John Thomas -- (Not a Leaf, but a Root of the Family Tree) Early Virginia Settler and a survivor of the "Sea Venture"

 

The "Sea Venture"

John Thomas, who was born about 1585 in Carmarthenshire, Wales was the first of our Thomas family to land in America.  He arrived in Jamestown, Virginia on May 24, 1610. He later lived near Williamsburg, Virginia, on the north side of Queen's Creek in the County of Yorke, raising his sons with his wife Dorothy Cymru.  

John Thomas sailed from England in 1609 aboard the Sea Venture with Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, Admiral of the Fleet, and Samuel Jordan. His passage on the ship was paid by St. Samuel Sharpe, who was also aboard the ship.  No doubt John had to work off this passage obligation before acquiring land of his own.

The Sea Venture sailed from Plymouth, England, on June 2, 1909. It was the flagship of a fleet of seven vessels and two small ships, a fleet called the "Third Supply" by the Virginia Company. On July 24, about eight days from Virginia, the fleet encountered a hurricane.  In his book on the family Edison H. Thomas quotes an account of the journey written by William Strachey, secretary-elect of the new Virginia colony.

      "A dreadful storme and hideous began to blow from out of the north-east, which swelling, and roaring as it were by fits, some houres with more violence than others, at length did bete all light from heaven, which like an hell of darkenesse turned blacke upon us, so much the more fuller of horror ... Waters like whole rivers did flood in the ayre..."

 Strachey sent a copy of his journal back to England to his friend William Shakespeare, who wrote a play titled The Tempest, using much of the journal in the play's dialogue.

The Sea Venture floundered off the coast of the Isle of Bermuda, washing ashore there three days later.  One Hundred fifty people, and one dog, landed safely ashore. The survivors were stranded on Bermuda for approximately nine months. However, nothing daunted the victims of this disaster who rallied and built two small ships capable of withstanding the rough seas, which they named Deliverance and Patience, and on May 24, 1610 they came sailing up the James River to the headquarters of the new colony with all safe on board, save Lt. Edward Watters and one other, who had elected to remain in the Bermudas to which they had taken a fancy. Another member of this fateful journey was John Rolfe who later would marry the Indian princess Pocahontas.

On reaching Jamestown, the survivors of the Sea Venture discovered that there were only 60 survivors of the 500 or so who had preceded them. Many of these were dying, and Jamestown was quickly judged to be nonviable. Everyone then boarded the Deliverance and the Patience, and set sail for England. But the timely arrival of another relief fleet, granted Jamestown a reprieve. All the settlers were relanded at the colony, but there was still a critical shortage of food. 

Overall, the food and supplies brought by the Third Supply were not adequate. 80% of the colonists would die during the Starving Time of 1610. Afterwards, survivors at Jamestown again boarded the Deliverance and Patience and were sailing downstream to the ocean when they met yet another resupply fleet which was led by Lord Delaware.

This new governor brought additional colonists, a doctor, food, and much-needed supplies. He also was of a strong determination that Jamestown and the colony were not to be abandoned. He turned the departing ships around and brought the entire group back to Jamestown. This was certainly not a popular decision at the time with at least some of the group, but Lord Delaware was to prove a new kind of leader for Virginia. 

John Thomas was among these determined settlers and as an indentured servant he had to work to pay off his benefactor for the cost of his transportation to the new world.  He agreed to work without salary for the lender for a specific number of years.  Records indicate that John and eight others whose fares had been paid by Mr. Sharpe remained with for a time to help stake out his claim for land.  One land patent issued in 1637 mentions property "upon the Baye S. into the woods & W. upon land of John Thomas... “indicates that he was living on his own land at that time.

 An excellent book on  the last voyage of the Sea Ventures and what happened to its passengers.

LINEAGE:

(John Thomas (born abt 1585) was the father of John Thomas, Jr, (born abt 1911). John, Jr, was the father of Richard Thomas (born abt 1929).  Richard was the father of John Thomas (born abt 1948).  John was the father of Joseph Thomas (born abt 1680).  Joseph was the father of James Thomas (born 1714).  James was the father of James Thomas (born 1762) who settled in Trigg County, Kentucky.  In other words, the John Thomas in this article was the great-great-great-great-great-grandfather of James Thomas of Trigg County.)

William Bridges, Jr. -- Civil War Soldier

 

William Bridges, Jr. was born on October 3, 1834, in the Maple Grove Community of Trigg County, Kentucky.  He was the seventh child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges and was their only child who grew to adulthood, but did not have a family.

William's grandfather was Drury Bridges, who with his wife, Charity had come to Kentucky from Edgecombe County, North Carolina in 1804. His life prior to the Civil War was spent in the Maple Grove community helping his father on his farm. He was single.

William enlisted in the Confederate Army on July 1, 1861 at the age of 24, at Canton, Kentucky, along with 73 other men from Trigg County. The group marched to Camp Burnett, near Clarksville, Tennessee, where, on Nov. 14, 1861 he was inducted into Confederate service for a period of three years. The group was transferred to Bowling Green, Kentucky in December 1861, and assigned to Company G., Fourth Regiment, Kentucky Infantry.  The Kentucky Infantry was later known as the “Orphan Brigade”.

The Confederate army abandoned Bowling Green in February 1862 and with the Kentucky Brigade, headed for Nashville. They encamped at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and in March were ordered to Corinth, Mississippi, via Huntsville and Decatur, Ala. On April 6-7, 1862, they participated in the Battle of Shiloh.

Thompson's 1868 history of the Kentucky Brigade states that William participated in the Battle of Shiloh, and Vicksburg, but it is assumed that shortly after Shiloh he was hospitalized with malaria. The Confederacy had taken over a resort hotel at Castillian Springs, near Durant, Miss., some 200 miles southwest of Corinth and after the Battle of Shiloh, the ailing and injured soldiers were shipped there by train. Some of the men died while still aboard the train and were buried at Durant. William and others in the Brigade died at the hotel that had been turned-into a hospital.

William's record, listed in the History of the Kentucky Brigade, says simply:
"Fought at Shiloh and Vicksburg, died of disease at Castillian Springs, Miss., Sept. 10, 1862."
Ordinarily, this death date would be accepted as accurate, especially since it is listed as such in Thompson's Brigade History. However, in Company G, along with William Bridges, was his cousin, Alfred C. Thomas, who in May 1862 wrote the following letter to Cullen T. Bridges, brother of William:

May 4, 1862
Corinth, Miss.
Mr. Cullen Bridges:

I take my pensil in hand to inform you that I am well at this time. I hope that when you get these few lines that they will fine you all in joying the same health. I received your letter. I find you all well.
I think that all is well that is alive. William Bridges is ded, he died in Castilian Springs & he was very sick the last time I sean him. I thought then he would die. And Bob Cohoon [another Trigg Countian in Co. G] he is ded. He died in town at Adlanter [Atlanta], Georgia. I and Bill Harrell was with him when he died. I have no more time to write.

Yours truly,
A. C. Thomas

The above letter, written by an eye-witness, so to speak, places William's death prior to May 4, 1862, the date he wrote it. April 22, 1862 has been accepted by the family as the date of death. Malaria is listed as the cause.

William is buried along with a number of his Orphan Brigade comrades, in an unmarked grave in Westley Church Cemetery in Castillian Springs, Mississippi. In 1989, a commemorative marker supplied by the Federal government, was placed there in his memory through efforts of members of the Thomas and Bridges families.

 

LINEAGE:

(William Bridges, Jr. was the son of William and Mary Thomas Bridges. William, Sr. was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges. Mary Thomas was the fifth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Howell Moore "Billy" Thomas -- Civil Engineer, Coal Mine Operator and Governmental Advisor

 

Howell Moore Thomas was born on February 10, 1906 on a farm operated by his parents in Trigg County, Kentucky.  His father was a successful farmer and his mother was a school teacher.  He acquired his nickname "Billy" when he was still a baby.  His older brother Howard liked to nickname all his brothers and sisters and gave his younger brother the nickname of "Hillbilly" but the name was later shortened to "Billy" by the time he attended grade school. He graduated from the old Cadiz High School in 1926,

Following graduation from high school, Billy became a civil engineer with the state of Kentucky engineering department.  His surveying and engineering skills were taught to him by his older brother.  Billy was an engineer with the Kentucky Highway Department for sixteen years.  The last four years was as a design engineer preparing plans and cost estimates for highway construction.  During World War II, he was an engineer with the United States Corps of Engineers where he was responsible for the design of new airports.  The Bowling Green Kentucky airport was one of him many projects.

On August 6, 1932, Billy married Opal Charles whom he had met while working in the Pikeville, Kentucky area with the Kentucky State Highway Department. Opal, a school teacher, was born on May 2, 1911.

Billy started a second career on August 15, 1945 when he moved to Grundy, Virginia and became an independent coal operator owner.  His civil engineering background and inquisitive nature was instrumental in finding coal deposits on properties.  His company, the Old Virginia Coal Corporation was very successful.  Billy bought a railroad loading dock in Grundy, Virginia for exporting coal.  This business was quite successful during the energy crisis of the 1970s.

Billy also had a third career in politics and served in several governmental capacities.  He served in Virginia's Buchanan County Democratic Party for over seven years and was elected as a National Democratic Delegate from the Ninth Congressional District in which he attended the Presidential Nominating Convention in New York City in July, 1976 and helped nominate Jimmy Carter for president.  Billy and his wife attended a reception for Pope John Paul in 1979 at the invitation of President Carter.  President Carter also asked Billy to serve on conferences to discuss foreign and domestic affairs with Carter's senior advisors.  In 1985, the Governor of Virginia appointed Billy to serve as a member of the Virginia College Building Authority.

Billy never forgot his Kentucky and Trigg County roots.  He was a great horse racing fan and would attend horse races during the racing season in Kentucky. He would always attend the Kentucky Derby in May of each year. He and his wife would travel to Trigg County each year to attend his high school reunions and the Thomas-Bridges Family reunions.

Billy died at the age of 89 on Sunday, April 16, 1995 in Grundy, Virginia, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.  He and his wife are buried in the Mountain Valley Memorial Park in Big Rock, Virginia.

Burial Site for Howell Moore "Billy" Thomas at the Bethel Cemetery

LINEAGE:

(Howell Moore “Billy” Thomas was the son of John Quincy and Catherine Bruff Thomas and the grandson of Allison W. and Catherine Elizabeth Carloss Thomas.  Allison was the third child of Perry and Elizabeth Josephine Bridges Thomas.  Perry was the third child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Elizabeth was the sixth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

Wendell Weston Sumner -- Student Athlete and Physician

 

Wendell W. "Doc" Sumner has been immortalized as a basketball great of the 1930's and later a Fort Worth physician.  . As a high school senior in Athens, Texas, Sumner helped capture Texas' first national basketball championship in 1929 while playing on the team that is widely regarded as the best in Texas high school basketball history. 

That same year, he enrolled at Texas Christian University and played on the freshman football and basketball teams, both of which went undefeated.  He moved to the varsity football and basketball teams, helping TCU win its first Southwest Conference basketball title in 1931.  In 1932, as team captain, Sumner was named to the Helms Foundation All-America basketball team.  He also became the first TCU player to receive All-Southwest Conference honors three years in a row. 

But despite his athletic potential, there was never any doubt that Wendell would follow his father’s footsteps into a medical career.  After graduating from TCU in 1933, Sumner attended the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.  After his graduation he served four years as a flight surgeon during World War II before returning to Fort Worth in 1946 and setting up a practice as a general physician.

He was honored in 1983 by the Retired Frontier Alliance Pilots, a group of retired Frontier Airlines pilots, for his work in certifying fliers for the airline.  Before he retired, Sumner devoted most of his work to giving physical examinations to pilots.

Sumner was inducted into the Texas Boys Basketball Hall of Fame in 1974 and into the TCU Letterman's Association Hall of Fame in 1980.

Sumner, who was born on April 11, 1910 in Greene County, Missouri, died of cancer on Monday, July 2, 1984 at his home in Fort Worth, Texas.  He was 74 years old.  He was married to the former Dorothy Jacob of Fort Worth and they were the parents of two daughters and one son.  Wendell and Dorothy are buried in the Greenwood Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Fort Worth, Texas.

Wendell Sumner at his daughter Libby's wedding

 

LINEAGE:

(Wendell Weston Sumner was the son of Weston Columbus and Arpha Elizabeth Reynolds Sumner, grandson of Aaron Cornelius and Martha Caroline Bridges Sumner and great-grandson of Orren D. and Mary Elizabeth Hixon Bridges.  Orren was the first child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Mary Thomas was the fifth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)