Wade & Webb Family History

William Thompson1826–?

Norway · Brooklyn

A native of Norway, William Thompson made his home in Brooklyn as the husband of Eliza Keel, formerly Mrs. Marritt, and as the adoptive father of her daughters Edith and Ellen, who took his name. In 1893 he witnessed the marriages of both of them on the same day at the Ocean Hill Baptist Church, and he was still living in Brooklyn in 1900; when and where he died is not known.

On this page
  1. Family Record
  2. Life
  3. Documents (4)
  4. Places
  5. Timeline
  6. Open questions
  7. Searches made
  8. Notes

Birth

  1. Sep 1826 Norway

Marriages

  1. Date unknown Eliza Keel

Death and burial

  1. Date unknown Death: place not recorded

Family

Parents
Not recorded
Spouse
Eliza Keel 1840–1925
Children

Line of descent Wade line

  1. William Thompson
  2. Husband of Eliza Keel
  3. Ellen Mathilda Marritt, daughter
  4. Frank Edward Wade, son
  5. William Albert Webb Wade, son

Husband of great-grandmother of Webb Wade, from whom this history is traced. Why Webb Wade?

Life

William Thompson was born in Norway in September 1826, according to the FamilySearch tree, which gives no source for the month or the place but attaches his entry in the federal census of 1900.1 The tree also gives 1845 as the year of his immigration to the United States, again without an attached source.2 Inference The 1900 census asked each person's month and year of birth and year of immigration, so both facts probably come from that entry, but the census page has not been examined for this biography.2

He married Eliza Keel, formerly the wife of William Marritt of Loughton, Essex.3 The date and place of the marriage are unknown.4 Eliza was still Mrs. Marritt, married and the head of her own household, at the English census of April 1881, so the marriage must have come later.4 Eliza's daughters Edith Alice and Ellen Mathilda, born Marritts, took the surname Thompson, and FamilySearch records William Thompson as their adoptive father, the man who raised them rather than their father by birth.5

By November 1891 the family belonged to the Ocean Hill Baptist Church in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York: "Mr. and Mrs. William Thompson" and "Edith and Nellie Thompson" were among the company at a basket sociable of the church's Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, held at a member's house on Halsey Street.6 In February 1893 a William Thompson performed at a sociable and entertainment at the church, alongside Nellie Thompson, Matt P. Frost and Harry E. Wade.7 Inference He may have been this William Thompson, by then in his sixties, or a younger man of the same name; the report does not say.7

On 18 October 1893 Edith and Ellen were married on the same day before the Rev. George F. Warren, pastor of the Ocean Hill Baptist Church, Edith to Matthew P. Frost and Ellen to William H. Wade Jr.8 Both marriage certificates name the bride's father as William Thompson and her mother as Eliza Keel, and "W. Thompson" signed both as a witness, in the second case alongside the bridegroom's father, W. H. Wade.8

The federal census of 1900 lists William Thompson as the head of a household in Brooklyn, with Eliza Thompson in it.9 When Eliza died in Brooklyn on 1 February 1925, her New York City death record named a William Thompson, though the index does not say whether as her husband or in another capacity.10 Inference If the entry names him as her husband, it shows only that she was his wife or widow at her death, not that he was still alive.10

His own death has not been found, and the tree gives no date or place for it.11 Searches of the Chronicling America newspaper collection for New York, 1841–1907, found many men named William Thompson but none who could be identified as him; the Brooklyn newspapers most likely to carry his death notice, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and the Standard Union, are not in that collection.12

Documents

  1. 7 November 1891 A Basket Sociable (Ocean Hill Baptist Church) Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) · clipping
  2. 10 February 1893 A Sociable and Entertainment (Ocean Hill Baptist Church) Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) · clipping
  3. 18 October 1893 Certificate of marriage no. 4656: Matthew P. Frost and Edith A. Thompson City of Brooklyn, Department of Health, certificates of marriage · vital record
  4. 18 October 1893 Certificate of marriage no. 4669: William H. Wade Jr. and Ellen M. Thompson City of Brooklyn, Department of Health, certificates of marriage · vital record

Places

  1. 1900Brooklyn

Timeline

  1. Sep 1826BirthNorway
  2. 1845Immigration
  3. 1900ResidenceBrooklyn, New York City, New York

Open questions

  • Death date unknown. Born September 1826 in Norway; alive in 1893 (named as the brides' father on both Thompson marriage certificates). Brooklyn death certificates and the Brooklyn Eagle and Standard Union death notices (not on Chronicling America) for about 1893–1915 are the places to look; also any naturalization record, which would give his arrival.
  • Chronicling America searches on his bare name (197 pages reviewed in part, 2026-11-08) find only other William Thompsons; a search that pairs him with Eliza, Keel, Marritt or Ocean Hill is needed to identify him.

Searches made

  1. 2026-11-08Bulk review of Matt's OneDrive genealogy folder (Phase 3): all documents transcribed and compared with the tree4 document(s) name this person; see Documents above. Conflicts and new facts are in each document record and in research/sources/document-review-2026-11-08.md
  2. 2026-11-08Chronicling America: "William Thompson", New York, 1841–1907197 pages; first: [The journal (New York [N.Y.]), 1896-05-01, p. 03](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84031792/1896-05-01/ed-1/?sp=3); [New York evening journal (New York [N.Y.]), May 16, 1898, (SPORTING SPECIAL.), 1898-05-16, p. 05](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86071545/1898-05-16/ed-1/?sp=5); [New York journal and advertiser (New York [N.Y.]), May 28, 1899, (AMERICAN MAGAZINE), 1899-05-28, p. 04](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030180/1899-05-28/ed-1/?sp=4)
  3. 2026-11-08Chronicling America: all of: Thompson Brooklyn, New York, 1841–19079495 pages; first: [The sun (New York [N.Y.]), May 22, 1898, (2), 1898-05-22, p. 21](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1898-05-22/ed-1/?sp=21); [The sun (New York [N.Y.]), 1892-01-18, p. 6](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1892-01-18/ed-1/?sp=6); [The sun (New York [N.Y.]), January 30, 1898, (2), 1898-01-30, p. 21](https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030272/1898-01-30/ed-1/?sp=21)
  4. 2026-11-08Assessment: Chronicling America: "William Thompson", New York, 1841–1907197 pages; the first 10 read, none is this person (William Thompson, b. Sept 1826 Norway, of Brooklyn, husband of Eliza Keel, Ocean Hill Baptist). Journal 1896-05-01: William Thompson of Rutherford, N.J., secretary of the John Thompson Press Co. (not Brooklyn). Evening Journal 1898-05-16: William Thompson, 50, proprietor of the Irving Place Stables, married Marion Trayer (wrong age, and ours was married). Journal 1899-05-28: William Thompson of Bridgeport, dead some 35 years. Journal 1897-07-25 and 08-29: William Thompson, 32 Broadway, Sing Sing, deafness-cure testimonial. Journal 1898-08-07: "young William Thompson" rescued from the surf at Elberon. Herald 1877-06-22: William Thompson & Co., ship brokers, St John, N.B. Tribune 1903-08-03: William Thompson, an heir of Delia A. Blanchard, in a Supreme Court summons (no Brooklyn or Keel link). Journal 1899-02-05: William Thompson of Pennsylvania (cat story). Tribune 1903-04-30: situation-wanted, "married man ... handy with carpenter's tools", 32 Locust St., Flushing: ours would have been 76. Hits 11–197 not reviewed: the name is too common to identify without the Ocean Hill / Eliza / Keel context, which none of these has.
  5. 2026-11-08Assessment: Chronicling America: all of: Thompson Brooklyn, New York, 1841–1907Uninformative: 9,495 pages (any page with both words). Snippets shown are school athletics, chess and whist columns naming other Thompsons (Richard, Daniel H., Arthur H. Cameron...). Not reviewed further. His death (after 1893, no date in the tree) would be in the Brooklyn Eagle or Standard Union, which are not on Chronicling America.

Notes

  1. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-63F: birth Sep 1826, Norway, no source attached "United States, Census, 1900", FamilySearch, William Thompson, 1900. Record: William Thompson, 1900 back to the text
  2. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-63F: immigration 1845, no source attached "United States, Census, 1900", FamilySearch, William Thompson, 1900. Record: William Thompson, 1900 back to the text
  3. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-63F: spouse Eliza Keel FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-2K3 (their page): first husband William Marritt, married 25 Dec 1857 1881-census-eliza-marritt-household: Eliza Marritt, Head, Mar, Loughton back to the text
  4. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-63F: marriage, no date or place 1881-census-eliza-marritt-household: Eliza Marritt, Head, Mar; notes: Eliza's marriage to William Thompson must be after April 1881 Research log (their page): the date of her marriage to William Thompson is unknown back to the text
  5. 1881-census-eliza-marritt-household: Edith Alice Marritt, Ellen Mathilda Marritt FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMST-6LB (their page): William Thompson recorded as adoptive father (research/relationships.toml) FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-JZ5 (their page): William Thompson recorded as adoptive father back to the text
  6. A Basket Sociable (Ocean Hill Baptist Church), Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York): Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor of the Ocean Hill Baptist Church, at the residence of John L. Burst, 996 Halsey street; Mr. and Mrs. William Thompson ... Edith and Nellie Thompson back to the text
  7. A Sociable and Entertainment (Ocean Hill Baptist Church), Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York): The Misses ... Nellie Thompson ... and Messrs. Matt P. Frost, William Thompson and Harry E. Wade; notes: may be Nellie's adoptive father or a younger man of the same name back to the text
  8. Certificate of marriage no. 4656: Matthew P. Frost and Edith A. Thompson, City of Brooklyn, Department of Health, certificates of marriage: Witnesses: W. Thompson, Charles Frost; Father's Name: William Thompson; Mother's Maiden Name: Eliza Keel Certificate of marriage no. 4669: William H. Wade Jr. and Ellen M. Thompson, City of Brooklyn, Department of Health, certificates of marriage: Witnesses: W. H. Wade, W. Thompson; Father's Name: William Thompson; Mother's Maiden Name: Eliza Keel "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938", FamilySearch, William Thompson in entry for William H Wade, Jr and Ellen M Thompson, 18 October 1893. Record: William Thompson in entry for William H Wade, Jr and Ellen M Thompson, 18 October 1893 back to the text
  9. "United States, Census, 1900", FamilySearch, William Thompson, 1900. Record: William Thompson, 1900 "United States, Census, 1900", FamilySearch, Eliza Thompson in entry for William Thompson, 1900. Record: Eliza Thompson in entry for William Thompson, 1900 FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-63F: residence 1900, Brooklyn back to the text
  10. "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949", FamilySearch, William Thompson in entry for Eliza Thompson, 1 Feb 1925. Record: William Thompson in entry for Eliza Thompson, 1 Feb 1925 "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949", FamilySearch, Eliza Thompson, 1 Feb 1925. Record: Eliza Thompson, 1 Feb 1925 back to the text
  11. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-63F: deceased, no date or place back to the text
  12. Research log, searches made: Chronicling America: William Thompson, New York, 1841–1907: 197 pages, the first 10 read, none is this person; his death would be in the Brooklyn Eagle or Standard Union, not on Chronicling America back to the text
Every FamilySearch record attached to William Thompson (4)
  1. 18 October 1893William Thompson, "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938"
  2. 1900William Thompson, "United States, Census, 1900"
  3. 1 Feb 1925William Thompson, "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949"
  4. 1900William Thompson, "United States, Census, 1900"