718 THOMPSONVILLE THOMSON Tallahassee, Fla., Nov. 23, 1868. He graduated at the South Carolina college in 1814, and was admitted to the bar in 1819. He was a mem- ber of the legislature from 1826 to 1830, when he became solicitor of the western circuit. During the nullification excitement ho was elected by the legislature brigadier general of militia (1835). From 1835 to 1841 he was a member of congress, and was prominent in debate as a leader of the whig party. In 1842 he was appointed minister to Mexico. During his mission, he made two important treaties, and procured the liberation of more than 200 Texan prisoners, many of whom were sent home at his own charge. On his return he published " Recollections of Mexico " (8vo, New York, 1846). THOMPSONVILLE, a village in the town of Enfield, Hartford co., Connecticut, 17 m. N. of Hartford; pop. about 3,500. It is on the E. bank of the Connecticut river, and on the New Haven, Hartford, and Springfield rail- road. It is chiefly noted for its manufacture of carpets, being the seat of the Hartford car- Eet company's works, which, according to the itest returns, contain 297 looms and produce 2,600,000 yards annually. THOMS, William John, an English antiquary, born in Westminster, Nov. 16, 1803. He was for some years clerk of printed papers in the house of lords, and in 1862 was appointed sub- librarian of that house. His first separate pub- lication was "A Collection of early Prose Ro- mances" (3 vols., 1828). This was followed by "Lays and Legends of Various Nations" (1834) ; " Book of the Court" (1838) ; " Three Notelets on Shakespeare" (1865) ; and " Han- nah Lightf oot, Queen Charlotte, and the Cheva- lier d'Eon " (1867). He has also edited "Anec- dotes and Traditions" (1839), " Stow's Survey of London" (1842), and " Caxton's Reynard the Fox" (1844). His reputation rests princi- pally on the establishment of the periodical "Notes and Queries." THOMSON. I. Anthony Todd, a British physi- cian, born in Edinburgh, Jan. 7, 1778, died at Baling, Middlesex, July 3, 1849. He was edu- cated at the high school of Edinburgh, studied medicine, in 1798 became a member of the speculative society, and in 1799 of the royal medical society, and in 1800 settled in London as a general practitioner. In 1826 he became a member of the royal college of physicians, in 1828 professor of materia medica in London university, now University college, and in 1832 professor of medical jurisprudence. His works include "The London Dispensatory" (8vo, 1811), and " Elements of Materia Medica " (8vo, 1832), both many times reprinted. II. Kathe- rine Byerly, an English authoress, wife of the preceding, born in Etruria, Staffordshire, in 1800, died in Dover, Dec. 17, 1862. She pub- lished " Memoirs of the Court of Henry VIII." '2 vols. 8vo, London, 1826); "Memoirs of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and of the Court of Queen Anne" (2 vols., 1839); "Me- moirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745 " (3 vols., 1845) ; " Memoirs of the Viscountess Sundon," &c. (2 vols., 1847) ; " Recollections of Literary Characters and Celebrated Places (2 vols., 1853) ; " Court Secrets" (3 vols., 1857) ; " Life and Times of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham " (3 vols., 1860) ; and several nov- els. "Queens of Society" and "Wits and Beaux of Society " were written with her son, John Cockburn Thomson, under the pseudo- nymes of Grace and Philip Wharton. THOMSON, Charles, an American patriot, born at Maghera, county Derry, Ireland, Nov. 29, 1729, died at Lower Merion, near Philadelphia, Aug. 16, 1824. He came to America at the age of 11, was educated in Maryland, taught a Friends' academy in Philadelphia, #nd after- ward went into business in that city, and was an intimate friend of Franklin. He was secre- tary of the continental congress throughout its existence (1774-'88), and of the first United States house of representatives till his resigna- tion in July, 1789. John Adams called him " the Sam Adams of Philadelphia, the life of the cause of liberty." He was the author of "An Enquiry into the Causes of the Aliena- tion of the Delaware and Shawanese Indians " (8vo, London, 1759) ; a translation of the Bi- ble, the first English version of the Septua- gint (4 vols. 8vo, 1808); and "A Synopsis of the four Evangelists" (1815). THOMSON, Edward, an American clergyman, born in Portsea, England, in October, 1810, died in Wheeling, W. Va., March 22, 1870. In 1819 his parents settled in Wooster, Ohio. He graduated in medicine at the university of Pennsylvania in 1829, and in 1833 joined the Ohio Methodist Conference. In 1838 he be- came principal of Norwalk seminary, Ohio, and in 1844 was elected by the general confer- enoe editor of the " Ladies' Repository." In 1845 he became president of the Ohio Wesley- an university at Delaware, Ohio, and in 1860 was elected editor of the " Christian Advocate and Journal." He was elected bishop in 1864, made an extensive tour of missionary observa- tion in Germany, Scandinavia, Bulgaria, India, and China, and organized the Indian mission into an annual conference. He was a member of every general conference from 1840 to 1864. He published " Educational Essays " (new ed., Cincinnati, 1856); "Moral and Religious Es- says" (1856); "Biographical and Incidental Sketches" (1856); "Letters from Europe," notes of a tour through England, France, and Switzerland (1856) ; " Letters from India, China, and Turkey" (2 vols., 1870). THOMSON, James, a British poet, born at Ed- nam, Roxburghshire, Scotland, Sept. 11, 1700, died at Kew Lane, near Richmond, Aug. 27, 1748. He was the son of a clergyman, and passed six years at the university of Edin- burgh, the last four of which were devoted to theological studies. About 1724 he went to London, and for several months was tutor in the family of Lord Binning. A fragment of
