Name Charles Thompson | Died August 5, 1983 | |
Charles Collins Thompson (July 3, 1898–August 5, 1983) was a Texas judge, attorney, banker and rancher. He was a native of Erath County, Texas. He was the son of Charles Madison Thompson (1862–1942) and Annie Margaret Jane Altman (1871–1937).
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Background
Thompson never graduated from college but was admitted to the bar after passing the examination in 1923. He was elected County Judge of Mitchell County in 1924. In 1932 he was one of the primary organizers of the Mitchell County Agricultural Credit Corporation, and was elected chairman of the Mitchell County School Board in 1933. He continued in that capacity until 1978. That year he was appointed to the Executive Committee of Texas Cherokees and Associate Bands by Judge Foster T. Bean, (although he was not of Cherokee descent but was of Choctaw (Yowani Choctaws) and Chickasaw descent through Margaret McCoy-Thompson, his great grandmother. He remained on the Executive Committee until 1980. In 1935 was elected to the board of directors of City National Bank in Colorado City, Texas and was serving as its president in 1938 and in 1955 as its board of directors chairman.
In 1943 he was appointed a director of the Tenth District Farm Credit Board of Houston and was elected its chairman in 1952. Of his many notable achievements, his appointment in 1957 by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower to chair the credit committee of the Drought Conference in Wichita, Kansas, was one of his proudest. Thompson's commitment to farmers and ranchers in dire financial circumstances gained him the nickname of "Mr. Farm Credit".
In 1971 he pushed his way onto the national scene by taking a leading role in getting the Farm Credit Act passed. This led to his being named "Man of the Year in Texas Agriculture" in 1972 by Progressive Farmer magazine. Further, his involvement as a Director of the Texas Electric Service Company proved to be instrumental in the subsequent building of Lake Colorado City.
Charles Thompson was appointed by Texas Governor James B. Allred in 1937, to serve on the board of directors of Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University). In 1958, Texas Tech awarded him an honorary doctorate and a dormitory was named in his honor. The university honored him again in 1978 by establishing the Charles C. Thompson Professorship in Agricultural Finance through the College of Agricultural Sciences.
Later life and family
In addition to his involvement with helping farmers, Charles was also interested in developing his local business community. With his eye on growth he served as President of the Colorado City Chamber of Commerce for five years and served for over twenty-five years on various committees of the West Texas Chamber of Commerce. Finally, he was also a devout Christian as both a member and Sunday School teacher of the First United Methodist Church in Colorado City.
Thompson married Ewell Gary on September 12, 1922. She died in 1955. Following her death, Charles married Emabeth Pittman on January 21, 1956. He had no children from either marriage. He died in Mitchell County, Texas.