Today in Wheeling History: February 24 — Judge George Western Thompson, former U.S. Congressman and Virginia circuit court judge, dies at Woodridge, his estate near the National Road (1888).
Born May 14, 1806, in St. Clairsville, Ohio, George Western Thompson graduated from Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1824 and studied law in Richmond, Virginia. Admitted to the Ohio bar in 1826, he practiced in St. Clairsville before moving to Wheeling in 1837, when the city was still part of Virginia. The following year, he was appointed deputy postmaster of Wheeling and also served on a commission settling jurisdictional disputes over the Ohio River between Virginia and Ohio.
President James K. Polk appointed Thompson U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia in 1848. In 1850, he was elected as a Democrat to the 32nd Congress, serving Virginia's 15th district from March 4, 1851, until his resignation on July 30, 1852, when the Virginia General Assembly elected him circuit court judge. As both congressman and judge, Thompson played a pivotal role in the Wheeling Suspension Bridge controversy, introducing resolutions that helped Congress declare the bridge a post road, sparing it from demolition despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that it impeded Ohio River navigation. Reelected circuit judge in 1860, he resigned in 1861, refusing to take the oath supporting West Virginia statehood, which he believed unconstitutional.
Thompson married Elizabeth Steenrod, daughter of prominent Wheeling developer Daniel Steenrod. Together they had several children, including Confederate Col. William P. Thompson, who later became vice president of Standard Oil. The couple resided at Woodridge, the historic Steenrod family estate at 1308 Steenrod Avenue — then on the outskirts of Wheeling along the National Road, but later incorporated into the city. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Woodridge was Thompson's home until his death on February 24, 1888, at age 81. His funeral on February 27 drew a large gathering of Wheeling's most prominent citizens, and he was interred at Stone Church Cemetery in Elm Grove.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/y4wsvuzj) (https://tinyurl.com/3pn47py7); Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/2s4xva6d), U.S. House of Representatives (https://tinyurl.com/ys45xfkn), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/3jwp3pks), Wheeling Daily Register (https://tinyurl.com/yc5wr3ke), WV Culture (https://tinyurl.com/2tmvnj7f)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wheeling Daily Register, Find a Grave, Google Maps
Born May 14, 1806, in St. Clairsville, Ohio, George Western Thompson graduated from Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1824 and studied law in Richmond, Virginia. Admitted to the Ohio bar in 1826, he practiced in St. Clairsville before moving to Wheeling in 1837, when the city was still part of Virginia. The following year, he was appointed deputy postmaster of Wheeling and also served on a commission settling jurisdictional disputes over the Ohio River between Virginia and Ohio.
President James K. Polk appointed Thompson U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia in 1848. In 1850, he was elected as a Democrat to the 32nd Congress, serving Virginia's 15th district from March 4, 1851, until his resignation on July 30, 1852, when the Virginia General Assembly elected him circuit court judge. As both congressman and judge, Thompson played a pivotal role in the Wheeling Suspension Bridge controversy, introducing resolutions that helped Congress declare the bridge a post road, sparing it from demolition despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that it impeded Ohio River navigation. Reelected circuit judge in 1860, he resigned in 1861, refusing to take the oath supporting West Virginia statehood, which he believed unconstitutional.
Thompson married Elizabeth Steenrod, daughter of prominent Wheeling developer Daniel Steenrod. Together they had several children, including Confederate Col. William P. Thompson, who later became vice president of Standard Oil. The couple resided at Woodridge, the historic Steenrod family estate at 1308 Steenrod Avenue — then on the outskirts of Wheeling along the National Road, but later incorporated into the city. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Woodridge was Thompson's home until his death on February 24, 1888, at age 81. His funeral on February 27 drew a large gathering of Wheeling's most prominent citizens, and he was interred at Stone Church Cemetery in Elm Grove.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/y4wsvuzj) (https://tinyurl.com/3pn47py7); Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/2s4xva6d), U.S. House of Representatives (https://tinyurl.com/ys45xfkn), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/3jwp3pks), Wheeling Daily Register (https://tinyurl.com/yc5wr3ke), WV Culture (https://tinyurl.com/2tmvnj7f)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wheeling Daily Register, Find a Grave, Google Maps
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