Casey's Family Tree:Information about Eli Tompkins
Eli Tompkins (b. 04 Jul 1803, d. 10 Oct 1872)
Notes for Eli Tompkins:The following article on the ancestry and descendants of Eli Tompkins, Mary Jane Godsey, and Elizabeth Wilborn was originally written for the Laurel county mailing list.
The article is in 3 parts:
Part 1: http://home.earthlink.net/~arran6/cgen/t1.htm
An overview of the current research, including my own and the research of Gail and Mel Tompkins and Lynn Krowczyk, which has been very helpful in writing this article.
Part 1 is in 3 sections:
* Eli’s parents
* Martha Beatty, Elizabeth Wilborn, and Sarah
* Mary Jane Godsey
Part 2: http://home.earthlink.net/~arran6/cgen/t2.htm
A genealogy report generated by Family Tree Makers software, showing 2 generations of descendants of Eli, Mary Jane, and Elizabeth. Whenever I refer in Part 1 to “the data notes below,” these are always to be found in Part 2, the data portion of the article.
Part 3: http://home.earthlink.net/~arran6/cgen/t3.htm
A transcription of the article “Traces of Laurel: Tompkins of Laurel Co.” from the Sentinel Echo Sept. 1987. It was prepared by Geneva Pope of the Laurel County Historical Society for a descendant of Eli, Doris Robertson of Indiana. Footnotes have now been added to the original article to answer some of the questions the article poses and expand on some of its details.
1850 Census:
Laurel Co. Kentucky, Sept 3, 1850
Eli Tompkins 47 m farmer tn
B. H. " 18 m ky
C. S." 14 m ky
George Chestnut 24 m farmer $400 ky
Mahala " 18 f tn
(It looks like the Chestnuts are enumerated in the same household as Eli. However, the household before Eli is 364, and the next is 367, so this may have been an error, perhaps the Chestnuts are in separate household. Yet Chestnut's property is given the value of $400, and no such note is made for Eli, so perhaps they were living on the Chestnut farm)
1860 Census:
Laurel Co. Kentucky, July 19, 1860
Eli Tompkins 57 m w farmer va
Mary Jane " 32 f w va
Pheby " 15 f w va
William J. "12 m w va
Emley M. " 8 f wva
Elias B. " 7 m w va
Ammon G. " 5 m w va
George W. " 2 m w va
Stephen L. " 1 m w va
1870 Census
Rock House PO, London, Laurel Co. Kentucky, August 1, 1870
Tompkins, Eli 67 m w farmer ky
Mary J. 43 f w keeping house ky
Elias B. 15 m w ky
Ammon 13 m w ky
George W. 15 m w ky
Stephen 11 m w ky
Sarah R. 9 f w ky
Daniel 7 m w ky
Rosey E. 5 f w ky
Malisie 3 f w ky
David R. 1 m w ky
(Rosey E. is actually Reece E. b. 1865)
Next household:
Tompkins, Mary 40 f w ky keeping house
Andrew 20 m w ky farmer
Charles 15 m w ky
Malinda 5 f w ky
Note: My great-grandmother Eliza Emma Tompkins, daughter of Reece Tompkins and Martha Jones, granddaughter of Mary Jane and Eli, called her grandparents in a letter:
"Eli Bony Tompkins" and "Jane Godsey."
This suggests that Eli's middle name may have been Bonaparte. Another hint at that is the fact that Eli Bony (son of Reece and Martha) was also sometimes referred to as Bonaparte.
KY land grants:
Grantee:Tompkins, Eli
Acres:50
Book:Z
Survey Date:12-15-1829
County:Laurel
WaterCourse:Little Laurel R
Reference:THE KENTUCKY LAND GRANTS
Volume 1
Part 1
CHAPTER VI KENTUCKY LAND WARRANTS (1816-1873)
THE COUNTIES OF KENTUCKY
page 748
More About Eli Tompkins and Elizabeth Wilborn:
Marriage: Abt. 1820
Marriage Notes for Eli Tompkins and Elizabeth Wilborn:Transcription of divorce papers:
To the Honorable the Judge of the Laurel Circuit Court, in Chancery sitting, your petition in Eli Thompkins humbly complaining, would respectively show unto your honor that some 20 years since he married his wife, Elizabeth and **** as a family *** life tolerably well for some time but at last by degrees a fire began to rise in the breast of my wife till it has grown to such an extent, that it cannot be put out with management and good treatment or with water. She seemed to be everything but a wife and everything but a prudent woman. I have a large family of gals and boys and I am willing to take them and work for them and do all that is in my power if I could get them out of her company. She is no wife to me nor has she been for 4 or 5 years, she is loose in her habits and plays too much with other men. With her there is no confidence in her virtue or chastity. Adultery seems to be her pleasure, therefore your petition in **** in Justice and mercy on your honor to set aside the marriage contract to divorce me and dissolve the union between us and in mercy ever will pray a he is in duty bound and prays that said Elizabeth Thompkins may be made a *** to this bill.
More About Eli Tompkins and Mary Jane Godsey:
Marriage: 1851, Laurel Co. Kentucky.
Children of Eli Tompkins and Mary Jane Godsey are:
- +Daniel Huseton Tompkins, b. 02 Feb 1863, Laurel Co. Kentucky, d. 22 Jul 1895, Laurel Co. Kentucky.
- +Reece Ellis Tompkins, b. 05 Aug 1865, Laurel Co. Kentucky, d. 04 Jul 1939, Laurel Co. Kentucky.