Harry C. Thompson was born in Grandview, Louisa County, Iowa, to Iowa native farmer and American Civil War veteran William B. Thompson and his second wife, British immigrant Maria Bennett, daughter of another Civil War veteran who fought in an Iowa regiment in spite of his British heritage. Harry was somewhere around the middle of six siblings, including Carrie J. (1859), Frank John (1861) and Libbie (1873) from William's first marriage, and, Ralph U. (10/1878) and Herbert G. (12/1880) from his second. Around 1889 the family moved to Muscatine, Iowa, the county seat in the southeast corner of the state.
Little could be found on Harry's upbringing in Muscatine. However, he was known to have been part of 'Iowa's biggest little drum corps' which marched in local parades and performed at political events. He was also versed in playing piano and brass instruments.wig-wag-rag cover By 1900 Harry had left the nest, and was likely still in college working on a music degree, or traveling as an itinerant musician around the United States, as no definitive census record was located for him. The parents and their two younger sons were still in Muscatine in 1900. Ralph and Herbert would open the law firm of Thompson and Thompson around 1903, and both became active in local politics. In that capacity, Ralph was believed to be responsible for bringing municipal power and water to Muscatine before 1910. Text source : Wikipedia (Hide extended text) ... (Read all)
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