H. S. Thompson

Who is H. S. Thompson?

Henry S. Thompson was an American songwriter of the mid-nineteenth century.

Little is known of Thompson other than his works, mainly syrupy ballads used in blackface minstrel shows; 48 works were published under the name H. S. Thompson between 1849 and 1885.

According to U.S. Census research by Ralph Richey, Thompson was probably born in 1824 or 1825 in northern Essex County, Massachusetts. By 1851 he had moved to Newburyport, Massachusetts where he was a teacher, performer, and impresario. Later he was connected with several minstrel companies, including Morris Brothers, Pell, Huntley's, and Trowbridge's Minstrels in Boston and Morris and Wilson's Opera Troupe in St. Louis.