Thomas, John

(submitted by Jerry Thomas, with additions from Beers)

My great-great-grandfather John Thomas (1809–1881) was a successful farmer, locating on Lot 17, Con. 3 NER in about 1832. He was a native of Wales. He played a soldier’s part in suppressing the 1837–1838 Rebellion.

John married Elizabeth Rees (1809–1886) in 1839. Elizabeth was working in New York before they were married. After their passage by water as far as Sarnia, they had to walk the rest of the way to Warwick Twp., over icy fields. Elizabeth made it as far as Plympton Twp. but could go no further, so she stayed with a family until her husband could get a horse to bring her the rest of the way. John and Elizabeth had nine children: William died in his first year and Annie lived to age eleven; John (1843–1931), who married Lucy Smith; Mary (1845–), who married Duncan McNabb; Elizabeth (1846–1931), who never married; Joshua (1848–1940), who married Julia Stoner (1850–1880); Rachael (1850–) who married George Logan; Sarah Jane (1853–1932), who married Robert McKenzie; and Enoch W. (1855–1941), who married Margaret Lee (1863–1888).

John and Elizabeth later moved to 150 acres on Lot 19, Con. 4 NER. In the 1851 census it is recorded that 20 acres are under cultivation, 9.5 acres are under crop, 6 acres are under pasture and 119 acres are wild. John was especially noted for his apple orchards. In 1867 he fell out of an apple tree, injuring his spine and losing the use of his hands and legs for the rest of his life.

John Jr. was a very active church worker. He and his wife Lucy moved to Watford in 1890 where he opened a bank with Col. Kenward. John and his brother Joshua were partners in a bank and a grain business in the village of Inwood in 1902 and resided in Inwood at that time. John and Lucy later moved to Winnipeg, and returned to Watford in 1921.

Joshua and Julia Thomas are my great-grandparents. Following the death of Julia, Joshua married Mary MacFarland (1855–1894) in 1886, in Warwick Twp. After Mary died, he then married a third time in 1895, to Alice Eccles in Watford. My records indicate that Joshua and Alice lived in Watford in 1911. Subsequently they have been reported as living in Warwick Village, supposedly in a home built by a McKenzie, prior to moving to North Branch, Michigan to live near Joshua’s son Dr. J. Orville Thomas.

Enoch W. worked with his father until he was 27 years old, then he farmed the west ½ of Lot 16, Con. 4 NER on his own. He did general farming, but leaned towards dairy farming. Enoch was a trustee at SS#4 for some years, as well as a member of the East Lambton Farmers’ Institute. He and his wife Margaret had two children, Mervin Rees Thomas (1884–1971) and William McLean Thomas (1887–1970). Enoch W.’s second wife was Margaret C. McKenzie (1865–1963).

Joshua and Julia Thomas’ son Jonas Orville (1877–1958), who married Hattie Arnold, is my grandfather; their son Arnold Thomas is my father.

Chapter 24 of 25 - Thomas, John

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