Benjamin C. Thomas- Pickens County, Alabama
Tristram Shandy Thomas,-Wythe County, Virginia, Montgomery County, Tennessee, and Pickens County, Alabama
George Thomas-Richmond County, North Carolina, Logan County, Kentucky, Montgomery County, Tennessee, Tuscaloosa, Jefferson and Pickens County, Alabama
By Judith Thomas Voran
© 2005 All rights reserved
 

 
Occasionally in the search for an ancestor you find one who stands out from the steady progression of farmers, craftsmen, tradesmen, churchmen, pillars of society.  Such a man is B. C. or Benjamin C(other) Thomas who, I believe, was my great grandfather. From evidence that will be documented below, it appears that B. C. Thomas may fall into the category of a “scalawag.”  Working to document his life and ancestry provided a fascinating glimpse into the world of one Southern family.  The purpose of this paper is to offer sufficient evidence to be able to state that Benjamin C. Thomas of Pickens County Alabama is the son of Tristram S. Thomas of Pickens County; grandson of George Thomas of Richmond County, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Pickens County, Alabama; and great grandson of William “Ram Billy” Thomas of Richmond County, North Carolina and Talbot/Queen Anne’s County Maryland.   The evidence points towards Benjamin having lived all of his life in Pickens County, Alabama, which is a “burned county” west of Birmingham and south of Tuscaloosa, Alabama bordering on the state of Mississippi.  The county courthouse burned, not once, but twice.  Thus, the usual land, probate and other court records are missing.  The evidence for the life and activities of Benjamin C. Thomas that has been accumulated began with a diary entry from my father, and letters from an aunt, and uncle.  There was also a death certificate for Richard Smith Thomas, my grandfather in Dallas County, Texas that listed the name of the father of R. S, Thomas as Benj. C. Thomas, and his mother as Eliza De Molier. [1]
 
Chain of Evidence
 
Because of the detailed explanation in the research below I am going at this point to give an outline of the chain of evidence from my father, Joseph Matthew Thomas, to my 4th gr grandfather, William “Ram Billy Thomas.”  I hope this will help to reduce confusion on the part of the reader.  This chain of evidence includes the DNA testing of two individuals who descend from Tristram Thomas of Talbot County, Maryland – my brother John Thomas and Charles Thomas.   Working backwards:
 

• Judith Thomas Voran and John Mitchell Thomas (brother) to Joseph Matthew Thomas
  
  • Birth certificate; service records for Joseph Matthew Thomas; DNA report for John Mitchell Thomas
    
• Joseph Matthew Thomas to Richard Smith Thomas
  
  • Service records for Joseph Matthew Thomas; census records for 1910, Tarrant County, Texas.
    
• Richard Smith Thomas to Benjamin C. Thomas
  
  • Death certificate for Richard Smith Thomas, Dallas County, Texas; 1860 and 1870 cnesus records Pickens County, Alabama; letter from Ruby Thomas Dalton, sister of Joseph Matthew Thomas and daughter of Richard Smith Thomas
    
• Benjamin C. Thomas to Tristram S. Thomas
  
  • Church records of the Ebenezer Baptist Church of the 1845-47; land records of Benjamin Thomas adjacent to the land of Tristram Thomas; census records in Pickens County 1830 and 1840; letter from Ruby Thomas Dalton, daughter of Richard Smith Thomas and granddaughter of Benjamin C. Thomas; letter from B. C. Thomas, son of Richard Smith Thomas.
    
• Tristram S. Thomas to George Thomas
  
  • Church records of the Ebenezer Baptist Church of the 1850’s; obituary of Tristram Thomas in the Pickens County newspaper.
    
• George Thomas to William “Ram Billy” Thomas
  
  • Deed in Montgomery County, Tennessee in which George Thomas is one of several Thomas brothers and sisters to deed land left to them as legatees of William “Ram Billy” Thomas; obituary of Tristram Thomas linking George Thomas to Tennessee and Kentucky; land sales of George Thomas in Kentucky.
     
    

All the evidence outlined above is given in detail and cited from the original source documents in the text below.
 
First Steps In the Research
 
Responding to an inquiry, the Alabama State Archives sent documentation for the appointment of B. C. Thomas as Judge of Probate of Pickens County. [2]  Photocopies of newspaper account books of The West Alabamian from that same archive yielded accounts for printing for the probate judge’s office during his term and advertisements that he placed for his business as a blacksmith in Carrollton, Alabama. [3]   The text of a letter he had written to Thaddeus Stevens of the Republican Party in the North is reprinted in James Clanahan’s History of Pickens County, 1540-1920. [4] The census records for Pickens County for 1850 through 1870 listed the name of his wife/wives and children. The census records verified family records.  At this time there is no direct primary evidence that connects B. C. Thomas to one of the several Thomas families residing in Pickens County from the 1820’s beyond the 1880’s.  However, indirect evidence taken together leads to the conclusion that Benjamin C. Thomas of Pickens County, Alabama is the son, of Tristram S. Thomas of Pickens County and a grandson of George Thomas and Elizabeth Cother Thomas of Pickens County, Alabama who immigrated from Richmond County, N.C. through Wythe County, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
 
Family Records Benjamin C. Thomas
 
A letter from Ruby Thomas Dalton, oldest daughter of Richard Smith Thomas, gives the first real clue to the identity of Benjamin C. Thomas.[5]  In the letter she states:
 
“My Grandmother Thomas would sit and tell me by the hour about her experiences of the Civil War, And about her childhood, which was equal to ‘Gone With the Wind”.  And I always loved History.   And in those days we had no TV, Radio, or even a Phone, so I had plenty of time to listen.  She was partial to me because I was born on Sept. 15  which was her birthday too. Her name was Jemima De-Molier, but as you can imagine those Southern people could not pronounce it, it boiled down to Marler.  “De-Molier” was pronounced “De-Morlay”.

Truss Thomas, came to America in the early 18th Century, to organize Baptist Churches, He landed in New Orleans, Came up the Mississippi River, to Mobile Alabama, Settled near Tuscaloosa Alabama, bought many acres of bottom land, and many black slaves to work, His crops were mostly cotton, corn and hemp.
He then began organizing Baptist Churches all over the South, He raised a family of 4 sons and one daughter, As follows—
 
GEORGE, Who was a military man,
 
JOHN, Was an Educator, He taught The Cambridge Missippi College.
 
BEN was a lawyer and served as a judge.  He was my Grandfather.
 
BILLY, Was the youngest son, He was killed in the war between the North and the South,
 
HENRETTA, Was the only daughter, She committed suicide, by dwowning herself, She jumped in a Mill Pond withher illigitmate baby in her arms, She had fallen in love with a Yankee soldier, she had been meeing him secretly, The wanted to be married, So the young man came to see her father and asked for her hand in marriage, But the old man took his gun and ran him off and told him he would kill him if he ever set foot on the place again, what the old man did not know was thiat his daughter was pregnant, But of course he found this fact out later, Then he put Henretta down in one of the slave cabins with an old Slave woman to care for her, he refused to speak to her, or allow her to enter “the big House”, So when the child was born, she took it in her arms, Went to a near by Mill Stream and jumped in with her child in her arms, Drowning her self.

BENJAMIN CURTIS THOMAS HISTORY
 

Ben Thomas died just at the close of the Civil War, 1862, He was ill for a long time, He did not fight in the war, he had what was called “consumption” , which is Tubercolosis of the lungs,

After his death, His widow, Jemima, Who was pregnant, Joined a wagon train , which was headed for Texas, With her four sons and one unborn,
She was broke, The Yankee soldiers had stolen every thing she, live stock, feed , etc A carpet Bagger took her home, claimed she didnt have a clear title, and hadn’t paid taxes .

The wagon Train stopped in Ft-Smith Arkansas, to rest and get fresh horses, And for her to have her baby, .
The train left them there in Ft. Smith, as her three older sons found jobs, Matt , the oldest went to work fot The Southern Pacific Railroad Company, who was building the road bed for the tracks, from Abilene , to Houston, Joe and Ben went to work for Saw Mills and Logging Camps, Their mother stayed with Math, along with her 2 youngest sons, Dicak & Sam.  They lived in The Railroad Work car, along with Matthew.

Joe and Ben stayed in Arkansas, never left there, Dick left and went to Texas, when he became old enough, worked on ranches, Fianally found a job as a United States Marshall, and worked at it until he married my mother.  They took what little money they had, with their 2 saddle horses hitched to a covered wagon, went to a place in east or north east Texas , and bought some land, it was near Pecan Gap, near Paris Texas, he paid 1.oo an acre, but it had to be cleared of timber, mostly Mesquiet bushes, So he sent for his mother and Sam to help with the work of the land and planti ng the cotton crop, Ann sent for her sister Dilly to help out in this, She and Sam decided to get Married.  They went back to Arkansas,

Dick and Ann stayed there for several good crops , sold out and moved back to Tarrant County Texas , the PO was Smithfield Texas , did real well fianacally .
Ann died in 1914, Dick died in 1936.
 
BEN THOMAS CHILDREN

Matthew	Ben	Joe	Richard Smith ( Dick )	Sam
Bachelor	Molly	Sally	Ann Eliza  Brown	Dilly  Brown

 
Verifying the Evidence of the Letter
 
Clearly, there were some nuggets of information in the family tradition, but the construct was that of a woman who had heard the stories at her grandmother’s knee some seventy years earlier.  Who knew what “spin” the old grandmother put on the information and whether or not her memory was accurate?  In the letter there were some leads.  Following those leads would involve a great deal of work.
 
The first step was to verify the information for Richard Smith Thomas and Anna Elizabeth Brown Thomas.  The death certificate for Richard Smith Thomas listed his father as Benj. C.  Thomas. . [6]   (Later research proved that the death certificate gave the wrong birthplace and birth of Richard Smith Thomas.) The marriage license for R. S. Thomas and Annie E. Brown and the return are filed in the marriage records in Johnson County, Texas. [7]   Deeds in which R. S. Thomas and his wife Ann (A. E.) bought. [8] and sold [9]   land in Delta County, Texas and Pecan Gap are recorded in the courthouse in Cooper, Texas. R. S. and A. E. Thomas are enumerated in the 1910 census in Tarrant County, Texas with their family of children. [10]
 
Responding to an inquiry, the Alabama State Archives sent a short, typed notice that stated that B. C Thomas was commissioned as Judge of Probate, Pickens County, July 23, 1868. [11] The Archives also supplied a listing of the commission of a Benjamin Thomas as Constable of Pickens County on March 25th 1844. [12]
 
The fact that a B. C. Thomas had been a judge in Pickens County was sufficient reason to focus research activities there. Was B. C. Thomas the Ben Thomas of Ruby Dalton’s letter?  In her letter Ruby Dalton had inserted a section of information on the Benjamin CURTIS Thomas family. However, there was another letter from another family member, a younger brother of Ruby Dalton by the name of B. C. Thomas.  In this letter, dated December 9, 1977 he states:
 
“My sisters always said that Momma named me, and just the initials was my complete name.  My Daddy told me when I was about sixteen years old, that I was named for a great uncle who had lived in New Orleans and was a newspaper  man.  The name he said was Benjamin C Cothe – or Cotha.  Later my oldist [sic] brother who was a grown man when I was born insisted that my name was Ben C. and that there had been a Ben or a Ben C. in nearly every generation in the family since they had been in America… [13]
 
Discounting the statement about the antiquity of the name, there appeared to be enough information given in his statement to hold it in mind during further research on the family. There are a number of instances when an individual in Pickens or Jefferson counties was referred to as Benj. C. or Ben C. or B. C., but never with the middle name spelled completely.  However, there is a relationship of Thomases to another family from which the name represented by the initial “C” can be deduced and which will be addressed later in this article.

Census Records for the Benjamin Thomas of Pickens County, Alabama and Associated Families 

The next step in research was to check the 1850, 1860 and 1870 censuses in Pickens County to determine whether any information there might indicate the identity B. C. Thomas.
 
The 1850 census for Pickens County the first census record for Benjamin C. Thomas. He is listed as Benj. Thomas, a resident of the town of Carrollton, in the household of Mary Hogan.  He is single, his age is 29, his occupation is blacksmith and his financial valuation is $150.  His birthplace is Alabama.  From this it may be deduced that he was born in Alabama about 1821. [14]   M. L. Stansel, a lawyer, heads the household adjacent to the household of Mary Hogan.
 
The Slave Schedule for the 1850 Federal Census lists Mary Hogan with 5 slaves, all female, two of which are fugitives.  The remaining three are 42, 14, and 10. [15]
 
The Slave Schedule for the 1850 Federal Census lists Benjamin Thomas with 2 slaves; [16] one, a male of 38, is fugitive from the state. The remaining slave is a female, age 50.  Interestingly, Benj. Thomas is not listed with Mary Hogan in the Slave Schedule, but is listed in the entry immediately below the entry for T. S. Thomas. [17]
 
The household of a William Marlow, in which a Jemima is enumerated, is in the Southern District of Pickens County in the 1850 Census [18] .  There is no entry for value of property.  The census form indicates that neither the elder Wm nor his wife Sophia could read or write, although the younger children had been to school during the year:

Wm.  Marlow, 53, Male, Farmer	Birthplace: SC
Sophia Marlow, 45 , Female     Housewife	Birthplace: SC
Children were:
Jemima E. Marlow – 20, Female	Birthplace: SC
Lucinda E. Marlow – 17, Female	Birthplace: SC
Daniel B. Marlow – 16, Male	Birthplace: SC
Cissa Marlow – 13 Female	Birthplace: Ala
Wm. H.  Marlow – 9, Male	Birthplace: Ala
Martha J. Marlow – 7, Female	ßBirthplace: Ala
Sarah Marlow – 5, Female	Birthplace: Ala

3 males under 21 [William T., Ben, and Joe]
1 male over 21 Benj. C. [father];
1 female under 21 [?]
2 females over 21.
[The females over 21 must include his wife and one other – perhaps the wife’s mother or a sister.  It would appear that B. C. Thomas married shortly after the 1850 census in order to have three young sons in the household by 1855.] [19]

The 1860 Federal census for Pickens County [20] yields the following information:

Pickens County, AL Southern Division, p. 4. June 1, 1860.
Household # 25

 
The household immediately preceding that of the Benj. Thomas’ household is the household of Sophia Marler. [#f21]   In this household are (no husband):
 

This appears to be the household of William H. Marlow, enumerated in the Southern District in the 1850 Federal census for Pickens County as reported above.  If the two households are compared, Wm. H. Marlow has apparently died.  Sophia is listed as ten years older than reported in 1850, as we should expect. Jemima Marlow is two years younger than the 30 years of age we would expect her to be if the 1850 census age is correct.  However the age in the 1860 census corresponds with her age in the 1910 Federal schedule for Tarrant County, TX. [22] There is no Benjamin Marlow listed in the 1850 census, although he is listed in the 1860 census. In the 1860 census Lucinda, Daniel and Cissa have disappeared as might be expected, since, at 27, 26, and 23 years of age respectively, they could have left home to form their own households.  The ages given for the son Wm. H. Marlow and the daughters Martha and Sarah in the 1860 census are roughly 10 years more than the ages reported in the 1860 census.  All in all, it appears that the elder Wm. H. Marlow has died and the family has moved to a house in Carrollton, perhaps to give the older children an opportunity for employment. This dwelling is next to the household of Benjamin C. Thomas.
 
The name given for her grandmother by Ruby Dalton Thomas in the letter quoted above is Jemima, but note that in the 1860 census, Jemima is living next door to Benjamin C. Thomas who has a wife listed as Elizabeth.
 
The 1866 Alabama state population census [23] reports the following information for Ben Thomas:

Ben Thomas (Twp 21 R 15 W) 2 males under the age of 10 [Richard and Matthew]; 3 males between 10 and 20 [Wm, Ben and Joe]; 1 male over 20 [Benj. C]; 1 female over 20 [Elizabeth].

For Sophia Marler [24] the information:

(Twp 21 R15 W) 1 male over 20; 1 female under 10; 1 female between 10 and 20; 2 females over 20.

The town of Carrolton is located in Twp 21S R15W.
 
The 1870 census reports a Mima Thomas [25] as the head of a household in Carrolton Precinct in Pickens County, AL. B. C. Thomas died in 1868 as reported in an obituary in the West Alabamian. [26] Thus, he is not the head of the household in 1870.  The children as reported in the 1870 census do synchronize with the children reported in the 1860 census.  Information from the 1870 census is as follows:

Summary and Analysis of Census Evidence

1850 Census
 
The first appearance of Benjamin C. Thomas is in the 1850 census where his name is listed as Benj.  He is recorded as a single man, age 29, which would make his birth date about 1821. His birthplace is listed as Alabama. This listing may narrow down the possible candidates for his parents since there were relatively few families in the state of Alabama at that time.  His occupation is listed as blacksmith.  He is living in the household of a 72-year-old woman, Mary Hogan, who was born in Virginia.  From the census list we know his neighbors, one of which was Martin Stansel who lived in the next dwelling. [27]
 
There are several questions that should be asked from the information given on this census.  Why is Benj. living as a single man, apparently as a boarder?  Where did he get the training to be a blacksmith?  Twenty-nine is a fairly old age for an unmarried man.  He did marry very shortly after the time the information on the 1850 census is recorded, but what of his life to that point?  At the time of the 1850 census, there is no information to clarify his marital status.   He may be the Benj. C. Thomas who is listed in a court case in the Chancery Court in Jefferson County in 1839.  In this record, Margaret Seay is recorded as “A new wife of Benj. C. Thomas. [28]   However, if Margaret Seay was the wife of the Benjamin Thomas of Pickens County, then she must have died shortly after the court record was entered since Benj. Thomas was a single man in 1850.
 
 
Where did Benjamin Thomas gain the expertise and experience to become a blacksmith? A William B. Thomas is listed as a blacksmith in the Southern District in Pickens County in the 1850 [29] census and as a gunsmith in the 1860 census [30] .  It is possible that Benj. acquired the skills of a blacksmith from William Thomas?
 
1860 Census
 
In the 1850 census, the household immediately below the household of Benjamin Thomas is that of Martin L. Stansel. This appears to be in the same location as the two households in the 1850 census. Therefore, Benjamin and his family are apparently living in the same place that Benjamin occupied in 1850.  Benjamin Thomas may have purchased the real estate of Mary Hogan and simply stayed in the same location from 1850 to 1860.  However, in 1850 Mary Hogan may have been renting this property and Benjamin Thomas may have been renting it in 1860 since there is an entry in a book of transcribed Pickens County newspapers that state:

" Administrative Sale.  On the estate of John R. Cole lots #23 and 24 in Carrollton on which Dr. R. R. Osborne and B. Thomas reside will be sold at public auction." [31]

John R. Cole, who died in June 1859, was the son-in-law of George Thomas.  He was also the executor of George Thomas' estate. [32]   It may be that George Thomas was the original owner of the lots and left those two lots to John R. Cole in his will.  George Thomas may have rented the lots for income; it would be a convenient place for his grandson B. C. Thomas to set up his blacksmith shop.  B. C. Thomas may have purchased the lot he and his family lived on at the auction, since he is still in the Carrollton township in the 1866 Alabama state census.
 
In 1860, Benj.’s occupation is still blacksmith.  His age is listed as 36 in this census.  If this age is the correct age, rather than the age of 29 recorded in the 1850 census, then Benj. was born in 1824.  By this time, Benj. had a wife and four male children.  He appears to have been married shortly after the1850 census was taken, for in the 1860 census his oldest son is listed as 9 years of age.
 
Benjamin’s wife is listed as an Elizabeth, age 28, born in South Carolina and specifically listed as a “Housewife”.  Interestingly, the neighbors in the household immediately preceding the Thomas household are Sophia Marler and her children. The oldest of these children was an unmarried daughter, Jemima E., age 28, born in South Carolina whose occupation is listed as a “domestic” [33] .  In Ruby Dalton’s letter quoted above [34] , Ms. Dalton states that her grandmother’s name was Jemima E., although the name for Benj. C. Thomas’s wife on the death certificate was Eliza DeMolier.  Another sister of the Ruby Thomas Dalton supplied this name for the death certificate. [35] In all the times that I talked with family members, no one ever hinted that Jemima E. [Marler] Thomas might not be the mother of all of the sons of Benj. Thomas. As stated previously, Jemima was living with one of the sons, Richard Smith Thomas, grandfather of the author at the time of the 1910 census [36] and had probably been living with her son’s family since the time of that marriage in 1884. [37] Apparently, her story was that she, Eliza DeMolier, was the mother of all of Benjamin C. Thomas’ sons and her stepson never corrected her version.
 
Elizabeth Thomas, Second Wife of Benjamin C. Thomas
 
Who was Elizabeth Thomas, wife of Benjamin Thomas in the 1860 census?  Benjamin was single in the 1850 census, but must have married very soon after the census taker came to the door in September of 1850 because his oldest son, William T., is listed as nine years of age in the 1860 census.  Because Benjamin must have married very soon after the 1850 census enumerator recorded his information, it is almost certain that Elizabeth was living in the town of Carrollton at the time.  Looking at the enumerations in Carrollton for the 1850 census, four houses preceding that of T. S. Thomas, and one page over [p.4]from the household in which Benjamin Thomas is living [p.3] is the household of Rebecca Rooker, presumably a widow born S. C., who had a daughter, Elizabeth Rooker, 19 years old. Elizabeth was born in South Carolina. [38]   The information about this Elizabeth fits the information for the wife of Benjamin C. Thomas as given in the 1860 census. [39] Her proximity to Benjamin Thomas at the appropriate time appears to support the premise that this is the Elizabeth who was Benjamin’s wife and the mother of at least five of his six sons, including Richard Smith Thomas.
 
In the 1866 census the Sophia Marler household includes two females listed as being over the age of 20.  One would be Sophia and one could be one of three girls – Jemima, Sophia (daughter), or Martha [40] .  In the 1866 census there is a female over the age of 20 in the Benj. Thomas household and five male children [41] . Matthew’s age in the 1870 census suggests a birthdate of  1864 [42] .  If Elizabeth is the mother of Matthew then she may have died between 1864 and 1866, and Benj. married Jemima before the census. On the other hand, Elizabeth may have died after 1866 and Jemima may have married Benj. sometime before his death in 1868 – therefore she is most likely the mother of Sam who was born in 1869.  Because of the destruction of the county records by fire there are no county records to document either marriage.

In the 1860 census Rebecca Rooker appears to be living with in the household of F. T. Scott. Elizabeth Scott, age 75 might be a widowed sister since Elizabeth was born in S.C. as well in Noxubee County MS. [District 2, Noxubee, Mississippi Cooksville PO National Archives Roll: M653_588 Page: 14 Year: 1860 Head of Household: F T Scott.}
 
1870 Census
 
By the time of the 1870 census, Benj. Thomas has died and Mima (Jemima) is the head of the household. Therefore, Elizabeth has most certainly died by that time [43] Two additional male children are listed.   The older children are listed as farm hands and the male heads of households who are their neighbors are listed as “Farming”.  From that information and from notations in account books detailed below in which disbursements are made to B. C. or Ben Thomas for “beef”, “tripe”, or “beef & tripe”, we might conclude that between 1860 and 1870, at least, Benj. Thomas had some land and was raising a few cattle to supply beef.   In the discussion on Thomas land holdings below, it will be seen that a Benjamin Thomas did hold two 40 acre parcels of land in different sections of Pickens county.
 
Other Documents Which Relate to B. C. Thomas
 
The following items were found in a visit to the Alabama Archives in 1980:
 
From the “Alabamian” “Collection and Account Books”, Alabamian, 1867: . [44]

A. Henry to Alabamian office October, 1867

 
From the “Alabamian” “Collection and Account Books”, Alabamian, 1868 [45]

Political Activities of Benjamin C. Thomas
 
In the Alabamian  (undated) sometime between 1867 and 1868: A letter from M. B. C. requesting the names of the “sixty-nine” men who had voted for the Alabama state constitution.  Among the names listed by the newspaper at the end of the reprinted letter were B. C.Thomas, R. R. Bogle, Henry Thomas, and William Waddle. [46]
 
From The History of Pickens County, Alabama 1540-1920 by James F. Clanahan:. [47]

The man picked by the radicals to replace Judge Nabers as Judge of Probate was Mr. B. C. Thomas.  The radical republicans  claiming to have elected him in April, 1868.  He took office as stated before in August 13, 1868.
     There is little information available on the background of Judge Thomas.  During the 1850's he operated a blacksmith shop in Carrollton.  It was located on Pine Street on the corner opposite the Wier home.  As to the qualifications of Judge Thomas the writer of this history will leave it to the individual reader to come to his own conclusions.
     Below, is, as near as may be, the verbatim contents of a letter picked up on the streets of Columbus, Mississippi, a few days after its date and returned to the proper people in Pickens County.  Since he distrusted the rebel-filled Post Office it was assumed that he employed one of his black emissaries to take the letter to Columbus to be assured of its reaching the Chief Priest of their party in Washington, D. C., the Honorable Thaddeus Sevens, congressman from the State of Pennsylvania.  It is further supposed that the hired messenger probably fell under the influence of whiskey and lost the precious document.  Regardless of the circumstances leading up to the finding of the letter, it was captured.  To-wit:
                    Carrollton, Alabama
                     March 15, 1868
     Honorable Thaddeus Stevens:
     Dear Sir:
     "As you well know, we have no Representative in your Honorable body, we take the responsibility of addressing you.  As I understand the Constitution, it promises us protection of Life, Liberty, and the pursuits of happiness.  We are destitute of all these.  When I say we are the Union Republican Party, (Equal rights and universal suffrage).  We cannot vote without alsorts threats to intimidate -- a perfect Rule of terror as was in sixty-four.  Our courts are mocks, all of the offices are full Rebels,  Freed men are shot with impunity, all go off as Justified Homicide.  A grate may disappear misteriously, dround or disposed otherwise.  We have some five hundred Republicans white men.  Only sixty seven voted in the last election of the constitution, from the fear of being ill treated by the Rebs.  I talked to them, and find this to be so.  We rote for trupes.  None come and in counties where they ware doin good.  Either put us under strict military rule or turn us lose and give us a rite to defend ourselves.
     I will make some suggestions.  Be certain to Impeach Jonson and Receive Alabama in the Union, and thene the worke is finished. And give us some good military officer to stay with us until we are properly organized.  You need not fier Alabama.  She is Republican by at least forty thousand.  Give confidence that you will protect her and give her her Constitution, and then we can manage the Rest Ourselves.  I am confident the State is in favor of Impeachment by a majority of forty thousand.
     Our post offices stocked against us, fild with Rebs.  We have no chance to write in safety to you.  This may reach you but I am doubtful.
     I cold write pages of in Relation to matters and things.  As I expect you have been informed by more suitible writers than I, I will desist, and worey you no further.  These are facts and true statements and worthy of consideration, although pend in an awkward manner.
     The salvation of our Gloryous union, depends on the Impeachment of A. Johnson, Presdient of the United States.
     I will Recommend myself by saying that I am President of what is cauld the union League of America, at Carrollton.  Our strenth is six hundred.  That is why I say the country is Republican by Eight hundred majority for our president in the next election.  If there is mutch morbaffin in this Reconstruction it will hurt the party as some tender toed persons will slide over from various causes,  Some for Bid from threts and fear that we will not sceede, and at last fall into the hand of this murcyless party, (who) publicly say that never mind, we will get the uper hand and then wo be unto you.  I have heard this expression.
     I will bring this to a close by saying we have confidence in your untiring ability and skill, and will expect Some Relief.  I (am) a native of Alabama, and love her name, also, the star spangled Banner.
     My letter is badly Rote.  Excuse me. this is my first attempt to address you Honor.  My name represents Eighteen hundred voters, in my official capacity.
                    Your most Ob't sv't
          B. C. Thomas, Presidnt of U.L.A,
                    Carrollton, Alabama
     Judge Thomas was not to hold the office of Judge of Probate long,   It was on November 18, 1868, that he died, leaving a large and dependent family.  This being three months and five days since he had taken office.
     The Radical Republicans were interested in the local county offices, especially those that handle the county funds, just as they were in controlling the State Legislature,  It was their way of passing laws and borrowing money at high interest rates,  One of Judge Thomas' first acts after taking office was to have published in the"West Alabamian" a notice that would bring more revenue to the office of the Judge of Probate.  The following is the notice as it appeared in the newspaper August 26, 1868.
      "Notice :  Distillers, you had better look to your interests!  It is the duty of the Probate Judge to collect 5 cents on each gallon of spirits distilled in the county, and it is the duty of the distiller to settle monthly.  If [it] is not paid monthly fifty per cent is added and probable cost."
                     B C. Thomas
                    Judge of Probate
     With the death of Judge B. C. Thomas, the governor tendered the appointment to Dr. R. R. Bogle who accepted.

The inference that one can draw from the foregoing letter is that Benj or B. C. Thomas fits the definition of a scalawag.
 
As outlined on the website of the Alabama Department of Archives and History [48] the following are the misconceptions and realities of the scalawag in the South after the Civil War:

• Scalawags: southern white Republicans after the Civil War.
  
• Carpetbaggers: northerners who moved to the South after the war and entered politics.
  
• Origin of term scalawag: Pre-l865: inferior cattle or ponies, vagabond or menial servant, mean fellow, loafer, blackguard, scamp.
  
• Use in l87l: "scaly sheep" in testimony by Alabama Democrat before congressional committee.
• Treatment of scalawags: criticized, scorned, hated, ostracized, attacked.
   
  
• Myths about scalawags:
  • Poor, illiterate north Alabama small farmers.
    
  • No antebellum political experience.
    
  • Rabid Unionists at time of secession.
    
  • Gained few political offices.
     
• The truth about scalawags:
  • Held majority of Republican postwar state political offices.
  • Majority were college-educated lawyers.
  • Many were wealthy planters; all kinds of farmers represented.
  • Prewar judges, legislators, members of national political conventions, and local office holders were all counted as scalawags.
  • Both ex-Confederates and former Unionists became Republicans. They did so because:
  • They recognized Republicans were the dominant political party when they saw the growth of support for the party after Republican victory on the national level in l868.
  • Some were idealistic, wanting to improve economic life in the South or to improve the lot of blacks.

Benjamin Thomas was not illiterate, but from the evidence of the letter he wrote as transcribed by James Clanahan for his book, he was a poor writer and speller.  The fact that he was a member of the radical Union League of America lends credence to the possibility that he was an opportunist, rather than idealistic.  He was certainly neither well educated, nor wealthy, and may have seen the support of the Radical Republicans as an opportunity for personal aggrandizement.
 
The Encyclopedia Britannica online [49] gives the following information about the Union League of America:

Union League,
 
also called LOYAL LEAGUE, in U.S. history, any of the associations originally organized in the North to inspire loyalty to the Union cause during the American Civil War. During Reconstruction, they spread to the South to ensure Republicans of support among newly enfranchised blacks.
 
Ohio Republicans established the first Union League of America in 1862 to counteract such antiwar groups as the Copperheads and to stem the tide of Democratic political victories resulting from too many Northern defeats on the battleground. Attempting to rouse enthusiasm for the war effort and to infuse new vitality into the Republican Party, the leagues quickly spread throughout the North, serving as a social as well as a political force.
 
As the Federal armies swept southward toward the end of the war, the leagues followed. Under Radical Reconstruction (1865-77), the societies became the main vehicle for propagandizing the Republican cause among the emancipated blacks.
 
Unwilling to share political power, Southern whites countered by organizing their own secret societies, such as the Ku Klux Klan, to keep blacks from the polls through intimidation and violence. Eventually, the Republican effort to claim some of the fruits of victory was lost by the Union leagues, and the machinery of government in the Southern states gradually reverted to traditional white Democratic control by the end of Reconstruction.
 
Letter from The Committee of Correspondence of Virginia's Loyal League to Thaddeus Stevens, December 5, 1865.  <http://history.furman.edu/~benson/hst41/blue/stevens5.htm>
 
[A] letter [was] sent by Virginia's Loyal League, … to protest recent elections through which former Confederate leaders were elected. The Loyal League is upset because these former Confederate leaders were using the fact that they fought against the Union as their major platform. These former Confederate leaders were part of the many that had petitioned Johnson for Presidential pardons. This letter shows the flaws of Johnson's reconstruction policies of trusting the Southern states to form their own governments. It also shows that not everyone in the South was opposed to a Radical Reconstruction. These citizens were calling for rule imposed by the Federal government. They think Virginia is not yet ready for the restoration of civil rights, and call for the reinstatement of the military Governor; stating if he is not brought back then "trouble, anarchy, and confusion" will prevail. This letter may have added to Stevens' hard line approach to the South, and his rejection of Johnson's failing policies. It points out the problems with the new Southern governments first hand, and asks for action on the part of Stevens. I do not know if the Loyal League also sent a letter to Johnson, but it is important to note the letter was sent to Stevens, a member of the House, asking for action from him. This may show that the people were dissatisfied with the President's policies and were looking to Congress. Stevens surely would have had this on his mind on December 18 when he made his speech saying that it was Congress, not the president who should preside over reconstruction.
 
If the letter written by B. C. Thomas in 1868 in Pickens County is compared to the letter above, it can be seen that there are several similarities.  Both letters call for rule imposed by the Federal government; both letters express the opinion that the local political conditions are not ready for the restoration of civil rights.
 

Death of B. C. Thomas
 
The following is the obituary for B. C. Thomas from the Alabamian published in Carrollton, November 18, 1898 [50] :
 
 “Last night about 12 o’clock, B. C. Thomas, Judge of Probate of Pickens County, died at his residence in this place.  He had been suffering from consumption for years, and for months he had been apparently near his approaching dissolution.  He leaves a large and dependent family.”
 
Ebenezer Baptist Church – Pickens County Alabama
 
Minutes of the Ebenezer Baptist Church north and east of Carrollton contain information on George Thomas, Tristram Thomas, Benjamin Thomas (listed variously within the minutes as Benjamin, Benjamin C. and B. C. Thomas), and William Thomas, as well as Benjamin Cother which implies a relationship among these men.
 
It appears from the Ebenezer church records that B(enjamin) C. Thomas was a member of the Ebenezer Baptist Church.  He would have been in his early to mid twenties at this time. The church records for Benjamin C. Thomas begin in March of 1845 with a dispute between Benjamin Thomas and J. D. Kee in which Benjamin Thomas has sued Kee for a reason never specified.  In May 1845 he is referred to as Bro. B. Thomas.  In June of 1845, in records relating to the same case he is referred to as Bro. Benjamin C. Thomas.  In August 1846 he is referred to as Bro. B. C. Thomas in a complaint to the church by a Ms. Denton that he had come to her house on the Sabbath with his gun. In later references to the ongoing dispute with Kee he is referred to as Bro. B. C. Thomas. In 1847 “Bro. E Harris is to converse with Bro. Byrd Clardy for holding a letter from this church and entirely absenting himself on conference days.  Also appointed Bro. George Thomas to converse with Bro. Benjamin Thomas for absenting himself on conf days.”  George Thomas is likely his grandfather.  This is the last record of Benjamin Thomas in the Ebenezer Church minutes.. [51]   B. C. or Benjamin Thomas may have decided that being a Baptist was too onerous a burden for him to bear or held too high a standard for him to follow.
 
The records of the Ebenezer Baptist Church are very important because of the evidence they give for the relationships of the Thomas, Cother and Smith families.  Francis D. Smith was the Church Clerk at various times from 1846 to 1848. [52]   He is surely the Francis Smith who was in the household of Elizabeth Cother Thomas in the 1850 census. [53]   Francis Smith married Mary Cole, daughter of John R. Cole and Elizabeth Thomas Cole. [54] It will be shown below that Tristram Thomas is the son of George Thomas.  The wife of George Thomas was Elizabeth Cother. Benjamin Cother asked for a  letter of dismission from the Ebenezer Church in August 1848. [55] Benjamin Cother was the son of Jesse Cother, Elizabeth Cother’s brother.  Benjamin Cother married Martha Cole, daughter of John R. Cole and Elizabeth Thomas Cole.  Thus he was the grandson-in-law of George Thomas and the nephew-in-law of Tristram Thomas. (More about Benjamin Cother in the section on Cothers.)
 
There is a mention in Nov. 1848 of the case of “Bro. Wm Thomas for not attending our regular meeting days and being informed by Bro. Lyon that he had had no communication with him and that he had requested a Letter of Dismission from this church by a Letter to his Father…” [56] Since this record is dated August 1848 and William Thomas, son of George Thomas, had died in Jefferson County in 1843 [57] this record of a William cannot refer to the son of George Thomas.  This William is most likely an older son of Tristram Thomas, born before 1830 and listed in the 1830 census.. In January of 1846 T. S. Thomas requested a letter of dismission for himself and his son John.  The Ebenezer Church minutes record the presence of George Thomas, T. S. Thomas, Benjamin Thomas, William Thomas and John Thomas.  From the context of the entries, Benjamin, William, and John are the sons of T. S. Thomas.

  Appointment as Constable of Pickens County in 1844

A Benjamin Thomas was appointed Constable of Pickens County in 1844 according to the Alabama Civil Register. [58] If this is the Benjamin C. Thomas of the previous Pickens County records, he would have been somewhere between 20 and 23 at the time of his appointment.

Jefferson County Court Records

The following court records are the records of involve the guardianship of the children of Jennings and Mary Shea. between 1837 and 1849. Benj. C. Thomas married Margaret Seay in Jefferson County about 1848 [59] .

“Crawford A. Brown, guardian of Nancy Seay, Margaret Seay and James Seay, infant children of Jennings Seay deceased.  Citation issue[d] to James W. Denton and Mary Denton, late Mary Seay, mother of said children 18 April 1837.” [p. 15] [60]
 
“The State of Alabama, Jefferson County. By the Orphan’s Court for the County of Jefferson  Whereas on the 21st day of December 1840, James McAdory was duly appointed Guardian of Nancy Ann Seay, Margaret Seay and James Seay, Infants under the age of twenty one years children of Jennings Seay deceased, And the said James McAdory having complied with the requisites of the law in such cases made These and therefore to give to the said James McAdory in whose fidelity in this behalf we very much confide) full power and authority to demand, sue for recover and receive, all and singular the estate real and persona, and all debts due and demands whatever to said infants belonging, and to do all other acts and things concerning said Guardianship in as full and ample manner as if the same were __________particularly _________.  Witness Honorable John F. Forrest Judge of said Court this 21st day of December A.D. one thousand eight hundred and forty and of American Independce the 65th year.
 
Test       B. E. Grace, Clerk [61]

Chancery Court Records Book 17 part 1 page 238  Jan Term 1849

THOMAS et al   versus  DENTON et al
 
Error to Chancery Court of 23rd District
 
Bill was filed by defendants in error against plaintiffs in error to enforce a trustee which it alleges was created in their favor by a deed of their grandmother, Margaret Milwee.  Deed is in the following words:
“The State of Alabama, Jefferson county: Know all men by these presents, thato, Margaret Milwee of Jefferson county, and State aforesaid, for, and in consideration of the love, good will and affection that I bear towards my well beloved daughter, Polly Seays, do, by these presents, fully give, grant and bequeath unto William Seays and Nancy Ann Seays, together to all the heirs of the aforesaid Polly Seays’ body, the sole right title, to a certain negro giel[sic], named Rose aged seven years, with the increase, if any, equally between all the children or heirs of the body of the aforesaid Polly Seays to be the only right and property of all [of] her, the aforesaid Polly Seay’s children which negro I do hereby warrant, and forever defend, unto the aforesaid Polly Seay’s heirs forever against myself, or against any person lawfully claiming or to claim the same.  In testimony, whereof, I have set my hand, and affixed my seal, this 12th day of February 1823.
Margaret Milwee”
The bill states that William Seays, who is named in the deed, died in 1838 leaving no issue and that said Polly, after execution of the deed and two other children by her then husband, Jennings Seay, viz:
Margaret A now wife of Benj. C. Thomas
James Seays, who together with the said Nancy Ann and her husband William Waddle have taken possession of said Rose and her children, and are asserting an exclusive claim to them.

It also states that complainants are children of said Polly Seays by a second marriage with one James W. Denton. [62]

In this group of court records, Benj. C. Thomas, husband of Margaret Seay is the Thomas named in the suit.  This does not mean that Benj. and Margaret lived in Jefferson County.  The original will was filed in Jefferson County so the suit would have to be filed in Jefferson County.  A James and Mary Denton lived on land in Sects. 17 and 20 Twp 20S Range 14W.in Pickens County in 1850 -- about 4 miles from land held by Benjamin Thomas in Sect. 16 of the same township and range. [63]   James and Mary Denton were on the 1850 census enumeration in Pickens County. [64]   It was a Mrs. Denton who filed a complaint against B. C. Thomas in the Ebenezer Church in 1846.  Since Polly is a nickname for Mary this appears to be the family of Polly Denton, wife of James W. Denton.   However, Benj. C. Thomas was single again in 1850 so Margaret Seay Thomas must have died between Jan 1849 and the time the census was taken in 1850. He was free to marry Elizabeth Rooker in 1850.
 
Chancery Court records of Pickens County clarify that Margaret Seay was almost certainly the wife of Benjamin C. Thomas of Pickens County. [65]   The Chancery Court records were only one of two groups of court records that survived the two fires at the Pickens County courthouse.
 
The first record is dated 15 July 1847 and records that Benjamin M. Denton et al pro ami have filed a suit against Benjamin C. Thomas et uxor et al.  At this point Benjamin Thomas has a wife, and according to the above evidence the wife is Margaret [Seay] Thomas.  The case was continued with the next court record being dated 14 July 1848.  The complainants and the defendants are the same, so Benjamin C. Thomas is still married.  A record dated 20 July 1850 records the defendants as Benjamin C. Thomas et al.  This accords with the conclusion that Margaret [Seay] Thomas died between January 1849 and July 1850. 

Margaret [Seay] Thomas was the first wife of Benjamin C. Thomas.  Elizabeth [Rooker] Thomas, was Benjamin’s wife and mother of at least four of his five recorded children.

Land records for Thomases in Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, and Pickens County, Alabama

Initial research into the land records of the Thomases in Pickens County began on a visit to Alabama at the Pickens County Courthouse from a card file of land records that was kept in an office in the Pickens County Courthouse. The following Thomas names were entered: Benjamin, Elridge, George, Henry G., Jesse, John, Sanday R., John K., Thomas, Thomas Jr., William B., and Tristram S.
 
When the Government Land Office records went online, it became much easier to determine settlement patterns.  The following and grant records were downloaded from the Government Land Office records online at the Bureau of Land Management Office Internet site: [66]
 
There were a number of land patents issued to people with the surname of Thomas dated 9/20/1839 in Pickens County:

The land patent records show that George Thomas received patents on 120 acres of land. In 1850 his widow Elizabeth appeared on the 1850 Slave Schedule for Pickens County with 15 slaves listed [67] .  Of these, six may be classified as adults and the remaining nine are children, the youngest of which is under one year of age.
 
Thomas Thomas added to existing holdings in Twp 22 S R 13 W with approximately 160 acres..
 
The interesting association of land holdings was that Tristram Thomas, Benjamin Thomas, George W. Sanders, and Wilson Eatmon/Eatman who all received grants of land in Section 5 and 6 of Twp 21 S R 13W in September of 1839.  George W. Sanders and Tristram Thomas had previously applied jointly for a patent on land in Pickens County in Section 31 Twp 20 S 13 W  The patent for this parcel was received 3/15/1839. [68] Benjamin Thomas was the assignee of Wilson Eatmon in a land patent received for a 40 acre parcel in Section 6 of Twp 2 S R 13W 20 on 9/20/1839. [69]
 
Benjamin Thomas patented the SENW of Sect. 21 Twp 20 S range 14 W parcel for 40.2 acres. Byrd Clardy patented approximately 240 acres around the 40 acre parcel of Benjamin Thomas between 1837 and 1860. [70]   In the 1850 census for Pickens County, Bird Clarady is listed as 35 years old, married with a family.  In 1839 when he received his second  patent he would have been 24 years old and probably lived on the land several years before that. 
 
There is a connection between Byrd Clardy and Benj. C. Thomas in the Ebenezer Baptist Church minutes.  In the minutes Benjamin Thomas is variously referred to as “Benjamin Thomas,” “Benj. C. Thomas,” and “B. C. Thomas.”  This leaves little doubt that the B. C. Thomas of Pickens County was a member of the Ebenezer Church from at least 1845 to 1847 since he is mentioned several times in the minutes between those dates.  In 1847 “Bro. E Harris is to converse with Bro. Byrd Clardy for holding a letter from this church and entirely absenting himself on conference days.  Also appointed Bro. George Thomas to converse with Bro. Benjamin Thomas for absenting himself on conf days.”  It is quite likely that it is not merely coincidence that these two young men who held land next to each other were absenting themselves from church at the same time.
 
Tristram S. (T. S.) Thomas was an Elder of the Ebenezer Church and George Thomas and Elizabeth Thomas are mentioned in the minutes as members.  B. C. Thomas was about 23 years old when he was a member of this church. [71]   The evidence of the church membership strongly supports a relationship between George Thomas, Tristram Thomas whom we know to be the son of George through the evidence of the newspaper article, [72] and B. C. (Benjamin) Thomas, son of Tristram and grandson of George.
 
At this point, it is a reasonable hypothesis that the Benjamin Thomas who received a land patent in Sect. 6  Twp 21S and Range 13 W with George Sanders, Wilson Eastman, and Tristram Thomas and the Benjamin Thomas who received the land in Sect 21 Twp 20 S Range 14 W is the son of Tristram and grandson of George.  The document and serial numbers in the Pickens County table of Thomas land grants in Appendix I show that George, Benjamin, and Tristram have sequential numbers for certain parcels of land as if they had all applied for parcels of land at the same time.
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Richard S. Thomas, death certificate no.35997 (1934) Texas, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Austin.
[2] Civil Register of County Officials [Alabama], vol. 4 (1865-1869), p. 584.  Citation to the Civil Register sent by the Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama with an accompanying letter from the Department on April 22, 1977. Typed citation and letter held by Judith Voran (HC 1 Box 245, Strawberry, AZ, 85544.]
[3] Alabamian. Newspaper Collections and Account Book. Carrollton, Alabama, April 1867 – Aug.1868. [photocopy].  Montgomery, Alabama, Alabama State Archives. This is a photocopy of an original copy of the article held by the Alabama State Archives and sent to Judith Voran, 1978; held by Voran HC1 Box 245, Strawberry, AZ 85544.
[4] James F. Clanahan, The History of Pickens County, Alabama 1540-1920 (Carrollton, Alabama, Clanahan Publication), 169 – 172.
[5] Letter from Ruby (Thomas) Dalton (Mrs. Jack Dalton, Springfield, Mo)  to Judith Louise Thomas Voran, 8th August, 1977; held in 2002 by Judith Voran (HC 1 Box 245, Strawberry, AZ, 85544.)  The late Mrs. Dalton was a sister to my father. The letter is transcribed exactly as she typed it, including misspellings and errors in punctuation.
[6] Richard Smith Thomas, death certificate, no. 35997 (1934], Bureau of Vital Statistics, Austin.
[7] R. S. Thomas and Anna E. Brown, marriage record issued by the County Clerk of Johnson County, Texas, 8 December 1884.  Marriage performed 10 December, 1884, signed by E. D. L. Tims, Minister.  Photocopy of the original license held by Judith Voran, HC 1 box 245, Strawberry, Arizona, 85544.
[8] Delta County, Texas Deed Book K, p. 546.
[9] Delta County, Texas Deed Book L, p. 378 - 379.
[10] Richard Thomas household, 1910 U. S. Census, Tarrant County, Texas, population schedule, Enumeration District 114, SH 10, Precinct 3, Line 26. Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.
[11] Civil Register of County Officials [Alabama], vol. 4 (1865-1869), p. 584
[12] Civil Register of County Officials [Alabama], vol. 3 (1844-1867), np..  Citation to the Civil Register sent by the Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama with an accompanying letter from the Department on April 22, 1977. Typed citation and letter held by Judith Voran (HC 1 Box 245, Strawberry, AZ, 85544.]
[13] Letter from B. C. Thomas [Perrin, TX]  to Judith Louise Thomas Voran, , 9th December, 1977; held in 2002 by Voran (HC 1 Box 245, Strawberry, AZ, 85544.)  The late Mr. Thomas was a sister to the author’s father.
[14] Mary Hogan household, 1850 U. S. Census, Pickens County, Alabama, population schedule, Carrollton township, page 3, dwelling 16 , family 16, microfilm no 442864. .Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah. Benj. Thomas is listed on line 38 as a Blacksmith, aged 29 years (that would be his age for the census.)  Mary Hogan is 72, born in Virginia. The census was for that location was taken on September 25, 1850 by C. B. Sanders
[15] Mary Hogan, 1850 U. S. Census, Pickens County, Alabama, Slave Schedule, Carrollton township, page 365, line 38, microfilm no 442874. .Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah
[16] Benjamin Thomas, 1850 U. S. Census, Slave Schedule  Pickens County, Alabama, population schedule, Carrollton township, page 365, line 42, microfilm no 442874. .Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah
[17] T. S.  Thomas, 1850 U. S. Census, Slave Schedule  Pickens County, Alabama, population schedule, Carrollton township, page 365, line 38, microfilm no 442874. .Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah
[18] William H. Marlow household, 1850 U. S. Census, Pickens County, Alabama, population schedule, Southern District, page 99, dwelling 1314 , family 1354, microfilm no. 442864  .Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.
[19] Benj. C. Thomas household, 1855 Alabama Census, Pickens County, Alabama, population schedule, page 58, microfilm no. 1533835  .Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.
[20] Benj. C. Thomas household, 1860 U. S. Census, Pickens County, Alabama, population schedule, Carrollton township, page 4, dwelling 25, family 23, microfilm no. 0803020 Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.
[21] Sophia Marler household, 1860 U. S. Census, Pickens County, Alabama, population schedule, Carrollton township, page 4, dwelling 24, family 22, microfilm no. 0803020  Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.
[22]1910 U. S. Census, Tarrant County, Texas, population schedule, Enumeration District 114, SH 10, Precinct 3, Line 26. Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.
[23] Ben Thomas household, 1866 Alabama state census, p. 27, microfilm no. 1533835, Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.
[24] Sophia Marler household, 1866 Alabama state census, p. 28, microfilm no. 1533835, Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.
[25] Mima Thomas household, 1870 U. S. Census, Pickens County, Alabama, population schedule, Carrollton Precinct, page 133, dwelling 390, family 390, microfilm no. 0545535 Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.
[26] Benjamin Thomas obituary, Alabamian, Nov. 19, 1868. Montgomery, Alabama, Alabama State Archives. This is a photocopy of a transcribed copy of the article held by the Alabama State Archives and sent to Judith Voran, 1978; held by Voran HC1 Box 245, Strawberry, AZ 85544.
[27] 1850 U. S. cens. Carrollton Twp., Al., p. 3, line 38.
[28] Jefferson County Court, Jan. Term, 1849,book 17, part 1, p. 238.  Transcribed from the original records by Kathleen Paul Jones and Pauline Jones Gandrud.++++++++
[29] William B. Thomas household, Southern District, page 122, dwelling 1669, household 1716, 1850 U. S. Census, Pickens County, Alabama, population schedule, Ancestry Census Images Online <www.ancestry.com>Information download, July 7, 2002.
[30] William B. Thomas household, Southern District, page 898, dwelling, 595, household, 521, 1860 U. S. Census, Pickens County, Alabama, population schedule, Ancestry Census Images Online <www.ancestry.com>Information download, July 7, 2002.  William, 24, is also a gunsmith.. Only other child is Mary, age 7. In household 522 is John Thomas with wife Lydia and three daughters, Martha, Mary and Ann ages 9 to 9 months; and in household 524 is Thomas Thomas, jr. (age 24)with wife Sarah (age 18).
[31] West Alabamian, 1 February, 1860, n.p. and 23 December, 1857 n.p. Photocopy of records extracted and published by Marilyn Davis Barefield and Carr Byron Barefield.  Pickens County Alabama, 1841 – 1861, Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, c1984.  Copy of the book held at Hooley Special Collections Library, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
[32] West Alabamian, 10 January. 1855  and 23 December 1857, n.p.
[33] Richard Smith Thomas, Texas State death certificate: 35997ß.
[34] 1850 U. S. cens. Carrollton Twp., Al., p. 3, line 38.
[35] Richard Smith Thomas, Texas State death certificates: 35997ß.
[36] 1910 U. S. census, Tarrant County, Texas, Enumeration District 114, SH 10, Precinct 3, Line 26.
[37] Johnson County Marriage license, 8/12/1884.
[38] Rebecca Rooker household, 1850 U. S. Census, Pickens County, Alabama, population schedule, Carrollton township, page 4, dwelling 31 , family 31, microfilm no 442864. .Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah
[39] Letter, Ruby (Thomas) Dalton to Judith Voran, August, 1977.
[40] 1866 Alabama state census, Pickens County
[41] 1866 Alabama state census, Pickens County
[42] 1870 U. S. Census, Pickens County, Alabama, Carrollton Precinct, page 133, dwelling 390.
[43] Benjamin Thomas obituary, Alabamian, Nov. 19, 1868. Montgomery, Alabama, Alabama State Archives. This is a photocopy of a transcribed copy of the article held by the Alabama State Archives and sent to Judith Voran, 1978; held by Voran HC1 Box 245, Strawberry, AZ 85544. 
[44] Alabamian. Newspaper Collections and Account Book. Carrollton, Alabama, Sept.1866- March 1867 [photocopy].  Montgomery, Alabama, Alabama State Archives. This is a photocopy the original account books held by the Alabama State Archives and sent to JudithVoran, 1978; held by Voran HC1 Box 245, Strawberry, AZ 85544.
[45] Alabamian. Newspaper Collections and Account Book. Carrollton, Alabama, April 1867 – Aug.1868. [photocopy]. 
[46] Alabamian, (undated) a transcription of a notice in the newspaper sent by the Alabama State Archives, Montgomery, Alabama to Judith Voran, 1978 [photocopy] as part of materials sent in reply to a request for information on B. C. Thomas; held by Voran HC1 Box 245, Strawberry, AZ 85544.
[47] Clanahan, The History of Pickens County, Alabama 1540-1920, p.169 – 172.
[48] :What is a Scalawag? Alabama Department of Archives and History. <http://www.alabamamoments.state.al.us/sec27qs.html> Information downloaded on June 18, 2002.
[49] Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica Corporation. <http://search.eb.com/blackhistory/micro/612/54.html>  Information downloaded on June 18, 2002
[50] Alabamian, (November 18, 1868) a transcription of a notice in the newspaper sent by the Alabama State Archives, Montgomery, Alabama to Judith Voran, 1978 [photocopy] as part of materials sent in reply to a request for information on B. C. Thomas; held by Voran HC1 Box 245, Strawberry, AZ 85544.
[51] Ebenezer Baptist Church, Pickens County, Alabama, Church Minute Book, 1835 – 1936  microfilm number MSC 27.1 .Microfilmed for the Alabama Baptist Historical Association and housed at the Samford University Library Special Collections, Birmingham, Alabama.  Transcriptions for this paper were made from a photocopy of the microfilm of the original Minutes Book.
[52] Ebenezer Baptist Church Minute Book, Pickens County, Alabama.
[53] Elizabeth  Thomas, 1850 U. S. Census, Slave Schedule  Pickens County, Alabama, population schedule, Carrollton township, page 365, line 38, microfilm no 442874. .Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah
[54] Bible records of the Francis D. Smith, John Russell Cole, and George Thomas families. Transcribed from the original by an unnamed person.  “Sent to me by Mrs. Mildred Gill, 7123 Fisher Rd., Dallas, Texas, Aug 13, 1956.”  The recipient of the records is not known.  Photocopy of the original typescript received by Judith Voran from Don Cother, Lamar County Texas, in 1999 and held by Voran HC 1 Box 245, Strawberry, AZ 85544. 
[55] Ebenezer Baptist Church Minute Book, Pickens County, Alabama.
[56] Ebenezer Baptist Church Minute Book, Pickens County, Alabama.
[57] William Thomas will (1843) Jefferson County, Alabama Orphan’s Court Book 1837-1844, , p. 438.
[58] Civil Register of County Officials [Alabama], vol. 3 (1844-1867), np..
[59] Jefferson County Court, Jan. Term, 1849,book 17, part 1, p. 238.  Transcribed from the original records by Kathleen Paul Jones and Pauline Jones Gandrud.
[60] Orphan’s Court Book 1837-1844, Jefferson County, Alabama, p. 15. From the Alabama Records compiled by Kathleen Paul Jones and Pauline Jones Gandrud, vol.112, May 1950, p. 31.
[61] Orphan’s Court Book 1837-1844, Jefferson County, Alabama, p. 120 – 121.
[62] Supreme Court of Alabama. Reports of Cases, 2nd ed., Book 17. St. Paul, West Publishing Co,, 1907, p. 238-240.
[63] James Dolphus Johnson, Early Settlers of Pickens County, Alabama, Gregath Publishing Company, 1992, p. 25.  Photocopy of original land grants of early settlers of Pickens County.  Book held in Houston Cole Library, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama.  Photocopy of page held by Judith Voran H C 1 Box 245, Strawberry, Arizona 85544.
[6464] James Denton household, Southern District, page 99, dwelling 551, household 559, line 33, 1850 U. S. Census, Pickens County, Alabama, population schedule, Ancestry Census Images Online <www.ancestry.com>Information download,  July 7, 2002.
[65] Pickens County, Alabama. Chancery Court. Minutes, 1843-1949. FHC Microfilm No. 1728890, Items 1 and 2.  Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1990. Film held at Salt Lake City, Utah.
[66] United States Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records, Official Federal Land Patent Records Site < http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/> Information downloaded between June 21, 2002 and July 1, 2002.
[67] Elizabeth  Thomas, 1850 U. S. Census, Slave Schedule  Pickens County, Alabama, population schedule, Carrollton township, page 365, line 38, microfilm no 442874. .Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah
[68] United States Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records, Official Federal Land Patent Records Site < http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/> Information downloaded on July 8, 2002
[69] United States Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records, Official Federal Land Patent Records Site < http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/> Information downloaded on July 8, 2002
[70] United States Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records, Official Federal Land Patent Records Site < http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/> Information downloaded on July 8, 2002
[71] Pickens Republican, 1854.
[72] Ebenezer Baptist Church Minute Book, Pickens County, Alabama.

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