. Thompson from 1873 when he started it until 1944 when he died. For this blog I will present some of the many items in the scrapbook which stand out to me. However in the section marked Manuscripts I will post the scrapbook in its entirety.
Stacy Clay Thompson around 1864 with his brother’s John and Edwin on either side.
This photo was taken in 1864, about 9 years before Stacy started his scrapbook. It comes to me from my cousin, Claudia Breland, who is a professional genealogist and lives in Seattle, Washington. Stacy and two of his brother’s are posing for a photograph taken during the time of the Civil War. Four years later they would travel with their father, Stacy W. Thompson, from their home in Curwinsville, Pennsylvania to Michigan to begin a new life. Edwin would live in Grand Rapids, Michigan and later move to Legioner, Indiana where he established a newspaper, The Legioner Leader. John would live in Manistee, Michigan for many years before traveling to New York where he became a Stock Broker with an address of 35 Wall Street. Stacy would attend school in Traverse City, Michigan before arriving in Manistee in 1870. He would live there for the remainder of his life.
What dreams filled the minds of these young boys as they planned their travels to a part of the United States where bear and deer shared forests filled with virgin pine and oak and maple?
We will become aware of some of those dreams as we travel together through the pages of Stacy’s Scrapbook.
Remember to click on any of the photos you want to read. This will increase their size and permit easy reading.
So what interested this 17 year old boy-man as he began his Scrapbook? His first pages were filled with poems and articles on religion. Here are a few from the first page.
Stacy’s Scrapbook page one
This is going to take me years to add the family and all to my tree. Family my dad would be so happy I found after so many years and now it is in order.