Thomas Family

The Thomas Family Papers include letters and documents from three generations of the Philip Thomas family of Cecil County, Maryland. The Thomas family was originally from Wales and traces its lineage in Maryland back to Philip and Sarah Harrison Thomas, who arrived in the colony from Bristol, England, in 1651. Three of the couple's children were born in England, and two others arrived after their settlement in Maryland. The Thomas family settled in Anne Arundel County, where Philip Thomas was granted a tract of five hundred acres of land called Beakely or Beckly in April 1651. His will, probated in 1675, lists several tracts of land in Anne Arundel County and homes in Bristol as part of his estate. Initially a leader of the Puritan party within the colony of Maryland, Thomas later became a Quaker. His wife Sarah was also an active member of the Society of Friends.

Their son Samuel Thomas was born in Maryland in 1655 and married Mary Hutchins in a Quaker ceremony in 1688. Samuel and Mary had eight children together, one of whom was born in 1694 and named Philip Thomas. This Philip Thomas married twice, secondly to Anne Chew in 1724. Philip sired at least seven children with his two wives, and one of his sons was also named Philip Thomas. The younger Philip was born sometime in the 1720s, married Anne Harris Galloway in 1754, and sired one child, a son named Philip. He inherited one-half of his father's estate, "Mount Ararat," at the Susquehanna Ferry in Cecil County. At least some members of the Thomas family had remained in Anne Arundel County since the arrival of the first Philip Thomas in 1651. It is possible that the Philip Thomas born in 1694 moved his family to the northeastern section of Maryland, near the Susquehanna River. Another son of Philip and Anne Chew Thomas named Samuel lived at Perry Point on the Susquehanna River across from Havre de Grace; Samuel owned the ferry rights to both sides of the river.

Most of the materials in the Thomas Family Papers concern the son of Philip and Anne Harris Galloway Thomas named Philip Thomas [Philip Thomas Esquire in the records]. He married Sarah Margaret Weems in 1783, and together the couple had seven children: Philip [Philip Thomas Junior in the records], Mary, John Weems, George, Catherine (Kitty), James, and Ann Weems. Sarah Weems was originally from Crumpton Hall in Elkridge, Maryland. Her husband Philip died circa 1809 at their Rockland estate in Cecil County. The Thomas family, especially this generation, appears to have been wealthy. Philip Thomas Esquire often wrote about his lands, crops, and business dealings, which were extensive. The federal census for 1790 lists Philip Thomas, Esquire of the North Susquehannah Hundred as head of a household that included ten free whites and forty-three slaves. Ten years later, his household had increased to sixty-nine people, including forty-five slaves. The extant records also indicate that the Thomas family remained members of the Society of Friends into the early nineteenth century. In an 1806 document, the word "oath" was crossed out and replaced with the word "affirmation"; Quakers refused to take oaths.

Please see the family tree to alleviate some of the confusion caused by the repetitious use of the name Philip Thomas throughout the different generations.