Laura Susannah Thompson

Laura Susannah Branch was born November 30, 1853, in Maury County, Tennessee, to William Minor Branch and his wife Mary Ann Uzzell Branch. In the 1860 U.S. Census they were listed as follows: W.M., 48, Mary A., 37, Frances C., 17, John T., 14, Martha E., 12, Nancy A., 11, Sophia J., 8, Laura S., 8, Sarah E., 7, Willie T., 6, and Joseph H., 8 months old. They were living in Culleoka, Tennessee, and William was working as a farmer. His real estate was valued at $4,850 and his personal estate at $5,300. He was born in Virginia and his wife in Tennessee, as were all their children.

In the 1870 census, the family was listed as follows: William, 58, Mary A., 47, Laura S., 17, Bettie (Sarah Elizabeth), 15, Willie T., 11, Josie H., 10, and Adeline, 8. William was still working as a farmer, and his real estate was valued at $5,100 and personal estate at $1,190. Six years later, Laura married George S. Thompson, and in the 1880 U.S. Census they were living in Giles County, Tennessee, and they were listed as follows: George, 24, Laura, 27, Lindsey, 3, and Jennie, 9 months old. George was working as a farmer.

By the 1900 census, the family was living in Telico, St. Francis County, Arkansas, and were listed there as follows: George S., 45, Laura S., 46, Lindsey, 23, Jennie V., 20, Lucy C., 17, Clyde, 13, Laura M., 13, and Raymond B., 10. George and Laura had been married for 24 years, and had given birth to six children, all of whom were still living. George was working as a sawyer at a mill, and they were renting their farm. Lindsey was working as a edgerman at the mill.

In the 1910 census for Wiley's Cove, Searcy, Arkansas, they were listed as George S., 53, Laura S.,56, and a son named Albert C., 22, who was probably listed as Clyde who was 13 in the 1900 census. In this census record, it indicates that George and Laura had been married for 32 years, had given birth to 6 children, and 5 of them were still living. George was working as a building contractor and Albert C. as a bookkeeper in a bank. By 1920, George, 63, and Laura, 67, were living alone in Wiley's Cove, George was still working as a building contractor and they owned their own home free from a mortgage. They were still living in Wiley's Cove in 1930, George was 73, Laura, 76, and George was listed as a retired carpenter.

Laura Susannah Branch Thompson passed away on August 13, 1936, and George passed away on December 13, 1938. Both of them were living in Leslie, Searcy, Arkansas when they passed away, and they were both buried in the Leslie Cemetery.

The following article was found on Ancestry.com, and must have been written in 1936, just a few months before Laura passed away.

Mr. and Mrs. G.S. Thompson were married for 60 years. Leslie, March 14. -- Mr. and Mrs. G. S. Thompson of Leslie celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at their home here Monday with a dinner which was attended by their two sons, A.C. of Monticello and E.L. of Augusta, and several friends and neighbors. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson both were born in Murray County, Tennessee, Mr. Thompson on August 22, 1856, and Mrs. Thompson on November 30, 1853. They were married March 9, 1876, in Culleoka, Tennessee, and came to Arkansas in 1889, locating at Wynne. They came to Leslie in 1901. They were parents of six children, five of whom are living. They are E.L. and A.C. Thompson, and three daughters, Mrs. Jennie Winters and Mrs. Lucy Vaughn of Kansas City, and Mrs. Maude Ellis of Asheville, North Carolina. They also have 13 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, all boys.