Ransom is in the front row on the far right hand side of the photo. 

When Ransom Flournoy Thompson was born on April 5, 1857, in Lawrence, Mississippi, his father, Robert King Thompson, was 38 and his mother, Margaret Malvina Meeks Thompson, was 29. He married Susan “Sudie” Arabella Spurlock on March 10, 1881, in his hometown. They had nine children in 22 years. He died on April 23, 1938, in New Hebron, Mississippi, at the age of 81, and was buried there.

I was lucky to find information on Ransom in the following US census records: 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930.

At the time of the 1860 census, Ransom was only 5 years old. His father Robert listed his occupation as farmer. The home address is listed in Lawrence, Mississippi.

At the time of the 1870 census, Ransom was 13 years old and lists his occupation as farm laborer. The family home is listed as Township 8 Range 18, Lawrence, Mississippi. Ransom was still living with his parents.

By the time of the 1880 census, Ransom was 23 years old and lists his occupation as working on a farm. The address is listed as Beat 4, Lawrence, Mississippi, USA.

In 1890, this land grant was recorded. See below:

In the 1900 census, Ransom and his family state that their land is a farm. Ransom states that he owns the farm (not rents). His occupation is farmer. Also shown is that the sons Maxie and Eddie are farm laborers. (Maxie is Evander Maxwell Thompson – an uncle to Samuel Barnes and Eddie is Edward Earl Thompson, Sr. also an uncle to Sam Barnes.) Ransom lists his birth date as May 1858. His birth date was NOT 1858 (see photo of grave marker below)

Thompson Buckley Cemetery. Ransom and Susan were Samuel Barnes’ grandparents.

In the 1910 census, Ransom’s wife Susan Arabella lists her name as “Sudie.” The family is still farming with the home listed at Beat 4, Lawrence, Mississippi, USA.

In the 1920 census Ransom is 62 years old and is still farming. He lists his father’s place of birth as Georgia and his mother’s place of birth as Alabama.

In 1930, the census taker listed Ransom as Roscoe. A mistake or a nickname? In this census he changes information he gave in 1920 and states that both of his parents were born in Mississippi. But, his parents were NOT born in Mississippi. Their places of birth were accurate in the 1920 census.

This is a memorial link: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13113887

Here is how the family relates: