Charles Thompson - Photograph
c. 1860, Amherst College
About Charles Thompson
Charles Thompson was born in Portland Maine in 1824 and, in the mid 1830s, came to work for William Stearns of Boston. He worked for a time as a fireman in Cambridge. In 1847, he left the household to work as a sailor on the whaling ship “Warren”. The voyage lasted 4 years. After the Warren voyage, Thompson sailed around the world on the Kremlin in 1851. In 1853, Charles left the sea and resumed work at the Stearns’ household. They moved to Amherst when William Stearns was named President of Amherst College. Frazier Stearns, son of William Stearns, volunteered for Civil War service. Read more about Charles's life on the blog of our Archives & Special Collections: Desk Chair Detective: Around the World with Charles Thompson
By 1865, Charles, nicknamed the “Professor of Dust and Ashes”, worked at Amherst College and was in charge of all of its janitors. He worked there for most of his life. When he was 82 and nearly destitute, Stearns' daughter, Abigail Eloise Stearns Lee, appealed to those who benefitted from his service, writing a book “ Professor Charlie”. Charles lived on Baker Street in Amherst. Their adopted daughter Mary lived on Baker Street with her husband William Hawkins.
Civil War Tablets
The Civil War Tablets were donated to the Town of Amherst by the Grand Army of the Republic in 1893 to commemorate the 300+ soldiers from the Amherst region who served in the Union forces, including those African Americans who served in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment and 5th Calvary.
Amherst residents Christopher, John, Henry James, and Charles Thompson who served in the 54th Regiment, are among those memorialized in the plaques. The Thompson brothers were among the troops to arrive in Texas in 1865, one of the final hold out states to admit defeat during the Civil War. They were among the troops to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and formally mark the day that all slaves in the United States were freed, which is now a national holiday, Juneteenth. The Thompson brothers are laid to rest in the West Cemetery in the Amherst.
Amherst resident, Dudley Bridges, Sr., spent the last years of his life advocating and fundraising to honor these handcrafted memorials with prominent and befitting placement within the community. The exhibit is guided by Debora Bridges, daughter of Dudley Bridges Sr. and descendant of the Thompson's.