The Thomas Families of Lyon County, Minnesota

BENJAMIN F. THOMAS (1871) is the proprietor of a confectionery, cigar and notion store at Garvin and is one of Lyon county's oldest settlers, having made settlement in Custer township forty-one years ago. In the early days he played an important part in the affairs of his community.

Mr. Thomas was born in Allegany county, Maryland, September 24, 1847, and spent the first thirteen years of his life in his native state. He came West with the family in 1860 and lived one year in Columbia county, Wisconsin. In 1861 he went with the family to La Crosse county, Wisconsin; in 1863 to Rock Island county, Illinois; in 1868 to Boone county, Iowa; in 1870 to Blue Earth county, Minnesota; and in 1871 to Lyon county.

The Thomas family made the trip to Lyon county with ox teams, and settlement was made on section 4, Custer township. The father took as a homestead claim the northeast quarter of the section and our subject the southeast quarter. A log house, with shake roof and luncheon floor, was built on the place and in that the family lived for some time. No railroad had yet penetrated the county, and during the first winter Benjamin Thomas made five trips by ox team to Lake Crystal to bring in material and supplies.

Mr. Thomas farmer the homestead until 1884. Then he gave up farming and located at Minnesota Lake, where for two years he bought grain for Hodges & Hyde. He then located at Hankinson, North Dakota, and for many years was employed as a grain buyer. He returned to Lyon county in 1901 and for two years conducted his farm. Mr. Thomas then became a resident of Garvin. He managed the Sleepy Eye elevator at that point a year and a half and then bought and shipped stock for a year or two. He established his present business in 1907.

In 1876 Mr. Thomas circulated a petition asking for the right to organize the township in which he lived, under the name of Reno, in honor of the general in charge of the forces against the Indians in Montana. Before the required permission was granted, however, the Custer massacre had occurred and the township was named in honor of General Custer, whose life had been sacrificed a few months before. Mr. Thomas was the first clerk of Custer township and served several terms. He is a member of the Masonic lodge.

The parents of Benjamin Thomas were two of the best known residents of southern Lyon county. They were Benjamin and Catherine (Jones) Thomas, natives of Wales, who came to America at the ages of nineteen and twelve years, respectively. They were married in Allegany county, Maryland, and there all their children, excepting Ruth, were born. Both parents died on the Custer homestead, the father in 1884, the mother in 1892. The children of the family are Mrs. William Hughes, of Garvin; Ann (Mrs. Richard Hughes), deceased; Benjamin, of this biography; James J., of Tracy; Ruth (Mrs. Rees Price), of Tracy; and Joseph B., of Garvin.

Our subject was married in Custer town: ship to Loretta Delong. She was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, and died March 7, 1897, at the age of thirty-eight years. Mr. Thomas has three children: Edgar, who is engaged in railroad work in the West; Harvey, of Wells, Minnesota; and Hattie, who attends school at Wells.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

JAMES J. THOMAS (1871), who now lives a retired life in Tracy, is one of the very oldest of the settlers of southeastern Lyon county. He came when a boy thirteen years old, forty-one years ago, and has spent the best part of his life as a resident of Lyon county. He has seen the country develop from a wild and almost uninhabited prairie to one of the most prosperous communities of Minnesota.

In the county of Allegany, Maryland, on the twenty-seventh day. of May, 1858, James J. Thomas was born. When a child he was taken by his parents to Wisconsin, lived there a short time, and thereafter lived a few years respectively in Rock Island county, Illinois, and Blue Earth county, Minnesota. In the spring of 1871 the family came to Lyon county and the father purchased from Zibe Ferguson a homestead claim on section 4, Custer township.

At the time of the arrival of the Thomas family there were only ten or twelve families in the vicinity, on the Cottonwood river. Among them were James Mitchell, Sr., Charles Grover, Lafayette Grover, George Robinson, Ogan Johnson, Clark Goodrich, Landy Soward, John Avery, Henry Masters, Charles Dailey and Horace Randall. On the Thomas claim was a rude log shanty. Lumber was hauled from Mankato with ox teams and an addition was made and the shanty otherwise improved. This served as the family home until a modern building was erected in 1892.

James Thomas spent his early days on the claim. From 1880 to 1883 he was located in the western territories; then he returned and took the management of the home farm. which he and his brother Joseph had purchased. They later added to their holdings by purchase until they have a farm of 560 acres. Mr. Thomas remained on the old farm until 1910, when he retired from active pursuits and located in Tracy.

Olive A. Olson, a native of Wisconsin, became the wife of Mr. Thomas, the ceremony having been performed in Sodus township on August 16, 1893. Mrs. Thomas is the daughter of Tollef Olson, one of the early settlers of Sodus township and now a resident of Balaton. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have two children, Grace and Lloyd.

Benjamin B. Thomas was the father of James Thomas. He was born in Wales and came to the United States when eighteen years of age. He married Catherine Jones, who was also born in Wales and who.came to America at the age of eight years. Both died on the Custer township farm. The children of this family are as follows: Margaret Hughes, of Garvin; Fen'F., of Garvin; Ruth (Mrs.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

THEODORE M. THOMAS (1874), proprietor of the Rexall drug store, of Marshall, is a native of Lyon county, having been born in Grandview township July 9, 1874. His parents were Jacob and Clara (Baldwin) Thomas, who were among the earliest settlers of Lyon county.

Jacob Thomas was born in Elmira. New York, and his wife in Warren, Pennsylvania. They came to Lyon county in 187:.'. before the railroad was built to the county, and they hauled their supplies from Redwood Falls. Homesteading in Grandview township, they lived the first winter in the usual sod shanty, and the next year Mr. Thomas assisted in making the survey for the Northwestern railroad. The family resided on the farm until 1890, when they located in Cottonwood and Mr. Thomas engaged in the drug business with his son. He moved to Sioux Falls in 1907 and died there November 22, 1909, at the age of seventy-one years. Mrs. Thomas died in Cottonwood in 1906. There were seven children in the family, of whom the following three are living: Frank, of Lemon, South Dakota; Mrs. A. M. DeLand, of Watertown. South Dakota; and Theodore M.

The subject of this biography spent the first eighteen years of his life on the farm in Grandview township. He completed his education in the Marshall High School and clerked in the drug store of W. W. Salisbury. He took a course in the Minneapolis School of Pharmacy and during the next four years was employed as a pharmacist in the West Hotel drug store. He then located in Wood Lake, Minnesota, where he conducted a drug store six* years. Mr. Thomas returned to Marshall in 1907 and established his present business in the Dibble Block. He carries a complete line of drugs and specialties.and gives special attention to prescription work. He also handles cigars, tobacco, ice cream and soda.

Mr. Thomas was married at Cottonwood September 18, 1901, to Jean Lowe. She is a native of Lyon county and the daughter of George Lowe, a pioneer settler. Mr. Thomas is a member of the Masonic. Eastern Star, K. P. and M. W. A. lodges. For three years he was master of the Wood Le A. F. & A. M. lodge. He has been treasurer of the city of Marshall for the past three years.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.