DeWitt Clinton Thomas (1836-1912) was born in Lawrence County, Alabama. In 1844, his family moved to Milam County, Texas (now Burleson County) where they engaged in farming and raising livestock. At the beginning of the Civil War, Thomas was the first man in Burleson County to enlist and received a commission as a lieutenant in Company A, First Regiment of Texas Mount Rifles commanded by Henry E. McCulloch. After one year of service, he enlisted in the Second Texas legion under General Waul. Thomas was captured and imprisoned by the Union for nearly two years and was one of the last Texan soldiers to return home. Thomas married Jennie Hewlett of Lexington, Texas in 1871. By the 1880s, he had served as mayor, county sheriff, clerk, and judge of Lampasas.
Source:
Daniel, L. E. Personnel of the Texas State Government with Sketches of Distinguished Texans, Embracing the Executive and Staff, Heads of the Departments, United States Senators and Representatives, Members of the Twenty-First Legislature. Austin: Smith, Hicks & Jones, State Printers, 1889.
From the guide to the Thomas, Dewitt Clinton, Sr. Reminiscences 66-5., 1836-1912, [ca. 1964], (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin)
