Elias Thomas

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Elias Thomas (born January 14, 1772 in Portland , Province of Massachusetts Bay , † August 5, 1872 ibid) was an American businessman and politician , also from 1823 to 1827 and again from 1829 to 1830 Maine State Treasurer . He belonged to the abolitionism movement and was a supporter of the Underground Railroad .

Life

Elias Thomas was born to Peter Thomas (1756-1807) and Kerenhappuck Cox Thomas (1749-1838).

Thomas was a director of Cumberland Bank and State Treasurer of Maine from 1823 to 1827 and from 1829 to 1830. The Thomas Block on Commercial Street in Portland was named after him.

Elias Thomas married Elizabeth Widgery Thomas (1779–1861) in 1802. They had eight children.

The Thomas family campaigned extensively in Portland for the anti-slavery movement. They belonged to the Underground Railroad, made their house available as a safe house and helped the escaped slaves to build a new life. Her original home on India Street, burned in the great city fire of 1865, is one of the stops on the Portland Freedom Trail . Elizabeth Thomas is considered one of the mothers of Maine for her fearlessness and dedication . Charlotte J. Thomas, the daughter of Elias and Elizabeth, ran the house to her brother George Albert and together with him she also belonged to the Underground Railroad.

His son, William Widgery Thomas , was elected treasurer in 1860 but did not accept the election. Elias Thomas died in Portland on August 5, 1872. His grave is in Eastern Cemetery in Portland, his grave, along with his wife's and her daughter's graves, is listed on the Portland Freedom Trail as one of eight graves in which members of the abolitionists who campaigned against slavery are buried and provided safe houses.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Elias Thomas (1772 - 1872) - Find A Grave Memorial. In: findagrave.com. Accessed December 31, 2015 .
  2. ^ A b Bio of William Widgery Thomas from Representative men of Maine, A Collection of Biographical Sketches, Prepaired under the direction of Henry Chase. Portland, ME, The Lakeside Press, Publisher 1893, accessed December 31, 2015
  3. ↑ Donald A. Beattie, Rodney Cole, Charles Waugh: A Distant War Comes Home: Maine in the Civil War Era . Down East Books, 1991, ISBN 978-1-4617-4466-5 ( books.google.com ).
  4. ↑ a b Portland Freedom Trail ( Memento of the original from January 27, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. accessed on December 31, 2015  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.portlandfreedomtrail.org
  5. ^ Elias and Elizabeth Thomas House - Portland, ME - Underground Railroad Sites on Waymarking.com. In: waymarking.com. Accessed December 31, 2015 .
  6. ^ Mothers of Maine page 234, accessed December 31, 2015
  7. ↑ George Albert Thomas papers 1829-1847. In: umich.edu. quod.lib.umich.edu, accessed December 31, 2015 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Thomas, Elias
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American businessman and politician
DATE OF BIRTH January 14, 1772
PLACE OF BIRTH Portland , Maine
DATE OF DEATH August 5, 1872
Place of death Portland , Maine