Thompson - Thomas - Maurice's bro - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

He came in on one of the morning trains and appeared to be in pretty sore straits. He was quite lame from a paralytic stroke and used a crutch in walking. His clothes were rather seedy and a long, beard hung down upon his breast. His eyes were unnaturally bright and his face sharp and pinched. He had not been in town long before he began to inquire about Hon. J. Maurice Thompson and he told the following story to several persons:

“Maurice Thompson is my brother. He may not acknowledge it but he is and I can prove it. You see we lived down here about Waveland when we were boys and folks down there remember us. Maurice is ten years older than I am and Will is older too. I don’t know where Will is now, I haven’t seen him for years. I haven’t been around in this section since 1877 and you see I don’t correspond with my brothers. I have been living in Fort Wayne and was a day laborer until I received a stroke of paralysis some time ago. It crippled my legs and twisted my fingers like you see them. I don’t know whether my mother is living or not. I can’t hear. My father died in ’88 in Missouri and he left $2,000 worth of property. He left it all to my mother but as the will wasn’t made in Missouri it was invalid under the laws of that state. I never intended to do anything though until my lawyer in Missouri wrote me that Maurice had put in a bill for board furnished my father years ago which eat up all that little Missouri property. Mr. Coulter, my lawyer in Ft. Wayne, tells me that the board bill has been outlawed and couldn’t be collected if it wasn’t. I want to find out about this thing and that’s what I’m here for. I am going to ask them to compromise with me and if they don’t want to do that I am going to law them. I will fight them to my last cent for I don’t propose to be imposed on even if I am a day laborer.”