James Thompson
Historical marker location:(1759-1841) Veteran of the American Revolution. Ancestors of James Thompson lived in Virginia in the 17th century. Thompson served in Capt. Bynum's Company of North Carolina Militia in 1781, helping win victory in the American Revolution. In pioneer spirit, he and his family later moved to Alabama, then to Mississippi, then to the Republic of Texas. Here in the new land, he was a revered patriarch.
His son-in-law, John Peacock (1786-1848), fought in the 2D Regiment, North Carolina Militia, in the War of 1812. His health broken by the war, he went to Ittawamba County, Miss., where he received land in lieu of army pay. About 1840 he emigrated with his wife Zilpha (Thompson), four sons, two daughters, and his father-in-law to Paschal (Morris) County. Here he donated sites for a church, school, and cemetery.
Thompson's grandson, Williams Peacock (1811-64), came to Texas in the 1830s, then returned to Mississippi and brought back his grandfather, parents, and other relatives. In 1841 President M. B. Lamar appointed him sheriff of Paschal (Morris) County. Later a member of the Texas Rangers, he was killed in an Indian fight.
This family helped make Texas great. Thompson and many descendants rest in the Daingerfield Cemetery.
Texas has been a major oil-producing state for over a century. The first big oil discovery in Texas was the Spindletop field near Beaumont in 1901, which set off a massive oil boom that transformed the state's economy and made Texas one of the wealthiest states in the country.