John Thompson (American banker)

Thompson was born in Peru, Massachusetts, near Pittsfield on November 27, 1802. He was the son of a farmer and former Revolutionary War soldier. ==Career==

At twenty years old, Thompson worked as a teacher in Hampshire County before becoming a lottery-ticket dealer in Poughkeepsie, New York with Yates & McIntyre (Archibald McIntyre and Henry Yates, brother of Governor Joseph C. Yates). The lottery scheme was legalized by the State Legislature for the benefit of Union College. In 1832, he left Poughkeepsie for New York City to become a dealer in bank notes. In 1842, he founded ''Thompson's Bank Note Reporter''. it opened its doors on July 22 of that year. Thompson also founded Chase National Bank of the City of New York in 1877 (a predecessor to today's JPMorgan Chase Bank). The bank was named after his friend US Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase. ==Personal life==

In 1828, Thompson was married to Electa Ferris (1808–1902), a daughter of Lydia Smith Ferris and Solomon Ferris. They resided in New York City at 295 Madison Avenue and summered at The Anchorage in Highland, New York. Together, Electa and John were the parents of six children, including: a son of Herman Culyer Adams, in 1851. • Samuel C. Thompson (1835–1884), who married Abigail E. Sherman (1841–1907), daughter of Edward T Sherman. • Frederick Ferris Thompson (1836–1899), who married Mary Lee Clark, daughter of Governor Myron Holley Clark, in 1857. After a severe illness that lasted four months, Thompson died on April 19, 1891, at his home in New York at 295 Madison Avenue. His wife died at her home in New York in September 1902 at the age of 95. ==References==