Thomas Payne Thompson Papers

Collection

Identifier: MSS-1405

Overview

The collection contains the business and personal papers of the eminent New Orleans businessman and bibliophile, Thomas Payne (T.P.) Thompson, from the mid nineteenth century through the 1930s. Also included are papers representing his work with and interests in various charities, educational institutions, Louisiana Historical Society and other historical institutions, and many other activities.

Dates

1859 - 1937

Creator

Thompson, Thomas Payne (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Due to the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access to certain materials may require additional advance notice.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers are responsible for using the materials in conformance with United States copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any copyright claimants in collection materials. Copyright for official University records is held by The University of Alabama. The library claims only physical ownership of many manuscript collections. Anyone wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of literary property rights or copyrights. Please contact Special Collections (archives@ua.edu) with questions regarding specific manuscript collections. For more information about copyright policy, please visit: https://www.ua.edu/copyright/. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals without the consent of those individuals may have legal implications, for which the University of Alabama assumes no responsibility.

Biographical / Historical

Thomas Payne Thompson was born on 11 November 1860, in Montgomery, Alabama, son of William Dunbar Thompson and Mary Louise Joyner. Although not much is known about Thompson's early life in Alabama, according to family documents he received only a few years of public schooling. Anything else he learned was gained through self-application to reading and study.

Thompson moved to New Orleans at the age of nineteen, and soon took up residency in the boarding house of the poet Susan Blanchard Elder. In 1887, he married Mrs. Elder's daughter, Julia. Tragically, Julia was killed in a train accident about five months after the wedding. Thompson was seriously injured in the same accident. In 1890, he married Ida Marie Zorn, the daughter of New Orleans musician Antoine Urban Zorn. The couple had five children, only three of whom survived to adulthood. Thompson died on 5 November 1924, after several years of ill health.