James Thompson and Catherine (nee Fairman), of Sheskinapoll, near Raphoe, Donegal, Ireland, raised a family of eight children, seven boys and one girl: Samuel (b. 1838) Thomas John (b. 1842), Eliza Jane (b.1843), William (b.1845), James (b.1848), Matthew (b.1851), Anthony (b.1855) and Alexander (b.1860). Of these, the six eldest sons emigrated to Victoria, Australia during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Each of the sons selected land in the lower Goulburn district of northern Victoria. Many of their Fairman, Crawford, Kilpatrick and Baxter cousins also emigrated to Victoria and selected land in the same district.

The first of the sons to emigrate was Thomas John Thompson who arrived in Melbourne in 1867 aboard the Lady Melville. It is believed that William Thompson followed soon after, arriving in 1868 aboard the S.S. Great Britain. The next to arrive was James Thompson who arrived in Melbourne in 1870 aboard the Alumbagh After working as agricultural labourers in the Tallarook area for several years, Thomas John and James selected adjacent blocks of land at Mooroopna North in 1871.

Matthew Thompson was the fourth son to emigrate, arriving in Melbourne in 1873 aboard the Queen Of Nations. Anthony Thompson followed soon after, arriving in 1874 aboard the S.S. Great Britain. Matthew, William and Anthony initially worked on their brothers' farms at Mooroopna North until land was made available for selection in the Yalca district. In 1876, William, Matthew and Anthony selected adjacent blocks of land at Yalca.

Although Samuel was the eldest of the Thompson brothers, he was the last to emigrate, arriving in Melbourne in 1880 aboard the Cotopaxi. While Samuel's brothers had all arrived in Victoria as single men, Samuel was already married by the time he left Ireland. With him on the Cotopaxi were his wife, Eliza Jane (nee Mahaffey) and three children, Thomas John (b.1866), Samuel (b.1868), and Eliza Jane (b.1872). Samuel settled at Kaarimba, a parish midway between Mooroopna North and Yalca.

There is a family story that Eliza Jane Thompson, sister of the above brothers also emigrated to Australia, marrying and then settling in Sydney, but no firm evidence has yet been uncovered to confirm this. She married Matthew McElhinney in 1880 at Raphoe but no further record of her or her family has been located after the birth of her second child in 1882, in Sheskinapoll.

No record has been found for the youngest son, Alexander Thompson, other than his baptism in 1860.

The following map shows location of the homes and lands of the Thompson and related families in and around Donegal at the time of the Griffith's Valuation (1847-1864).

The following map shows the location of the homes and buildings of the Thompson and related families in and around Donegal at the time of the 1901 and 1911 censuses.