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Submitted Photo Standing to the left of the recently cleaned Thompson Monument at Riverview Cemetery in east Liverpool is Art Doak of Milligan Hardware Store, another prominent businessman from east Liverpool. Art is one of the few descendants of Thompson. Art’s mother, Nancy Thompson Doak, is also buried with Art’s father, Arthur V. Doak, on the family land overlooking the beautiful valley below.
Anyone visiting Riverview Cemetery may have noticed that monument cleaning is a service provided by cemetery maintenance staff on request. The service was launched about a year and a half ago and has been very successful. As many may also know, there are many historic and exquisite ancient monuments in one of the very old sections of the cemetery. The occupants of this section are some of the main contributors to the founding of East Liverpool. Those who have visited the section before will notice that many monuments have been placed for families who have founded pottery in East Liverpool as well as for the other businesses that have shaped the city.
One of these families was the descendants of Josiah and Sarah Jackman Thompson. They have deep family roots in the surrounding community and in East Liverpool. As many know, one such member of the Thompson family was Will Thompson, a famous late 19th century music composer. Will was born on November 7, 1847 in Smiths Ferry, Pennsylvania, where he was the fifth of seven children to Josiah and Sarah Thompson. Josiah operated a general store there. Will was also the grandson of William and Eleanor McDowell of Calcutta who came to Columbiana County in 1818, where William made hats and operated a hotel. Josiah and Sarah then moved to East Liverpool on the no longer exists Thompson Lane, taken when Route 11 was built.
Will was one of the founders of the former Smith & Phillips Company which was once located in East Liverpool city center and was associated with the world of music. Will had attended East Liverpool Schools and later entered Beaver Academy to study music. He attended and graduated from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio. His musical talent developed early in life. Around 1873 Will moved to Boston where he studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and three years later traveled to Europe to study harmony and composition at the Conservatory of Music in Leipzig, Germany. Will also opened his music store in 1873 in East Liverpool and he also went door to door selling instruments in rural areas.
Will was only 16 when he wrote “Honey Minnie Gray.” He has composed many famous songs, and the most notable being, “Softly and tenderly Jesus calls. His hymns are still used in churches around the world.
Will has devoted his entire life to music and philanthropy. In 1889, he ceded an 80-acre parcel of farmland near his home to the city “for the common people of East Liverpool” in trust forever and set aside $ 10,000, the interest of which was to be used to maintain the Thompson Park grounds in his honor. Will also donated the monument in Columbiana County which marks the site of Confederate General John H. Morgan’s surrender. Will and Elizabeth Thompson were the parents of Leland Thompson who also continued the family’s dedication to civic engagement for years.
Will Thompson died in 1909 and is buried with his many other family members in Riverview Cemetery on Section 2 across from the majestic Chapel. The Thompson Monument along with all of the individual Thompson family monuments were chosen to be cleaned up by cemetery staff as a civic project honoring those who came before us and continue to influence generations to come. Do not hesitate to come to the cemetery to admire the beauty not only of the sparkling monuments of the Thompson family, but also of the magnificent cemetery. And for anyone interested in having their family monument cleaned, contact the superintendent at 330-385-9262.
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