The Thomas Family

Our Thomas family connection is Rhoda Thomas (1781-1863). Rhoda was married to Isaac Hall (1781-1870) the younger of the two Isaac Hall's in our Hall Line. Rhoda and Isaac are buried in the Hall-Walton cemetery in a grove of trees in the interior of Section 14 of Montgomery Township, Jennings County, Indiana.

Maggie and Mom (Mildred (Cassell) Johnson) claimed that the Rowlisons were English, Irish and Welsh. Actually, they were mainly Massachusetts (ers?), Virginians, Marylanders, New Jerseyians, and certainly Indianans for the most part. There are a couple of Irish immigrants not too far back, Kinnear and McKnight/Alford but the Thomas line is the only Welsh line I've found (I think.)

Our Thomas immigrant appears to be a fellow named Ellis Thomas (1680-1763), Wales to Frederick County, Virginia, though I have some skepticism about some dates and details in that this line is fraught with guys named Ellis, Elias and Evan. Several online family trees list this Ellis has being the son of an Evan who was born in 1685. Fathers who are younger than their sons tend to call into question someone's research. And both Ellis Thomas fellows are listed as dying in 1763. We have lots of stories about the death of the younger Ellis in 1763 and the story of the two Indian raids experienced by his family including seven-year old Evan in 1764 in which his mother, Elizabeth escaped but his sisters were killed or captured.

Story about Ellis Thomas (1710-1763) and his family near Winchester in Frederick County, Virginia.
 Ellis Thomas was a farmer. His will was probated in Winchester, Frederick County Virginia on October 4, 1763.
 In July, 1763 information was received by the late Maj. Robert White (who had a small fort around his house as an asylum for the people in the neighborhood), that the Indians had been seen on that or the preceding day on Capon. He immediately went to the several families living near the base of the North Mountains, as far as Ellis Thomas’, five or six miles from the fort, told them of the report and advised them to go into the fort until the danger should be over. It being harvest time, Ellis Thomas was unwilling to leave home, and mounted a horse to go to his neighbor, Jacob Kackley’s, who had several sons grown, to propose to arm themselves and work together in their respective grain fields; but on his way to Mr. Kackley’s he was shot dead and scalped, the Indians having concealed themselves behind two logs that lay across the other end of the road.
 In June 1764, similar information of Indians being seen was received at the fort. Maj. White, as on the former occasion, went in the afternoon to warn the people of the danger, when the widow Thomas, Mr. Jones and Mr. Clouser, set off with their families for the fort; but night coming on when they reached Mr. Lloyd’s (about two miles from the fort), they concluded to stay there all night. In the morning, as soon as day appeared, they resumed their journey; but before they were out of sight of the house, the Indians attacked them, and killed, wounded, or took prisoners twenty-two or twenty-three persons. Evan Thomas, a son of the man killed the preceding summer, a boy of seven years old, ran back into the house, and hid himself behind some puncheons that he placed across a corner of the room, and remained concealed, and notwithstanding the Indians brought the prisoners into the house, among whom were his mother and sister, both tied, and kept them there till they fried bacon and ate their breakfast; they then set fire to the house in two places, and went away. Evan said he continued in the house as long as he could, on account of the fire; that he saw through a chink in the wall the direction of the Indians went; and not knowing which way to go, he concluded to take the contrary course from the one taken by them. He rambled about all that day and the most of the next before he found any person, the houses which he passed having been abandoned by their owners going to the fort. The Indians encamped the first night at a spring on the Romney road, between the North River and the Little Capon; and on the next day they stopped on the bank of the south Branch, near where Romney now stands, to eat their dinner. While thus engaged, a party who were stationed in a fort a mile or two lower down the river and who had just returned from a scout, discharged their guns in order to clean them, which alarmed the Indians, and they hurried across the river, assisting all their female prisoners except Mrs. Thomas, who being a large, fat woman, it was supposed would perish, as the water was rapid and deep. She floated down the stream, however until almost exhausted, when she had the good fortune to get on a rock, and save herself from drowning. She had put a piece of bread in her bosom the morning she was taken, and lost it in the water; but it happened to float so near her while on the rock that she caught it and ate it; which, as she said, so revived and strengthened her that she plunged into the water again, and providentially got out on the east side of the river. She reached Williams Fort, two mile below the Hanging Rock, on the same day. It was often remarked by Mrs. Thomas’ acquaintances that after her return she would minutely relate the circumstances attending the murder of her husband and children, and her own sufferings, without shedding a tear. Either five or seven of the persons wounded by the Indians, were taken to the fort of Maj. Robert White’s, and attended by Dr. McDonald though but one recovered, Hester Lloyd, who had two scalps taken from her. Mrs. Thomas’ daughter, and Mrs. Clouser and her three small daughters, were taken to the Indian towns, and after an absence of about six months, were released from captivity, and all returned home safely.
  

Other accounts are at:
 http://people.virginia.edu/~mgf2j/english.html http://books.google.com/books?id=_08VAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=ellis+thomas+killed+by+indians&source=bl&ots=YlsANsKLY9&sig=jLonJDtuJESYbTXLXOz1s-Bx0C4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7P-1UfGqGKPSyAG45IHQAQ&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=ellis%20thomas%20killed%20by%20indians&f=false   Family references from Tenmile Country to the west in West Virginia are at:
 http://books.google.com/books?id=UM7gBFLDzvkC&pg=PA238&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false

The seven-year old Evan Thomas (1757-1840) went on to be one of our Revolutionary War ancestors. His page at the website of the Sons of the American Revolution is at http://graves.inssar.org/T/thomevan.html

Evan Thomas is buried in Hopewell Cemetery on the east side of State Highway 3 north of Commiskey,

Evan Thomas' verbose tombstone in Hopewell Cemetery, Jennings County,
Indiana, from a time when one could actually read the text.

Indiana. He is buried next to his third wife, Mary Everton with old matching stones, likely from the time of their deaths in the early 1840's. Evan's old stone names him "The Old Revolutioner." It also has a cryptic reference to the Indian raid AND lists his three wives and the dates of the marriages. The text is badly weathered today. Luckily, there is a photo from its legible days. A modern small stone likely placed by a veterans group is behind the old stone listing Evan Thomas as a PVT in Col Gresham's VA Regt. Don't miss this if you're passing through the southeast part of Indiana.

Evan Thomas first married Hannah Nixon (1759-1788) on December 10, 1778. Hannah had five children: Elizabeth, Rhoda (our ancestor) Elias, George and Evan. Child #5 was an Evan Jr. born June 2, 1788. Our ancestor, Hannah Rhoda Walton's great grandmother) died June 6, 1788. Having children was a life-threatening proposition for our grandmothers.

Evan married his second wife Sarah Booth (1770-1806) on January 20, 1789. Evan and Sarah had ten children between 1790 and 1805: Amos, Booth, John, James, Hannah (Evan & Sarah named their first daughter after his first wife - I like these people), Freeman, Bathsheba, Mede, Anderson and Patience. (Evan named his 15th baby "Patience." There's got to be a joke there, or something.)

Patience was born September 22, 1805 and Sarah, her mother died on Christmas Day, 1806 with at least nine kids under the age of 15 (I don't know when Amos was born.). Kids from the first marriage were age 17 to 26 - our Rhoda was 24 and would not marry until 1807. Do you suppose she had a hand in raising those 1/2 siblings?

Evan married Mary Everton, his third wife in 1810, on Christmas Day (enter your own comment here - the man had a thing for Order and Form.)

Evan and Mary had almost 30 years together before he died on March 15, 1840. Here is a note about his will:

Jennings County, Indiana Probate Book C page 270Evan Thomas Willwife Mary, dated September, 1838 recorded April 6, 1840, Children: Bethsheba Brandon, Elizabeth McClellan, Rhoda Hall, Elias, George, Evan he gets the big bible, Booth,John, Hannah Blankenship, James, Freeman, Amos, Joseph, Anderson, Nancy Parker's four childrem and a sum left them by their grandmother. Their relationship to Evan not state, Evan mentions his house an a lot in Paris deeded to him by Mr. Goodhue. He states that he has left a certain lot ot ground for a meeting house and burying ground contrary to the law of Indiana so now he leaves it to John Ballard, William McClellan and Abram Ridely elected Trustees of said meetinghouse and the burying ground for the use of the Methodist Protestant Church. Executor Mary, his wife.Witnesses: Emond Terrell and John Denslow 

The "big bible" reference is to Evan Thomas's big bible which is widely known. Those three wives and fifteen children are documented on a page in the bible illustrated here. This photo and the photo of Evan's tombstone come from the web site at:
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/h/u/t/Roy-W-Hutchinson/index.html

The owner of that website describes how the bible of Evan Thomas came into the possession of the Hutchinson family and finally to him. He has several photos of the bible and various pages in it.

Mr. Hutchinson's primary interest is in the Hutchinson family line and we connect to that family as well. Rhoda Walton's two grandmothers were Rhoda Thomas who we've been talking about and Mary Hutchinson of this family. I'll get that family's information up soon. We can go back a loooong ways with those folks.

So thanks to Roy Hutchinson for his work on our Hutchinson line and on preserving Evan Thomas' bible for all to see.