I am searching for any information on Walter Thompson, who was African American and ran a restaurant in Tampa in 1920 (from the 1920 census). By 1930, his wife, Gertrude, was a widow in Detroit, MI. I am trying to find out more about him -his birthplace, parents, etc. I have sent for two Florida death certificates for men with the same name, but neither of them was a match. Also, does anyone have a Tampa city directory for that time frame? I would like to know if he is listed as a restaurant owner.

I searched the obit listings for 1920-1930 in Tampa, with no luck for walter or anything close.
You might try
www.raogk.org
There is a listing for a lady that does city directory look ups. I know the Tampa library does have those yrs on the shelf.
Good hunting,
Frank

Do you have any more information at all on them?
Do you know the name of the restaurant?

Also, do you know their birth or death years. (or approx years) I found a bunch of Walter Thomas obits but it is impossible to narrow it down without more info. Obits can be very informative.

I have Walter Thompson born abt. 1886, probably in Anderson County, S.C. On his WWI draft card, he ran a restaurant in Anderson, S.C. his parents could be Perry and Carrie Thompson, but I need to verify that. In the 1920 census, he was a proprietor of a restaurant in Tampa. I don't know the name of the restaurant. His wife, Gertrude, was born in Abbeville County, S.C. In 1930, she was a widow, living in Detroit near other members of her family. I have two death certificates for Walter Thompson. One died Sept. 5, 1925 in Hillsborough County, the other March 16, 1926, also in Hillsborough County. Neither is the right one. He could have died in Detroit, but I have requested a search of a six year time frame with no results. My goal is to get an obituary or death certificate that confirms his parentage.

thanks for the link. I will give it a try.

The only obit I found for a Walter was someone who died in Feb. 1930 which might be the right one but the age of 35 doesn 't match. I will go to the library tomorrow and see if I can find something for you.

I found two listings - one in 1920 and 1 in 1924. It would appear that the restaurant was no longer active in 1924 so it may be that he died in the meantime and it was closed. I have typed the lines exactly as they appear in the directories. Would your Walter be G. W. Thompson? I ask because there is an obit for a G. W. in 1921. I didn't find it until I got home but I can still look it up if that is him. By the way I could not find the name of the restaurant.

1920 Thompson Walter (m), rest 1216 Central Av h same
1924 1216 Central Av Walter Thompson

Thank you so much. I don't think he went by G. W. Thompson, everything else has been "Walter Thompson". I don't know if he had a middle initial. But I appreciate your time. Thanks again.