Merchant, municipal official, adminstrator.
Born at Cobourg, Ontario around 1851, he was a member of the First Ontario Rifles and came to the Red River Settlement in 1870 as part of the Red River Expeditionary Force. Around 1876, he married Catherine Murray (1849-1923, daughter of Selkirk Settler Donald Murray and granddaughter of Hudson's Bay Company Chief Factor Heron) and they had two sons: Arthur Stanley Thompson (1881-1945) and George M. Thompson (c1884-?). They resided at a stone dwelling near to Kildonan Presbyterian Church and he worked as a merchant in the Kildonan and St. Paul area. He served as Warden/Reeve of the Rural Municipality of St. Paul (1880-1886) and as Postmaster at Middlechurch (1882-1888), after which he moved to Carberry by 1887.
In 1890, ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Carberry, being defeated by Walter Wallace Ireland. They resided there during the 1890s and he joined the provincial civil service as a Commissioner for District No. 1 of the Liquor Licensing Board (?-1893) as well as Inspector of County Courts (1892-1900), headquartered at Carberry. In the autumn of 1900, he requested and was granted release from his employment as to permit an extended vacation to Florida with his wife. Their journey south began in mid-December but was interrupted when, in February 1901, he broke a leg and had to return home to convalesce. After he had recovered, the couple left their 287 Colony Street residence and remained at Florida until returning to Winnipeg in August 1901.
He accepted the position as Principal of the St. Paul’s Industrial School (1902-1906) at Middlechurch. He later lived at the Touraine Apartments (1910-1911) in Winnipeg before he and his wife retired to Vancouver, British Columbia by 1921.
He died at Burnaby, British Columbia on 2 July 1935 and was buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver.
1881, 1891, 1921 Canada censuses, Library and Archives Canada.
1906 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Death registrations [Catherine Thompson, Joseph Thompson, Arthur Stanley Thompson], British Columbia Vital Statistics.
Post Offices and Postmasters, Library and Archives Canada.
“City and province [Mr. Joseph Thompson],” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 27 May 1887, page 4.
“Death of aged settler,” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 1 October 1888, page 4.
“Carberry nominations,” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 19 March 1890, page 4.
“Hon. Dan's reward,” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 7 October 1892, page 8.
“Local news [Mr. Joseph Thompson],” Glenboro Gazette, 22 December 1892, page 3.
“Carberry budget,” Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 13 January 1893, page 4.
“New commissioners,” Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 22 March 1893, page 4.
“Jottings [Mr. Jos. Thompson ...],” Glenboro Gazette, 17 July 1893, page 3.
“At the city hotels,” Manitoba Morning Free Press, 7 February 1894, page 5.
“Committee on Law costs,” Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 5 March 1894, page 5.
“Personal mention [Mr. Jos. Thompson],” Rapid City Reporter, 13 September 1894, page 2.
“The latest from Skagway,” Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 9 April 1898, page 3.
“Reportorial round [Mr. Joseph Thompson, county court inspector ...],” Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 19 February 1900, page 4.
“City and general [Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Thompson],” Manitoba Free Press, 12 December 1900, page 12.
“Personal [Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Thompson],” Winnipeg Tribune, 22 August 1901, page 8.
“Industrial school,” Winnipeg Tribune, 15 March 1902, page 16.
“Old boys of Cobourg, Ont.” Winnipeg Tribune, 19 May 1902, page 6.
“Industrial School Principal,” Winnipeg Tribune, 6 November 1902, page 8.
“There passed away in Kildonan yesterday [...]” Winnipeg Tribune, 22 March 1906, page 20.
“Society [Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Thompson],” Winnipeg Tribune, 10 June 1911, page 5.
“Pioneer passes,” Winnipeg Tribune, 24 December 1923, page 2.
“Mrs. Joseph Thompson was buried in Vancouver Friday,” Manitoba Free Press, 31 December 1923, page 12.
“Jos. Thompson, 84, dies in Vancouver,” Winnipeg Free Press, 5 July 1935, page 6.
Heritage II, A History of East St. Paul by the RM of East St. Paul, 1991.
Mountain View Cemetery burial transcriptions, FindAGrave
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 11 February 2023
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