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Troop of Light Dragoons, Frederick County, Jan-
uary 11, 1781; called colonel, November 1781.
STANDS ON PUBLIC/PRIVATE ISSUES: manumitted
four slaves unconditionally, December 25, 1799;
in his will he stated his strong objections to slavery
and set forth a schedule for emancipating his slaves;
he was spoken of as a friend to the poor and one
whose "humanity knew no distinction of rich and
pOOr." WEALTH DURING LIFETIME. PERSONAL
PROPERTY: assessed value £249.0.0, including 4
slaves and 53 oz. plate, 1782. LAND AT FIRST ELEC-
TION: no evidence of land ownership. SIGNIFI-
CANT CHANGES IN LAND BETWEEN FIRST ELEC-
TION AND DEATH: purchased 917 acres in Frederick
County between 1779 and 1803, and a tract in
Ohio by 1812; obtained through a judgment 79
acres in 1792; purchased three lots of confiscated
British property in Frederick Town in 1782 (two
of which he sold the same year); purchased 2 lots
in 1790 and 3 lots in 1798, all in Frederick Town
(two of the latter lots he deeded to his son as a
gift in 1800); purchased 6 lots in Washington,
D.C., by 1812; patented 216 acres in Frederick
County between 1785 and 1793; sold 79 acres in
1792; deeded as a gift to a close friend for lifetime
tenancy part of a lot in Frederick Town, 1800.
WEALTH AT DEATH. DIED: April 25, 1815, of typhus
fever; will probated in Frederick County. PER-
SONAL PROPERTY: requested no appraisal of his
estate; included at least 19 slaves, plate, and books,
but the size of his entire estate is unknown. LAND:
ca. 1,300 acres in Frederick County and a tract
in Ohio; his dwelling lot in Frederick Town plus
three other lots; 6 lots in Washington, D.C.
THOMAS, RICHARD (ca. 1728-1806). BORN.
ca. 1728; eldest son. NATIVE: fourth generation.
RESIDED: Lower Newfoundland Hundred, Fred-
erick (later became Montgomery) County. FAM-
ILY BACKGROUND. FATHER: John Thomas (1697-
1749/50), son of Samuel Thomas (ca. 1655-by
1743) and wife Mary Frances Hutchins. MOTHER:
Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Snowden, the
Younger (?-1763) of Anne Arundel County,
ironmaster and owner of the Patuxent Iron Works.
AUNT: Margaret Snowden, who married John
Contee (1722-ca. 1796). BROTHERS: John; Sam-
uel. SISTER Elizabeth, who married (first name
unknown) Richardson. FIRST COUSIN: Evan Thomas
(1738/39-1826). MARRIED by 1753, Sarah, daugh-
ter of Skipwith Coale and wife Margaret Holland.
Sarah, a Quaker, was said to have been disowned
by the West River meeting upon her marriage,
but in 1766 the meeting acknowledged the error.
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CHILDREN. SONS: Samuel (1753-by 1806), who
married Mary Cowman; Richard (1758-1821),
who married Deborah, daughter of Roger Brooke
and wife Mary; John (1760-?); and William (1771-
?), who married Martha Patrick. DAUGHTERS:
Elizabeth (1755-?), who married Roger John-
son; Mary (1762-?), who married William Rob-
ertson; Sarah (1764-by 1806), who married Ber-
nard Gilpin; Henrietta (1767-?); and Margaret
(1769-by 1806), who married Gerard Brooke.
PRIVATE CAREER. EDUCATION: literate. RELIGIOUS
AFFILIATION: Quaker. OCCUPATIONAL PROFILE:
planter. PUBLIC CAREER. LEGISLATIVE SERVICE: 1st
Convention, Frederick County, 1774. OTHER
STATE OFFICE: Constitution Ratification Conven-
tion, Montgomery County, 1788. LOCAL OFFICES:
Committee of Correspondence, Frederick County,
elected 1774; judge, Court of Appeals for Tax
Assessment, Montgomery County, appointed
April 22, 1786, refused his appointment May 22,
1786. STANDS ON PUBLIC/PRIVATE ISSUES: left in-
structions that on the day of his death all male
slaves above 21 years and all female slaves above
18 years were to be manumitted; all other slaves
were to be freed as they came of age. WEALTH
DURING LIFETIME. PERSONAL PROPERTY: assessed
value £2,007.0.0, including 61 slaves and 16 oz.
plate, 1783; 54 slaves, 1790; assessed value
£1,420.0.0, including 48 slaves and 40 oz. plate,
1793; assessed value £1,461.13.10, including 51
slaves and 55 oz. plate, 1798. LAND AT FIRST ELEC-
TION: 5,011 acres in Frederick County. SIGNIFI-
CANT CHANGES IN LAND BETWEEN FIRST ELEC-
TION AND DEATH: patented 133 acres between 1798
and 1802, lost 127 acres on a resurvey of a large
tract in 1795, and obtained an additional 1,012
acres by 1798 as reflected on the 1798 tax as-
sessment, all in Montgomery County; sold 47 acres
by 1798, and gave away ca. 2,800 acres to his
children and other family members shortly before
his death. WEALTH AT DEATH. DIED: between No-
vember 28 and December 15, 1806; will probated
in Montgomery County. PERSONAL PROPERTY:
TEV, $32,188.85 current money (including 45
slaves and 32 shares of bank stock); FB, $28,303.17.
LAND: ca. 3,200 acres in Montgomery County.
THOMAS, THOMAS (ca. 1624-1658). BORN: ca.
1624. IMMIGRATED: in 1651 with his wife, son
James, and three servants from Virginia. RE-
SIDED: in the St. Leonard's Creek area, Elton-
head Hundred, Calvert County. MARRIED Eliza-
beth, daughter of James Knott (ca. 1601/2-1653)
of Nansemond County, Virginia, and wife Elli-
812
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