Lou Poole,

This is just a "wild shot in the dark," but I wonder if your George 
Cumberland Thompson was given his middle name because of Cumberland Co., VA? 
There were three early Robert Thompsons (grandfather/father/son) who were in 
New Kent Co., VA (starting the early-mid-1600s), and several children of 
Robert Thompson "III" were living in Cumberland Co., VA by the 1760s or so. 
One of those several children was named Benajah Thompson, and he married 
Drucilla Hobson.  Benajah and Drucilla's children were born too early to 
have included your Richard H. ("Hobson," by chance?) Thompson, but I suppose 
that Richard H. Thompson could have been their grandson or great-grandson. 
If you go to RootsWeb WorldConnect and search for Benajah Thompson, who can 
see a list of his many children.  Benajah also had several brothers, so they 
also represent "possibilities," I would assume.  There were/are, of course, 
other Cumberland Counties in other states, so the above is just one 
possibility.

Do you know of a living male Thompson from your family?  If so, a DNA test 
on such a man might be your best (only?) hope in determining the lineage of 
your Richard H. Thompson.  I do not know if anyone from the above Robert 
Thompson line out of New Kent Co., VA has joined any Thompson DNA testing 
project (via Family Tree DNA, Ancestry.com or other such DNA testing 
projects), but that should not be too difficult to determine.  As I recall, 
Robert Thompson "III" left Cumberland Co., VA and moved to Amherst Co., VA 
(and I believe that he married twice, with children via both wives).  There 
was also another APPARENTLY unrelated Thompson family in Amherst Co., VA, 
and one has to be careful not to confuse/intermix those two families.

Much to my surprise, I have learned over the past few years that researching 
the surnames "Thompson" and "Davidson" (my surname) is every bit as 
challenging as researching the surnames "Smith" and "Brown."  That is why 
DNA may be your only hope....but who knows what other "breakthroughs" might 
be "lurking just around the corner?"

Bill Davidson 

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