See the notes on John Foster Thomson's death.

Helen Mickleburgh says that he never married and died in strange circumstances in Entre Rios. He had joined the Argentinian Army and was a Leftenant Colonel. It was said that he interfered when a petty officer was beating his wife and the petty officer shot him. As a consequence of that, Aunt Helen[ Nell] had to go from Buenos Aires to Entre Pios and was made to recognize the body and became insane. She entered into a depression and never ate again- she would be forcefed until she eventually died.


The following paragraph is from an E-mail from Helen Mickleburgh recieved 29, Jan., 2005.
I have been to the Army's Archives in Buenos Aires looking for information about uncle Foster. I was allowed to browse his dossier without permission considering he had died in 1906. He was not saintly at all. Then I learnt he had been expelled from West Point because of hitting a superior officer. He seems to have repeated the same in Argentina plus drinking and making trouble in brothels. He was in the desert in one of the last expeditions against the indians. The only good comment about him was 'he rides well'. He was very aggressive. I believe now the story that he hit a non-commissioned officer and he killed him. I was left gaping... I am going to go again soon and see more about this together with Diego and Cathy Garbarino (Aunt Mary Thomsons' grandchildren). If you could have met the rest of the family, so serious, and well-mannered and church-going you would even be more surprised. Well, it takes all kinds of people...

latter an insurance man in Cleveland,,Ohio

He lived and died in the states

Dear Helen;
I've been thinking about your question about Aunt Mary Thomson and why she was born in Illinois. Your Grandmothers uncle, William Goodfellow, the Methodist Minister who first meet John Thomson in Argentina and found funding for him to go to college at Illinois Wesleyan where he met and married your Grandmother, was at that time a minister in a Methodist Church there.
As you have, no doubt, noticed, your aunt Mary is named after Rev. William Goodfellow's wife; Mary E. Dempster. I expect that she was staying with the Goodfellows at their home in Sandwich, DeKalb Co., Illinois when your Aunt Mary was born.
Mark

Helen Mickleburgh's E-mail of Aug. 2000 says; " Aunt Kate must have been about 40 when she announced that she had secretly married a Hindu[ Moslem?] called Mohamed Ismail-that even though he had been to Oxford- raised hell in the family in those days. Grandma Helen nearly had a heart attack. They never had any children."

He lived and died in the states.

Helen Mickleburgh says that Aunt Jessie Goodfellow married a ''Black Irishman'' whose name was Harry McGilliccudy.

helen's father

Helen Micklyburg says that Uncle Donald never married.