Thomas Thomas (1745 - 1824)

Born 17 Jun 1745 in New York Colony [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Catherine (Floyd) Thomas — married after 29 Jul 1769 in Smithtown, Suffolk, New York Colony

Died 29 May 1824 at age 78 in Harrison, Westchester County, New York, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Ron Floyd [send private message]

Biography

Major General Thomas Thomas served with 2nd Regiment, Westchester County Militia, New York Militia during the American Revolution.

Thomas Thomas is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor.
NSSAR Ancestor #: 303872
Rank: Major General

Thomas Thomas State of Service: NY Qualifying Service: Major General Birth: 17 Jun 1745 Death: 29 May 1824.^[1]

Military

Revolutionary War veteran

"Thomas Thomas, born June 17, 1745, was the second son of Judge John Thomas, a sheriff of Westchester County. T. Thomas married Catharine Floyd from Mastic, L.I. Thomas was made colonel of the Second Regiment of the Continental Army of Westchester County, NY. His regiment was part of General Clinton's brigade at Peekskill. He was taken prisoner and held for awhile in 1777. At some point, Colonel T. Thomas was appointed Major General. Thomas and Catharine had the following children; Charles Floyd, Gloriana, Nancy, and Catharine. On May 29, 1824, Major General T. Thomas died. Purchase College (SUNY) in Purchase, NY, was originally the Thomas's 500 acre estate and working farm. General Thomas Thomas's father was John Thomas, who gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in New York at the White Plains courthouse on July 11, 1776. Thomas and Catherine are buried in the family graveyard located behind Neuberger Museum of Art on the campus. John Thomas was imprisoned in New York City by the British in 1776 and died a prisoner. Thomas Thomas was also captured and shipped across the Sound to an English prison and then back to Flushing, NY. After the war, Thomas, now a General, bought the remaining 1500 acres in The Purchase (Harrison's Purchase) next to his father's estate. Major General Thomas Thomas, a Revolutionary patriot, lived in Purchase, NY. On November 13, 1778, his house was surrendered to the British. He was captured and taken to Long Island, but escaped. He was Harrison's first Supervisor, and the Thomas estate comprised of all the land where the State University and Pepsico are now located. The main house was on what is now Lincoln Avenue, north of Anderson Hill Road, and the Thomas family lived there until the land was sold and subdivided in 1850. Major General Thomas died in 1824 and was buried in the Thomas cemetery behind the Neuberger Museum on the State University campus. The state of New York erected a handsome monolith over his grave. The inscription in part reads: "He assisted in laying foundations of those institutions that are intended to perpetuate the Republic." (source: http://zehrestate.com/post.php?pid=6)

~ Whig ~ Sheriff (1788-1792) ~ State legislator of State of New York (1780-1804) ~ Senator (1805-1808) ~ Colonel of Middle Battalion, Westchester Co.

~ contributed by Kevin, Member #47711744 ~ "A Soldier of the Revolution ~ Tourists wandering about the country near Rye, N. Y. recently found the neglected grave of Maj. Gen. Thomas Thomas of revolutionary fame. It was found in an out-of-the-way place, near the old Rye bridge, on the Boston post road. The grave was so covered with brambles as to be almost hidden from view. The tombstone was so crumbled and broken that it was with difficulty the inscription could be deciphered. The attention of the Westchester County Historical society and of the Sons and Daughters of the Revolution has been called to the neglected grave. He was born in Harrison township in 1755 and died there in 1824. He commanded a regiment in 1776 and participated in the battles of Harlem and White Plains. In the autumn of that year a detachment of the British army burned his home and took his aged father to a prisoner to New York, where he died in the provost jail. After the war, General Thomas served frequently in the state legislature. None of the old residents of Rye know of any living relatives of the dead general." (source: N. Y. World "The Temple Times", Temple, TX, vol. 15, no. 12, ed. 1, Friday, 14 Feb 1896 issue, page 4)

(sources: "Partial Genealogy of the Ferris Family", by Charles Edward Crowell, 1899, pp. 54-56; "A History of the County of Westchester From Its First Settlement to the Present Time", Vol. I, 1848, by Robert Bolton Jr., page 258)

Inscription "Sacred to the memory of Major General Thomas Thomas, who died on the 29th of May, A.D. 1824, in the 79th year of his age. As a soldier of the Revolution of 1776, he aided in achieving the independence of the United States: as a member of the legislature of the State of New York, he assisted in laying the foundation of those institutions that are intended to perpetuate the Republic"

Parents: John Thomas 1707–1777 Abigail Sands Thomas 1708–1782

Siblings: Charity Thomas Ferris 1734–1809 Glorianna Thomas Franklin 1739–1824 Margaret Thomas Wright 1739–1794

Spouse: Catharine Floyd Thomas 1746–1825

Children: Glorianna Thomas 1772–1779 Nancy Thomas 1775–1795 Charles Floyd Thomas 1778–1802

He married, shortly after they received their marriage license on 29 July 1769,^[2] Catherine Floyd who was born 9 May 1745. She was a daughter of Nicoll Floyd and his wife Tabitha Smith (daughter of Jonathan Smith 2nd of Smithtown). ^[3]

Death

Catherine (Floyd) Thomas died a widow on 15 Jan 1825, in her 79th year. Her husband, Major General Thomas Thomas had died 29 May 1824. As their children had predeceased them without issue, their estate went to the heirs of his sister Charity (Thomas) Ferris and her husband James Ferris.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ SAR https://sarpatriots.sar.org/patriot/display/303872 - Patriotic Service Description: WPA Index
2. ↑ New York Colony, Names of Persons for whom Marriage Licenses were Issued by the Secretary of the Province of New York, previous to 1784, (State of New York, 1860, Weed, Parsons.), pp. 138 & 388, citing xv, p. 38 in original
3. ↑ Long Island Source Records - The Town Records of Smithtown, L.I. (Nicoll Floyd's Children) https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/48331/images/LongIslandSrcRec-002325-470?clickref=1011lw9HAwfo&adref=&o_xid=01011l4xx5&o_lid=01011l4xx5&o_sch=Affiliate%2BExternal&pId=296069
4. ↑ Pelletreau, William S. Early Wills of Westchester County, New York, from 1664 to 1784. A careful abstract . . ., , p. 330

• Appletons' Cyclopedia of American Biography; Volume: Vol. VI
• Names of Persons for whom Marriage Licenses were Issued by the Secretary of the Province of New York, Previous to 1784. State of New York, 1860.
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/89116725/thomas-thomas: accessed 03 September 2022), memorial page for MG Thomas Thomas (17 Jun 1745–29 May 1824), Find a Grave Memorial ID 89116725, citing Thomas Family Cemetery, Harrison, Westchester County, New York, USA; Maintained by Allison (contributor 47066078) .
• Profile created as part of the 1776 project. Meehan-411 2 Sep 2022