Richard Ellis Thomas was born on February 23, 1872, in the Donaldson Creek community of Trigg County, Kentucky. He was the fifth of eight children born to Carroll Thomas and Margaret Jane Reid Thomas. Carroll was a native of Trigg County, Kentucky and worked as a farmer. He was a son of James Thomas, Jr. Margaret Jane was a native of Stewart County, Tennessee and was a homemaker. Richard’s siblings were Sarah L. “Sallie” Thomas, born in 1860 and married James Edmond Sumner; Jesse Milton “Bud” Thomas, born in 1862 and married Lou Augusta Shelton; Robert Henry Thomas, born in 1867 and married Lillie Belle Thomas and then married Ora Agnes Bridges; Martha Thomas, born in 1870 and died at the age of two; Margaret “Jennie”. Thomas, born in 1874 and married George Walton Thomas; Charles Major Thomas, born in 1879; and Edward Clark Thomas, born in 1882 and married Augusta Arbelle Carr. Carroll’s second marriage to Frances Wills Vinson produced two half-siblings, John Cullen “Taylor” Thomas, born in 1891 and married Myrtle Green Chewning and James Carroll “Pat” Thomas born in 1899 and married Bessie Elizabeth Satterfield.
Richard grew up in the Donaldson Creek community and began his postal career as the assistant to the postmaster at the old Donaldson Post Office which was located in the grocery store owned by Chilton Thomas. He worked in this position for ten years until the rural free delivery system was inaugurated in Trigg County. Up unto that time patrons were required to come to the post office to get their mail. On December 1, 1915, he started delivery on what was known as Route Three after he petitioned patrons and organized the route. Later he went on to organize Route Six and Route Nine. He served as temporary carrier on some of these routes until a regular carrier was appointed, finally ending up as the carrier on Route Three until his retirement. All of the routes were served by the Cadiz post office. He estimated the he had traveled over 200,000 miles on the different routes he served on, handled over 750,000 pieces of mail, and worked under six different postmasters at the Cadiz post office. Practically all the routes he traveled were in Trigg County.
Richard said that in delivering the mail along his routes over the years, he had used four different horses, one mule, had worn out three buggies, one motorcycle with side car, and seven automobiles. During the cold winter of 1918, he said he even walked much of the time, the roads being too slippery to permit even riding horseback. He was affectionately known as “Mr. Richard," to the vast number of people, he served as their rural carrier. On February 28, 1937, Richard at the age of 65, retired as the rural mail carrier for Route Six out of Cadiz after 21 years, four months, and 14 days of active service.
On September 4, 1892, Richard married Nannie G. Hendricks in Stewart County, Tennessee. Nannie was born on February 25, 1873 in Trigg County. Richard and Nannie were the parents of five children, Ella Mae Thomas, born in 1894 and married Ethell Moore Blackford; Owen S. Thomas, born in 1896 and married Alfred Washington Coleman and later married Albert Conway Thomas; William Gobel Thomas, born in 1900 and died at the age of four months; Fannie Jane Thomas, born in 1902 and died at the age of three years; Oscar Earl Thomas, born in 1905 and married Willie May Adams.
Nannie died on June 20, 1907 at the age of 34, and was buried in the Carroll Thomas Family cemetery in Trigg County. On March 14, 1921, Richard married his second wife, Effie Sivills. Effie was born on February 18, 1883 in Trigg County. Richard and Effie were the parents of three children, Richard Ellis Thomas, Jr., born and died in 1922; Ellis Franklin Thomas, born in 1923; and Lula Evelyn Thomas, born in 1925 and died a year later.
Effie died on April 12, 1925 at the age of 42, and was buried in the Chewning Cemetery in Trigg County. On November 9, 1933 Richard married his third wife, Ora Crute Wills in Hamilton County, Indiana. Ora was born on April 6, 1880 in Trigg County. Richard and Ora had no children. Ora died on December 1, 1935 at the age of 55 and was buried in the Carroll Thomas Family Cemetery. On October 10, 1940, Richard married his fourth wife, Ada Justice Middleton Smith in Joplin, Missouri. Ada was born on December 28, 1886 in Van Buren, Missouri. Richard and Ada had no children. Ada died on May 13, 1958 at the age of 71 in Joplin, Missouri and was buried next to her first husband in the Forest Park Cemetery in Joplin, Missouri.
Richard died on May 16, 1953 at the age of 81 in the Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee after suffering a broken hip in a fall two years earlier. He was buried in the Carroll. Thomas Family Cemetery in the Donaldson Creek community.
Richard Ellis Thomas tombstone
LINEAGE: (Richard Ellis Thomas was the son of Carroll and Margaret Jane Reid Thomas and the grandson of James, Jr., and Margaret Ethridge Thomas. James, Jr. was the sixth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)
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