Monroe County FlArchives Biographies.....Thompson, Charles H. 1873 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/fl/flfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Nancy Rayburn http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00025.html#0006128 October 19, 2015, 1:44 am Source: Vol. II pg.98 The Lewis Publishing Co. 1923 Author: History of Florida, Past and Present Capt. CHARLES H. THOMPSON is a native of the Florida Keys, is a noted m mariner, famous as an authority on fish and fishing in these subtropical w waters, and has conducted fishing and cruising expeditions of many of the most f famous men in America, who regard his friendship as part of their enviable good f fortune. Captain Thompson was born in 1873 on Soldier Key, off the southeast coast of Florida, near Miami. His parents, ROBERT H. and JULIA (FROUW) THOMPSON, live at Coconut Grove. ROBERT H. THOMPSON was born in England, of a family of seafaring people, came to America before the Civil war from the Bahamas, and located at Key West. For several years he was in the service of the Government and during the late ‘60s and’ 70s was located on Soldier Key in charge of government supplies used in the construction of the lighthouse on Fowey’s Rock, not far from the Key. This well-known lighthouse was completed in 1876. JULIA FROUW’s father was Captain of a Brazilian ship that was wrecked not f far from Key West, and after this disaster he made his home in Key West, where h his daughter Julia was born. With such an ancestry CHARLES H. THOMPSON took to the sea without effort, and has been more at home on saltwater than on land. For many years he has been qualified as a ship captain, and holds a Government mariner’s license. H He has been captain and owner of a number of boats, and he has operated these c chiefly as a host for fishing parties in the celebrated fishing waters, said to b be the best in the world, in the ocean adjacent to Miami and particularly along t the Florida Keys and in the Gulf Stream. Hundreds of the best fishermen of the United States who come to Miami in the winter season for fishing affectionately know him as “Captain Charlie,” and they declare him to be the and they declare him to be the “best fisherman in the world.” The catches that have been made under his guidance and direction are notable in the history of fishing. These catches include the literally hundreds of kinds of fish that inhabit these waters, including all the big-game and dangerous varieties, such as Tarpon, sail fish, man-eating shark. Captain Thompson is invariably called u upon to pilot visitors of prominence and distinction on their fishing trips. He w was pilot for President Harding and party in the winter of 1921. He has been conductor of the fishing trips of W. K. VANDERBILT of New York. A letter written by Mister Vanderbilt May 5, 1922, reads: “To Captain Charles Thompson: Twenty years ago the good ship Tarantula entered Miami Harbor, where ‘Captain Charlie’ joined us. From that time on he has always been considered by me to be the greatest fisherman that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He has interested me to the extent that I am now a collector (in a small way), and on our last two trips, during 1922, have added over 100 specimens to my collection. May we have many more is the wish of, Yours sincerely, W. K. Vanderbilt.” As this letter indicates, Captain Thompson has attained fame as an e expert in authority on fish and fish life in the ocean. Through his own varied e experience and as assistant to others he has promoted the scientific knowledge a and classification of marine life. It was his knowledge in this field that led t to his appointment on the staff and of the great aquarium established and m maintained at Miami Beach by JAMES ALLISON of Indianapolis. Captain Thompson married Miss GERTRUDE FALLIGANT. Mrs. Thompson is a member of a family of distinguished ancestry. Her great-grandfather was LOUIS FALLIGANT, a native of France, who early joined the army of Napoleon and was sent by the Emperor to take charge of the military stores on the Island of Martinique. While there he met and married Miss LOUISE BENEDICT, whose ancestors had come to the American colonies early in the seventeenth century. LOUIS FALLIGANT after the fall of Napoleon came to America, and in 1817 settled at Savannah, Georgia, where the family has been one of distinction for more than a century. Mrs. Thompson is a daughter of Dr. LOUIS A. and ROSA OLIVER (BROWN) FALLIGANT. Her father, Doctor LOUIS FALLIGANT, who was born in 1836 and died in 1903, served as a surgeon in the Confederate army, and became widely known as an expert on yellow fever, giving heroic services to Savannah during the epidemic of 1876, and subsequently serving on a Federal commission for the relief of New Orleans during the yellow fever epidemic of 1878. Mrs. Thompson’s uncle, Judge ROBERT FALLIGANT, was for many years one of Georgia’s ablest lawy lawyers and jurists, being judge of the Superior Court for the Savannah circuit. Captain and Mrs. Thompson have two daughters, GERTRUDE FALLIGANT and MIL MILDRED CAMDEN THOMPSON. Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/fl/monroe/photos/bios/thompson200bs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/fl/monroe/bios/thompson200bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/flfiles/ File size: 5.5 Kb