John Franklin Thomas, (Maj. Gen., KY militia)

John Franklin Thomas, (Maj. Gen., KY militia)

Male 1763 - 1838  (75 years)

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  • Name John Franklin Thomas 
    Suffix (Maj. Gen., KY militia) 
    Born 10 Apr 1763  Georges Creek, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • While "Georges Creek" is often cited as a part of "Fayette County," Paul E. Williams points out that "'Fayette County, Pennsylvania 1763'" is not accurate, since "'Fayette County' was created on September 26, 1783, from part of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania."
    Gender Male 
    Died 16 Oct 1838  Terra Haute, Vigo County, Indiana, U.S.A. Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Buried Old Brown Cemetery, Blackhawk, Vigo County, Indiana, U.S.A. Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 
    • Otis M. Mather, "Six Generations of LaRues and Allied Families," (Hodgenville, KY, 1921):

      "Children of Susanna Thomas and John Thomas (possibly incomplete [sic]:

      Isaac, m. Polly Watts 1809; Robert Hodgen b. 25 Sep 1789 d. 10 Sep 1878 m. Letitia Miller b. 11 Sep 1793 d. 9 Apr 1865; Henry m. Sally Thomas 'He and three or four brothers moved to Illinois not far from Terra Haute IN.'; Hardin m. 3 Jun 1821 Sarah LaRue; Owen 'Located in Vigo County IN at an early day'; Joseph 'probably went to Illinois'; Hezekiah m. 1826 Lucretia Thomas."

    • http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/th/read/THOMAS/2012-06/1339902186

      From "Candy Wagner":

      "General John Thomas, b April 10 1763, son of Owen Thomas b. 1731 and Mary Hardin. According to 'Six Generations of Larues and Allied Families,' p. 134, he lived in Vigo County, Indiana, where he moved after retiring from the service. . . .

      When Gen. John Thomas applied for his pension he stated that he was born April 10, 1763, in Frederick County, VA; that his father moved from Virginia to Pennsylvania when he was eight years old; that he lived there until he entered the service under Gen. Clark in 1781. He also states that their place of residence in Pennsylvania was Fayette County. Served as a Captain in the Revolutionary Army, entered the War of 1812 as such and became Major in a battalion of mounted volunteers attached to Colonel William Russell's regiment of U.S. regulars. He was later Lieutenant Colonel of the Second Regiment of Mounted Volunteers. Rose to Major General in the War of 1812 (the same rank as held by Andrew Jackson) was one of four major generals of the Kentucky Militia. The other three were: Gen. William Henry Harrison, Gen. Joseph Desha, and Gen. William Henry. ('Kentucky in the War of 1812,' A.C. Quisenberry, p. 177.)

      John Thomas patented the lands on Green River in Kentucky, as early as the year 1786, and was a resident of that state until his second marriage in 1831, when he moved to Indiana where he remained until his death. After the death of Susannah Hodgen, General Thomas married her widowed half-sister, Rebecca Hodgen Keith. ('Six Generations of Larues and Allied Families,' p. 133.) . . .

      See 'Two Centuries in Elizabethtown and Hardin County Kentucky,' by McClure, page 105.

      Mr. Charles W. Keith (son of Rebecca Hodgen Keith Thomas) states in his booklet 'The Keith Family':

      'About the first I remember was when I saw my mother and her second husband Gen. John Thomas coming home on horseback after their marriage. We lived in Floyd County, Indiana, near a creek called Indian Creek, five miles west of New Albany. Some time after their marriage, my step-father moved the family to Washington County, Indiana, and after living there a couple of years he moved to Vigo County, Indiana, within nine miles of Terre Haute, and settled on the farm of his son, Owen Thomas, and lived on this farm until his death, which was caused by a rose cancer, which destroyed one whole side of his face.'

      'WHO WAS WHO IN HARDIN COUNTY':

      (last paragraph of the bio of General John THOMAS)

      'Besides his son, Owen, General THOMAS had children (by his first wife):

      Isaac, married Polly WATTS;
      Robert Hodgen, married Letitia MILLER;
      Henry, married Sally THOMAS;
      Hardin, married Sarah LARUE;
      Joseph, went to Illinois;
      Hezekiah, married Lucretia THOMAS.'"

    • H. C. Bradsby, "History of Vigo County, Indiana," (Chicago: S. B. Nelson, 1891), p. 956:

      "ALFRED G. THOMAS, farmer and stock-grower, Sugar Creek township, P. O. Macksville, was born May 16, 1824, in Hardin county, Ky., and is a son of Isaac and Mary (Watts) Thomas, natives of Kentucky and of Welsh and Irish descent, former of whom was a tanner and farmer. They came to this county November 16, 1829. The family consisted of eight daughters and five sons, Alfred G. being the third son. He was reared in this county, where he obtained his schooling, and spent his childhood and youth on the farm. Our subject is a regular graduate of the old-fashioned log school-house, and the school which he attended for a time then stood where Centerville now is. There his father farmed and carried on a tanyard for years, but his parents subsequently moved to Harrison township, this county, where Alfred G. also attended school.

      He learned the cooper's trade, which he followed for about thirty years in Harrison township. In 1875 he bought a farm; since when he has devoted most of his time to farming and stock growing. He is now the owner of a well-improved farm in Sugar Creek township, where he resides. . . .

      He has been twice married, the first time to Miss Martha, daughter of Joseph Giesham, and of German descent. Of this union there were six children (five now living): Alva Curtis, Charles, H.F., Mary (wife of G.W. Shank), Ralph L., Nellie (wife of William Murphy).

      Martha Thomas died in 1867, and Mr. Thomas married in 1868, the widow of D.S. Jenks. They have two children: William B. Jenks, and Olive (married M.A. Murphy). Mrs. Thomas is the daughter of Edward and Martha (Meadows) Braden, and of German descent. She is a member of the Methodist Church; Mr. Thomas of the Baptist and in politics, a Republican.

      He is a grandson of General John Thomas, a general in the War of 1812, and who has nine sons, all of whom were soldiers in that war. . . ."

    • Anderson Chenault Quisenberry, "Kentucky in the War of 1812" (Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1969), Ch. 10, "The Battle of New Orleans," pp. 134-149:

      "On October 14th, 1814, Kentucky Governor Shelby issued a call for men for the New Orleans campaign, and under that call three regiments of Kentucky Detached Militia were brought into the field and organized for that campaign, namely:

      1. Slaughter's Regiment...
      2. Gray's Regiment, organized November 10, 1814, and commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Presley Gray, who resigned and was succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel John Davis. The Majors were James Johnson, William Walker and Zeba Holt. The regiment had ten companies, with a total strength of seven hundred and twenty-one officers and enlisted men.
      3. Mitchusson's Regiment...

      These troops were commanded by Major General John Thomas, with Brigadier General John Adair as his Adjutant General. The total strength of the Kentucky militia raised for the New Orleans campaign was two thousand two hundred and fifty-six. To these must be added the officers and men of the Seventh Regiment of United States Infantry (who were recruited in Kentucky), at that time four hundred and sixty-five strong, bringing the grand total of Kentucky troops up to two thousand seven hundred and twenty-one. Of these troops sixteen hundred and forty were on the firing line, and engaged in the Battle of New Orleans. One thousand and eighty-one of the Kentucky militia did not take part in the battle because they could not be furnished with arms."

    • http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=thomaswilene&id=I0126

      "Land Office Military Certificates, catalog card, The Library of Virginia:

      JOHN THOMAS, Captain, Virginia Continental Line. Military certificate number LO 6755. Original Documents, Box 187, 24 (3 items). Available on microfilm; Virginia Land Office; Military Certificates, reels 1-38.
      JOHN THOMAS, Captain, Virginia Continental Line. Military certificate number LO 9820. Original Documents, Box 187, 25 (2 items). Available on microfilm; Virginia Land Office; Military Certificates, reels 1-38.
      JOHN THOMAS, Captain, Virginia Continental Line. Military certificate number LO 4071. Original Documents, Box 187, 26 (1 item). Available on microfilm; Virginia Land Office; Military Certificates, reels 1-38.

      Background: After examining and approving documentation of Revolutionary War military service, the governor issued a certificate on which the Land Office register subsequently issued a warrant for bounty lands. The certificates are printed forms filled in with the name of the individual, his rank, whether he served in a state or a continental line unit, and the length of such service. The original certificates are dated, signed, and filed in individual folders along with any supplemental papers presented with the claim other than those actually proving military service. The certificates were numbered 1-9926 and cover the period July 14, 1782 - August 5, 1876. Note: The Land Office military certificates (RG #4 -- Virginia; Land Office; Register and Entry 86 in the Virginia Land Office Inventory) are housed in the Archives of the Library of Virginia."
    Person ID I35995  Complete
    Last Modified 30 Aug 2015 

    Father Owen Thomas,   b. Abt. 1730, Virginia or Pennsylvania Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 13 Jan 1815, New Orleans, Orleans County, Louisiana, U.S.A. Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 85 years) 
    Mother Mary Hardin,   b. Abt. 1735, Georges Creek, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Abt. 1805, Washington County, Kentucky, U.S.A. Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 70 years) 
    Married Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • U.S. & International Marriages, 1560-1900: "Mary Hardin b, Abt. 1733 & Owen Thomas b. Abt. 1731 Virginia, m. [no date] of Kentucky."
    Family ID F18044829  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Susannah Hodgen,   b. 3 Oct 1767, Pennsylvania Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Abt. 1831  (Age 63 years) 
    Married 27 Apr 1786  Nelson County, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Kentucky Marriages, 1802-1850: "John Thomas & Susanna [sic] Hodgen, 27 Apr 1786, Nelson County."
    Children 
    +1. Isaac Thomas,   b. Abt. 1787, Frederick County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bet. 1850-1860, Bond County, Illinois, U.S.A. Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 73 years)
    +2. Robert Hodgen Thomas,   b. 25 Sep 1789, Frederick County, Virginia, U.S.A. Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 10 Sep 1878, Larue County, Kentucky, U.S.A. Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 88 years)
     3. Henry Thomas,   b. Abt. 1795
    +4. Owen Thomas,   b. Abt. 1796, Hodgenville, Larue County, Kentucky, U.S.A. Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 10 Apr 1878, Larue County, Kentucky, U.S.A. Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 82 years)
     5. Hardin Thomas,   b. Abt. 1797, Hardin County, Kentucky, U.S.A. Find all individuals with events at this location
     6. Joseph Thomas,   b. Abt. 1798, Kentucky, U.S.A. Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Illinois, U.S.A. Find all individuals with events at this location
    +7. Hezekiah Thomas,   b. 8 May 1799, Kentucky, U.S.A. Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 4 Jan 1875, Pleasant Hill, Cass County, Missouri, U.S.A. Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 75 years)
    Last Modified 4 Oct 2014 
    Family ID F18041954  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 2 Rebecca Hodgen,   b. 4 Nov 1784, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Married 11 Aug 1831  Floyd County, Indiana, U.S.A. Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Ancestry.com: "'Two Centuries in Elizabethtown and Hardin County, Kentucky 1776 - 1976,' p. 186." This citation does not provide the county & state in which the marriage took place.

      Indiana Marriages, 1800-1941: "John Thomas & Rebecca Keith, m. 11 Aug 1831 Floyd County."
    Last Modified 7 Oct 2013 
    Family ID F18041958  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - 10 Apr 1763 - Georges Creek, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarried - 27 Apr 1786 - Nelson County, Kentucky Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarried - 11 Aug 1831 - Floyd County, Indiana, U.S.A. Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - 16 Oct 1838 - Terra Haute, Vigo County, Indiana, U.S.A. Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBuried - - Old Brown Cemetery, Blackhawk, Vigo County, Indiana, U.S.A. Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Documents
    Robert Hodgen (1742- )
    Robert Hodgen (1742- )

    Excerpt from Arthur Leslie Keith, "Notes on Larue, Hodgen, Keith . . . and Related Families," William and Mary Quarterly, v. XX (1912), p. 103

    Headstones
    John Thomas (1763-1838)
    John Thomas (1763-1838)

    Find-A-Grave:

    Old Brown Cemetery, Blackhawk, Vigo County, IN