The Thompsons

(from left) Jim Jr., Belle, Tom, Julie These are four of the five siblings of Martha Thompson who became Tade Layden's wife. A brother, Harvey, is not shown. All except Tom, Martha, and their father Jim left Cheneyville in 1882, traveling as far northwest as the train could go at that time: Huron, South Dakota. The four settled nine miles south of Huron. Jim Sr. and Tom followed them in 1883, settling a few miles west of the others. Martha, refused to go and stayed in Cheneyville (thank goodness!), where she married Tade in 1883. The six that went to the Dakotas were all farmers and each homesteadded 160 acres of land. I still have distant relatives out there today (6 Feb 1998). Harvey's daughter, Belle, was born on an Illinois farm east of Cheneyville. She recalls boarding a train at age 5. When she died at 105 years of age, I went to her funeral. -- Paul Layden