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.