James Baird Thompson was born in Greene County, Pa., in 1840. In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Thompson's brother-in-law, General Edward M. McCook to the post of Territorial Governor of Colorado. McCook in turn named Thompson as his private secretary. Thompson also served as Auditor of Public Accounts and as Special Agent for the Seven Bands of the Ute Indians in Colo. After his resignation as special agent, Thompson moved his family to northeastern Colo. and built the first house at what became the town of Hayden. Thompson's home was located near the White River Agency and when the Utes warned him of impending trouble at the reservation, he and his family left the area before the Meeker Massacre occurred at the end of September 1879. He was later called on to testify in the investigation after the massacre. Thompson returned to Denver in 1880 as a special agent in the General Land Office, but held this position for only a year, before being hired by the Denver and Rio Grande Rail Road in 1887. He remained with the railroad as a clerk, auditor or bookkeeper through 1905. He then worked from 1907 to 1916 as clerk and secretary of the Board of Capitol Managers, which was responsible for the maintenance and operation of the State Capitol Building and other state buildings. James B. Thompson died at his home in 1923. He is buried next to his wife, Eliza at Crown Hill Cemetery.
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