Judge Thompson was educated at Hampden-Sydney College and served as both a U.S. Federal and Confederate judge. In 1831 he was elected judge and elevated to the 11th Circuit Court in 1852, succeeding Chief Justice Marshall & was considered one of the most learned jurists in VA. In 1866 he was elected to the U.S. Court of Appeals since he had opposed secession, but he died before he could take his seat. In 1842 he moved to "Hill Top" in Staunton where he ran a law school. He lived there until his death. The home, restored in 1991, was sold in 1874 to the Mary Baldwin College by his widow Catherine after the death of her mother, Mrs. Sarah S. Carrington. His party affiliation was Whig and he predicted "secession" in a November 1860 letter to John H. McCue if the "Black Republican Lincoln" won, but he considered it " madness and folly of committing suicide for fear of dying": "for in disunion I can forsee woes innumerable, no remedy for our grievances but rather as aggravation of them all, in short the greatest calamity that could befall not only the U.S. but the cause of free government throughout the world."
Judge Thompson was educated at Hampden-Sydney College and served as both a U.S. Federal and Confederate judge. In 1831 he was elected judge and elevated to the 11th Circuit Court in 1852, succeeding Chief Justice Marshall & was considered one of the most learned jurists in VA. In 1866 he was elected to the U.S. Court of Appeals since he had opposed secession, but he died before he could take his seat. In 1842 he moved to "Hill Top" in Staunton where he ran a law school. He lived there until his death. The home, restored in 1991, was sold in 1874 to the Mary Baldwin College by his widow Catherine after the death of her mother, Mrs. Sarah S. Carrington. His party affiliation was Whig and he predicted "secession" in a November 1860 letter to John H. McCue if the "Black Republican Lincoln" won, but he considered it " madness and folly of committing suicide for fear of dying": "for in disunion I can forsee woes innumerable, no remedy for our grievances but rather as aggravation of them all, in short the greatest calamity that could befall not only the U.S. but the cause of free government throughout the world."
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MARK THE PERFECT MAN AND BEHOLD THE UPRIGHT FOR THE END OF THAT MAN IS PEACE
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