Name: John
THOMAS
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Birth: abt 1778 York Co., Pennsylvania
Death: bet 1840-1850 Ohio
John THOMAS
(abt 1792 - ) & Rebecca PACKER (abt 1796 - abt 1879)
Sarah THOMAS (6
Feb 1815 - 20 Dec 1895) & David MYERS (18 Aug 1809 - 12 Sep 1876)
Laura Etta
MYERS (4 Jul 1853 - 28 May 1902) & Cyrus WALKER (7 Jan 1847 - Sep 1926)
Everett
Elmer WALKER (6 Feb 1882 - 1948) & Linnie Ellen MACHLAN (30 Sep 1884 - 7
May 1974)
Elsie Maureen WALKER (20 Nov
1903 - 12 Mar 1983) & Leo Newton COFFEY (1901 - 1998)
Fred Coffey
Misc. Notes
NOTE: I can
find all sorts of different ideas about the birth date (1778 or 1792) for John
Thomas, and different ideas about his ancestry. So far I am not convinced by
any of them. I am, however, more confident about who he married. Therefore much
of the info for this person relates to findings about his wife, Rebecca PACKER.
See notes below.
Marriage: 26 Mar 1812
Spouse: Rebecca
PACKER
Birth: abt 1796 Warrington Twp., York, PA
Death: abt 1879 Oskaloosa, Mahasca, Iowa
Burial: Friends
Cemetery
Father: John PACKER (1772-1852)
Mother: Katherine ESTEP (~1774-1841)
Other
spouses: ? POUND
Misc. Notes
THE CHILDREN, THE MOVES:
Four
children were born in York Co., PA, one of whom died young. They apparently
moved to Ohio in about 1820. All of the remaining children were born in
Columbiana County, Ohio. (Some sources say Mahoning County for the last 3
children, but Mahoning was formed from Columbiana and did not exist at the time
the children were born.)
1830 CENSUS, OHIO, COLUMBIANA CO.,
ELKRUN TWP:
A John
Thomas is found, with exactly the right count and ages on the children. John is
age 50-60 (therefore he must have been born between 1770 and 1780). Rebecca is
age 30-40, consistent with 1796 birth. Living at home are sons Nathan, John and
Newton. Also there are daughters Sarah, Eliza, Hannah, and Susanna. (Sarah is
our ancestor, she got married in 1832.)
1840 CENSUS, OHIO, PORTAGE COUNTY:
(Portage
County is very near Columbiana, and all the children have been born by this
time.) There are two families in this county with adult ages exactly consistent
with the 1830 census, and headed by a "John Thomas". The children of
each family are also pretty much consistent, depending on how many of the adult
children might still be living at home. Also I can't find any families headed
by Rebecca, nor any families headed by their children, so I conclude there is a
very high probability that John Thomas is still alive and heading one of the
two possible families.
1850 CENSIS, OHIO, PORTAGE CO.,
ATWATER TWP:
Finally, we
have a census that names everybody in each family! Rebecca THOMAS, age 56, is
found living in the home of her son, Newton. She was born in PA. Newton is age
29, a farmer, born in Ohio, with real estate worth $800. His wife is Ann, age
21, born in Ohio. Their son is Charles, age 1, born in Ohio. Also living in the
household is Lavina, age 13, who would be Rebecca's youngest daughter.
GENEALOGY FOR SON ELI:
I found a
genealogy for son Eli, born 13 July 1832 in Columbiana County, OH, which
offered some clues about the family movements. Possible new info on the parents
says father John Thomas was born in 1778, and that is entirely consistent with
the above census and I have adopted that date. Also says his mother's full name
was "Rebecca Jane PACKER", and she was born in 1794. Eli was married
in 1855. He and his wife Martha had two children in Kosciusko Co., IN, then had
a 3rd child born in 1861 in Decatur County, IA. They then returned
to Kosciusko Co., IN, where 4 more children were born.
1860 CENSUS REPORTS – OHIO AND
IOWA:
Newton
Thomas is still in Portage Co., OH, in 1860, with son Charles and a new wife
but no Rebecca. However son Eli was in Decatur Co., Franklin Twp., IA.
On the previous page there is a "Rebecca Pount", exactly right age
and birth place, who is married to a David Pount, age 70, born NJ, farmer.
Given that Rebecca is reported to have re-married to a "Pound", this
is probably a misspelling and we have found the correct Rebecca.
(There is
also, in Decatur County, a Lavina Davis born in Ohio age 23, exactly the right
name and age to be Rebecca's daughter Lavina. She is married to Sylvester Davis
age 23. who was also born in Ohio. I think there is a good probability that
this is the right connection, and that several members of the family
moved to Decatur County between 1850 and 1860.)
A report was found that Rebecca married John Thomas, then later married (David?) Pound. Source says "There were children born to the second marriage, names unknown, who lived in Nebraska." I don't believe the "children" part, because Rebecca would have clearly been much too old. However I did find the following, which is quite convincing about the "Nebraska" Connection:
1870 CENSUS, NEBRASKA, OTOE CO.,
SYRACUSE PCT:
Found R.
Pound married to D. Pound, each with exactly the right ages and birth places.
David is age 80 and born in NJ, and Rebecca is age 76 born in PA Most
important, their next-door neighbor is very clearly Eli Thomas, Rebecca's
youngest son, and his family.
Report:
Rebecca Thomas Pound died at age 83 in Oskaloosa, Mahasca Co, Iowa. Buried Friends Cemetery.
Children
John THOMAS (abt 1792 - ) & Rebecca PACKER (abt 1796 -
abt 1879)
Nathan THOMAS (15
May 1813 - )
Sarah THOMAS (6
Feb 1815 - 20 Dec 1895) & David MYERS (18 Aug 1809 - 12 Sep 1876)
John THOMAS (3 May
1817 - 6 Aug 1818)
John THOMAS (21
Jan 1819 - )
Newton THOMAS (18
Jun 1822 - 1898)
Eliza THOMAS (13
Feb 1823 - )
Hannah THOMAS (25
Nov 1825 - 7 Nov 1827)
Susanna THOMAS (16
Sep 1827 - 19 Aug 1831)
Jane THOMAS (21
Aug 1830 - )
Eli THOMAS (13 Jul
1832 – 8 Feb 1908)
Katherine THOMAS
(27 Aug 1834 - )
Lavina THOMAS (5 Mar 1837 - )
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