Submitted by Descendant: Rollin “Ron” L. Peek
James Tompkins and Nancy Ann Pearce were married on 29 July 1830 in Camden County, Georgia, James was born 16 November 1808 and was the third son of Donald and Frances King Tompkins, and grandson of John and Elizabeth McKay Tompkins.
The Donald Tompkins family moved from Camden County, Georgia to Nassau County, Florida about 1835. They settled around King’s Ferry and established the Florida branch of the Tompkins family. Later that same year, James and his two brothers, William and John, moved to different areas of Florida – John to Sumter County, William to Gadsden and then Columbia County, while James settled in Alachua County where he reared ten children. Involved in growing citrus, James was one of the first to ship the fruit to various locations. The Tompkins family, along with others had to travel to Orange Springs to trade and buy supplies.
James’ move into the Florida Territory in 1835 was at the beginning of the Third Seminole War. He signed two separate Congressional petitions in Territorial Florida. He homesteaded 160 acres under “The Congressional Armed Occupation Act” in the southeastern section of Alachua County in 1843.
James Tompkins was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 1988