The Thompson Homes

William Thompson was born Jan 12, 1836 in Markham, Canada to William G. and Elizabeth McAulay Thompson. Soon after William was born, the Thompson family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved to Utah in 1851. William lived in Boutiful, Utah, until 1860 when he moved to Richmond.

William married Mary Ellen Isaacson on June 1, 1868 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Their first home was a single-room log home.

"Their table was home-made, also their cupboard which consisted of rows of shelves held up by pegs on the wall."

Around 1873-1875, William purchased a two-story house from William Beers. According to family histories, the home is one of Richmond's first two-story homes. The exact year of the homes construction is unknown. 

The Thompson family continued to live in the home until William's death in 1913. It is unclear who owned the home after that. In 1903, a back room was added to the home. In 1970, James B. Bell and Lola F. Bell owned the home. In 1978, the home was owned by James W. and Karen E. Phelps. The current homeowners purchased the home in 1996.1

Mary Ellen Isaacson was born Nov 21, 1851 in Ånnerud, Norway to Neils and Bertha Cathrine Aagesdatter Isaacson. The Issacson family was converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1859 and began their journey to Utah in 1861. They moved to Richmond in 1865 and lived in a small log home on the southeast corner of Main and 200 E.

On June 1, 1868, Mary married William Thompson in Salt Lake City, Utah. They moved into a "one-room log house just one block south of where [Mary Ellen] had been living with her [Isaacson] family." After the birth of their first child, the family "bought a frame house on State Street, one block south of Main Street. It was one of the first two-story homes built in Richmond." 

The family continued to live in the home until the death of William in 1913. Soon after his death, Mary, at the age of 62, divided the property among her children and built this secondary home south of their original home.2

The home was constructed in 1922. After Mary's death in 1924, the house was given to her youngest son, Ivan Cyril Thompson, and his wife, Blanch Meikle. By 1970, the house was owned by Carl B. Johnson and his wife, Georgia D. By 1999, the home was owned by the current homeowners.

1. Evelyn T. Stoddard. (Year made Unknown) Sketch of the Life of William Thompson, Uploaded to FamilySearch.org by bjb45, Oct 27, 2021. https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/135497947?cid=mem_copy

2. Gaylen L. Ashcroft & Elaine T. Ashcroft. (Dec 1992) Mary Ellen Isaacson (Thompson) History Uploaded to FamilySearch.org by Gaylen Lamb Ashcroft, Oct 13, 2020. https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/114757017?cid=mem_copy