The wedding picture of Claud Day Thompson and Emmer Lanora Saunders. The photograph was taken in September, 1899,

when both bride and groom were 22 years old. They would have 12 children in the next 16 years, including three sets of twins.

Only seven of the Thompson children lived past infancy, but five of those seven siblings made it to their 80th year or beyond, and

three lived past 90.

Leona and Leota Thompson, the twins who survived past infancy. This photo was probably taken in 1922 or 1923, possibly as they

were dressed up for their eighth-grade graduation.

Most of the Thompson clan in 1940. Left to right are Joe Thompson, Betty Thompson, Kenneth Rogers and Lois Thompson. The

three younger girls in front are Phyllis Thompson, Patty Rogers and Barbara Rogers. Behind them are Gladys McCombs

Thompson and Carma Thompson Smith. In the back is Mose Thompson, standing behind Russell Bragg, who is holding son Brian.

Next to Carma is Leona Thompson Rogers, holding son Claude David, with Kenneth Jr. in front. Wearing the hat is Carl Smith.

Leota Thompson Bragg is in front, with Vera Smith Thompson looking over her shoulder. Next to Vera is Leota (Sid) Thompson

Stewart, with Bill Thompson behind. At right are Ruth Thompson Haughey and Lowell (Red) Haughey. The hidden man in back,

next to Bill Thompson, is unknown. Who took the picture? Our best guess is Rita Schumacher Thompson, the bride of Mose

Thompson. Where is this? It appears to be at the home of Joe and Vera Thompson in Marion, Indiana.

A scene from the Summer of '42. These cousins of the Thompson clan were rounded up at a Sunday dinner gathering and ordered

to pose for the camera. Sunday dinner get-togethers were common events in this family during the ’40s and ’50s, as most of the

siblings and cousins lived within 25 miles of each other in north-central Indiana. On the grass in front is Jerry Thompson. The boys

in the front row are David Worl, Kenneth (Sonny) Rogers Jr., Claude David Rogers and Brian Bragg. In the back row are Patty

Rogers, Barbara Rogers, Phyllis Thompson and Carolyn Worl.

The seven surviving children of Claud and Emmer Thompson, pictured here in 1946 or 1947 at a family gathering at the home of

Russell and Leota Bragg in south Marion, Indiana. Left to right are Carma Thompson Smith, William D. (Bill) Thompson, Leona

Thompson Rogers, Russell J. (Joe) Thompson, Ruth Thompson Haughey, Leota Thompson Bragg and Claud J. (Mose)

Thompson.

A December family portrait of the Thompson family of Converse, Indiana. Left to right are Betty Thompson, Gladys McCombs

Thompson, Phyllis Thompson, William D. (Bill) Thompson and Lois Thompson Foust. Photo probably taken in 1946.

The three Thompson boys and their Uncle Jimmy. Left to right are Russell J. (Joe) Thompson, James Estes (Jimmy) Thompson,

William D. (Bill) Thompson and Claud J. (Mose) Thompson. Photo taken in 1948 at a weekend gathering at the home of Carl and

Carma Smith in Sims Township, Grant County, Indiana.

The merry wives of the Thompson boys. Left to right are Vera Smith Thompson, wife of Joe Thompson; Gladys McCombs

Thompson, wife of Bill Thompson; and Rita Schumacher Thompson, wife of Mose Thompson. Photo taken in the summer of 1948.

The Kenneth Rogers family in the summer of 1948. The body language and facial expressions tell us the Indiana sun was painfully

bright that afternoon at the farm of Carl and Carma Smith. In front are the Rogers boys, Kenneth Jr. (Sonny), Steve and Claude

David. Patty and Barbara are next, in front of parents Kenneth and Leona. The nifty little 1937 Ford pickup belonged to Mose and

Rita Thompson, owners of the Texaco Garage in Sigel, Illinois. They drove up to Grant County for the gathering, bringing 3-year-

old Michael.

Five cousins, in a photo taken in March of 1948 (probably on Easter Sunday, March 28), at the home of Bill and Gladys Thompson

in Converse, Indiana. Left to right are Brian Bragg, Janet Thompson, Brenda Bragg, Michael Thompson and Jerry Thompson.

James Estes (Jimmy) Thompson and Stella Florea Thompson. This photo probably was taken about 1945, possibly at the home of

Mose and Rita Thompson in Marion, Indiana. Jimmy and Stella were the parents of Irene Thompson Worl and grandparents of

Basil, David, Carolyn and Keith Worl. Jimmy set a record for longevity among the Thompson clan. Born in 1872 during the first term

of President Ulysses S. Grant, Jimmy Thompson lived to see 21 more men assume the presidency. Jimmy lived 108 years, seven

months and 28 days. At the time of his death 7 July 1981 he was the oldest person in the state of Indiana.

Some men of the family in a gathering about 1950 at the home of Bill and Gladys Thompson in Converse, Indiana. Joe Thompson,

down with his family from Geneva, Illinois, is standing. Seated (L to R) are Carl Smith, Bill Thompson, Kenneth Rogers, Russ

Bragg, Dale Smith (Carl's son) and Frank Richcreek (Carl's son-in-law). The men are watching a new-fangled device called

television. If the weather was just right, Bill could fiddle with the TV controls and pick up grainy pictures from one broadcaster,

Channel 6 in Indianapolis, whose transmitter was 55 miles south.