Posted By:
Tom HuffordI'm not sure where the speculation comes from that B.E. Thompson was the "league commisioner." What is a "league commissioner," is it the same as league president?
The T209-2 set has teams from the 1910 Virginia League (Jacob Wells,theater promoter/former major leaguer from Norfolk was league president), Carolina Association (Joseph H. Wearn, a lumber businessman from Charlotte, NC was league president), and the Eastern Carolina League (Dr. Joel D. Whitaker,a physician from Raleigh, NC was league president). The 1910 Wilson team of the Eastern Carolina League was managed by Charles McGeehan. So, the idea of Thompson being a league president or the Wilson manager doesn't fit.
I had thought that perhaps B.E. Thompson was president of the Contentnea Cigarette Co., and his photo used for a promotion, but then why include the word "Wilson?"
I have checked the U.S. Census and North Carolina records for a B.E. Thompson that might fit. The best I have come up with is:
Benjamin E. Thompson
b. January 1839 NC
d. Nov. 28, 1920 Nash Co., NC
This fellow was living in Wilson in 1900, occupation listed as a farmer, and he died in Nash Co., adjacent to Wilson Co., in 1920. Perhaps he was a big tobacco farmer who supplied tobacco to Contentnea, someone thought he looked like Uncle Sam, and they used him in a promotion. All pure speculation on my part. So, the research will continue...