Robert Baker Thomas -- Businessman

Robert Baker Thomas was a Confederate Civil War veteran and a successful whiskey
merchant of Louisville, Kentucky.  He owned his own railroad car, which he used to make trips
from Louisville to visit his sister in Comanche, Texas.  Made a "Kentucky Colonel" in 1879 by
Governor Luke P. Blackburn, Robert was also an avid hunter and fisherman, and spent many
winters fishing off the east coast of Florida.  In March, 1903, he wrote the following description
of some birds native to the Miami area:
"It is a common thing to see buzzards on the roofs of houses at Miami and in the
streets.  The crows light in the streets and yards and feed with the chickens like our tame
pigeon, in fact are tamer.  These birds are great scavengers, and they are not allowed to be
killed.  The jackdaw, which is exactly like our largest black bird that we have in the spring,
mingle with the crow, and the only way you can tell them apart is in size.  It is one of the
finest and sweetest songsters I ever heard.  They are as great or greater singers than the
mocking bird, which are also very numerous.  We see down here around us every winter
people in boats sent from New York and other eastern cities killing these beautiful birds for
their plumage to trim and ornament ladies' hats, bonnets and dresses.  It is a shame, and I
believe if many of the ladies who used such ornaments could see these pretty birds in all
their glory, beauty and innocence, and how much they add as their part to the beauties of
nature, they would quit the use of their plumage as ornaments and join the Audubon
Society."
The following is from Robert Baker Thomas' obituary in the Cadiz Record:
.
Robert Baker Thomas died at his apartments at the home of Mrs. Addie Gunn in this
city last Monday morning at seven o'clock (May 12, 1913).  For ten days past his condition had
rapidly grown worse and for several days before the end came his death had been expected.
Mr. Thomas was born in Cadiz on the 4th day of May, 1845, and was the eldest son
of Col. Stanley Thomas, deceased, who was one of the most prominent men of the county,
having been Sheriff and held other positions of honor and trust in business and official life.
The mother of Col. R. B. Thomas was before her marriage Miss Sarah Thompson, a sister
of Messrs. Moses and J. E. Thompson and a half-sister of Messrs. Robert and Alexander
Baker.  Col. Thomas grew to manhood in Cadiz and for a number of years was engaged in
business here.  In 1874 he moved to Louisville and engaged in the wholesale business, the
firm being Thomas, Price & Major.  Later the firm was Thomas & Lindsay and afterward
Col. Thomas bought out the entire business and ran it for years under the name of R. B.
Thomas.  He was quite successful, and amassed a considerable fortune.  Col. Thomas
retired from business in 1900 and about eleven years ago moved back to Cadiz, the home
of his boyhood, and had since lived in specially prepared apartments at the home of Mrs.
Gunn in this city.
For twenty-five years Col. Thomas had been a sufferer from locomotar axia, and his
hearing had not been the best.  He was able to go about, however, and always enjoyed
outdoor sports, and until three or four years ago spent much of his leisure time during the
hunting season with dog and gun in the field.  He was also a great fisherman, and belonged
to several clubs in Louisville and always joined them on their annual trips to the lakes of
Canada in summer and the warmer climate along the coast in winter.  His afflictions had
made this impossible for the past four years.
Out of his large estate he had always been a liberal contributor to charitable and
church purposes, and in his will leaves his property to his sister, Mrs. Sallie Moore, and her
children, and to his sister-in-law [the widow of Henry Thomas], who has lived in California
for a number of years.
Funeral services were held at the home of Mrs. Gunn on East Main street Tuesday
afternoon at 3:30 o'clock.  A large crowd of relatives and friends were present to pay a last
tribute of respect to the deceased.  The pall bearers were his two nephews, Messrs. Robert
and Henry Moore, and Messrs. Percy Preston, Ben T. and Stanley White.  The remains
were buried in the family lot in East End Cemetery in Cadiz, Kentucky..      THE LINEAGE: (Robert Baker Thomas was the first son of Stanley and Sarah Thompson Rothrock Thomas and the grandson of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Joan Ann Sumner/"Lacy J. Thomas" -- Actress

 

Joan Ann Sumner, born October 7, 1938 in Longview, Texas,  was the only child in her family. Her childhood dance and music lessons introduced her to what would later become her preferred career. When she was young, her family moved to Ohio which is where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Education, as well as two Master's Degrees. But her love for performing tugged deeply at her heart.

In her early 20's, she became Lacy J. Thomas, and moved to New York to chase her dream. From there, she moved to Los Angeles, California and lived and worked there for many years. "Lacy" was a very successful actress in New York and L.A., and played many roles in productions such as T.V. shows General Hospital and Cheers, Documentaries, off Broadway shows, and many others. She was also a frequent guest on radio and T.V. talk shows, and starred in several commercials. When her mother's health began to fail, Joan set "Lacy" aside and moved to Jasper, Texas to take care of her.

While in Jasper, Joan supported herself and her mother teaching at Stephen F. Austin University, and Angelina College. Although her life was full, she desperately missed performing and found her smile again by performing in local theatre. Joan's love for animals began early in life and brought her much happiness. She took in every stray that came her way, and showered them with love and affection. And although Joan had many suitors, she never married or had children, so her pets became her family.

On April 27, 2018, Joan Sumner / Lacy J. Thomas left peacefully in "their" sleep. The chemo that she willingly accepted to prolong her life ultimately took it, due to complications. A private ceremony was held after cremation. In lieu of any gifts, please send donation to S.N.I.P.S. ( Spay and Neuter Society) at P.O. Box 1222 Jasper, TX 75951 in Joan's honor. We will truly miss your tender and loving soul, your wonderful stories, your sweet spirit, your generous heart, and your beautiful smile, Joan. How blessed we were to have you in our lives.  Joan was the daughter of Clementine "Clem" Lee Sumner and the granddaughter of William Lowery Sumner and Mary Jane Thomas and a descendant of Perry Thomas.

THE LINEAGE:

(Joan Ann Sumner was the daughter of Celementine Lee and Nellie Alta Sumner, granddaughter of William Lowery and Mary Jane Thomas Sumner and great-granddaughter of Rufus King and Alvie Adline Dunn Thomas.  Rufus was the fifth 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.)

C. Edwin “Ed” Baker -- Communications Law Scholar

C. Edwin (Ed) Baker was a Madisonville, Kentucky resident throughout his childhood, Ed attended Stanford University, Yale College of Law, and was a Fellow at Harvard on three different occasions. C. Edwin Baker, the Nicholas F. Gallicchio Professor of Law and Communication at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a leading scholar in the fields of constitutional law, communications law and free speech, who died suddenly on December 8, 2009 in New York City, where he had lived the past 20 years. He was 62. He collapsed while exercising and could not be revived.

Ed Baker’s four published books, Human Liberty and Freedom of Speech, Advertising and a Democratic Press, Media, Markets, and Democracy, and Media Concentration and Democracy: Why Ownership Matters, dealt with the First Amendment and with media policy. He also authored over 70 professional articles and book chapters, as well as numerous Op Ed pieces over the years, including two published in the New York Times. Yale Professor Jack Balkin describes Ed Baker as “the finest media law scholar of his generation.” His current work focused on the threats to democracy poised by the concentration of media ownership and the loss of active newspaper reporters. He testified before Congress last year on these issues. Professor Robert McChesney, co-founder of SavetheNews.org, writes that: “It is impossible to gauge the immensity of the loss with Ed Baker's passing. He has been the leading constitutional scholar on matters of freedom of the press for two decades. His commitment to a strong free press and a vibrant democracy guided all of his work.” Professor Baker was working on his fifth book at the time of his death as well as preparing to present a paper at the International Human Rights Conference in Israel.

Since his death, the University of Pennsylvania Law School Class of 2010 has awarded Ed Baker the prize for Outstanding Professor. Additionally, the law school has named an award honoring public service by students to be presented annually at the Law School graduation the C. Edwin Baker Award for Public Service. Several Symposia, including one that the recent International Human Rights conference in Israel have also been dedicated to Ed’s memory, and he has been remembered by scholars and friends around the world.

Ed Baker, known as Eddie during his childhood, was the son of the late Falcon O. Baker, Jr, and Ernestine Magagna Baker. Professor Baker is survived by his sister, Nancy Baker, of El Granada, Calif., who is on the faculty of Fielding Graduate University; her spouse, Cathy Hauer; and seven first cousins with whom he was very close. 

From Wikipedia:

C. Edwin Baker (May 28, 1947 – December 8, 2009), the Nicholas F. Gallicchio Professor of Law and Communication at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, was a leading scholar of constitutional law, communications law, and free speech. 

Biography

Baker was considered one of the country's foremost authorities on the First Amendment and on mass media policy.[1] His most recent scholarship focused on the economics of the news business, political philosophy, and jurisprudential questions concerning the egalitarian and libertarian bases of constitutional theory.

Baker was a native of Madisonville, Kentucky. He received his bachelor's degree from Stanford University and his law degree from Yale Law School. He was a law and humanities fellow at Harvard University in 1974, a fellow at Harvard's Shorenstein Barone Center in 1992, and a Radcliffe fellow there in 2006.

Baker served as a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union and was a professor at the University of Oregon and an assistant professor at the University of Toledo. He joined the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1981, and since 2007 held a joint appointment at the Annenberg School for Communication at Penn. He was also a visiting professor at New York University, the University of Chicago, Cornell University, Harvard University, and the University of Texas.

Baker was survived by his sister, Nancy L. Baker, Ph.D., a member of the faculty at Fielding Graduate University. He was predeceased by his parents, Falcon O. Baker, Jr. and Ernestine Magagna Baker.

Books

• Human Liberty and Freedom of Speech (Oxford, 1989) defends interpreting First Amendment freedom of speech as concerned primarily with individual freedom and autonomy rather than the more traditional understanding of it being about a marketplace of ideas
• Advertising and a Democratic Press (Princeton, 1994)
• Media, Markets, and Democracy (Cambridge, 2002), 2002 winner of the Donald McGannon Award for Social and Ethical Relevance in Communications Policy Research.^[2] This book has been translated into Chinese and a number of other languages.
• Media Concentration and Democracy: Why Ownership Matters (Cambridge, 2007)

 

 THE LINEAGE:

(C. Edwin "Ed" Baker was the son of Falcon Olero, Jr. and Ernestine Maria Theresa Magagna Baker, grandson of Falcon Olero, Sr. and Myrtle Golladay Baker and grandson of James Richard and Ida Thomas Golladay.  Ida was the first child of Alfred Marshall and Eliza Anne Martin Thomas.  Alfred was the fifth child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Mary Bridges was the seventh child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

Eric Vaughn Plunk--Professional Baseball Player

Eric Vaughn Plunk (born September 3, 1963) is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1986-1999.

Plunk was involved in two trades for Rickey Henderson. On December 5, 1984, as a minor leaguer, he was traded by the New York Yankees with Tim Birtsas, Jay Howell, Stan Javier, and José Rijo to the Oakland Athletics for Rickey Henderson, Bert Bradley, and cash. On June 21, 1989, he was traded by the Oakland Athletics with Greg Cadaret and Luis Polonia to the New York Yankees for Rickey Henderson. Plunk was part of the pennant-winning 1988 Athletics.

Known for his bookish looks and thick glasses, Plunk threw a mid- to upper 90s fastball and emerged with the Indians as a reliable set-up man in one of the American League's best bullpens.

Plunk's career took him to the Cleveland Indians as a free agent signing in the winter of 1992. There, he was the winning pitcher in the first ever game played at Jacobs Field on April 4, 1994. Plunk became one of the most reliable set-up men in baseball, posting a sub-3.00 earned run average in four consecutive seasons from 1993 to 1996. On September 17, 1996, Plunk pitched the final three innings and got the save in the Indians' 9-4 win over the White Sox that clinched the Tribe's second consecutive Central Division title.

Plunk's regular season success never translated over to the postseason. In 15 playoff appearances with the Athletics and Indians, Plunk had a 7.53 ERA and walked 10 batters in 14 innings of work. He was the losing pitcher for Game 3 of the 1997 World Series, his final postseason appearance.
Days before the trade deadline during the 1998 season, the Indians traded Plunk to the Milwaukee Brewers for Doug Jones. Plunk pitched one more season in the major leagues for the Brewers in 1999.

(From Wikipedia) 

THE LINEAGE:

(Eric Vaughn Plunk was the son of Kenneth Acile and Melva L. Akers Plunk, grandson of Orvan Orin and Louise Myrtle Haywood Plunk and great-grandson of Elijah C. and Mary Elizabeth Bridges Haywood.  Mary was the fourth child of John William "Buck" and Nancy Adeline Pugh Bridges.  John William was the fourth child of Orren Dates 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.)

Richard A. Thomas - Hotel Executive

Richard A. "Dick" Thomas was born March 19, 1929, to Cyrus B. and Carolyn C. Thomas, of Takoma Park, Maryland. His grandparents were Stanley Thomas, Jr. and Callie May Bennett. He had three siblings, brothers, Stanley and Frank, and a sister, Dorothy. In 1932, the family left Maryland for Florida where Dick attended Mirror Lake Junior High School and St. Petersburg High. Much of his childhood was spent on a small island in nearby Tampa Bay where he hunted, fished and swam, but unknown to most, also caddied at a local golf course, starting at age 10, inspiring a lifelong love of that game. At age 20, Dick moved to Chicago to join the Hilton Hotel Corporation at the largest hotel in the world at the time, the Stevens, renamed the Conrad Hilton a few years later. From that point forward, Dick's career reads like a textbook example of how to succeed in hotel sales and tourism management. As his knowledge increased, responsibilities were expanded and his productivity soared. Dick's initiative, doggedness and charm were not lost on Hilton senior executives, who gave him increasingly daunting posts within their Statler and Biltmore divisions. It was at this time that Dick married and began his family. Continued career success lead to an offer, unrefused, by Carling Dinkler for Dick to become director of sales at Dinkler's renowned Tutwiler property in Birmingham. Dick was summarily boosted to director of sales at Dinkler's flagship Plaza Hotel in Atlanta, where Dick also oversaw sales at all 35 hotels and motels in the Dinkler chain. It was here that he coined his trademark soft-spoken phrase, "Is there anything you need anything I can do for you?" Dick's stability, family orientation and respected professional accomplishments brought him to the attention of the leadership of a city undergoing transformation from vacation-only to a blend of leisure and convention orientations. New Orleans, America's brashest city, recruited one of America's most staid hospitality executives to manage that intimidating task. Within five years, Dick's stewardship of NOLA's convention sales operation brought him once again to the notice of another world-class destination seeking to increase its rank of sustainability within the rooms' reservation scheme. Las Vegas was, at that time, reaching out to the cream of hospitality sales gurus from across the nation to join with hotel and casino executives at already famous resorts aptly named Desert Inn, Caesars Palace, Tropicana, Dunes, Sands, Thunderbird, Frontier, Flamingo and Sahara. Over the next 28 years, Dick found his way into the executive suites of several of those iconic-named properties, settling in at the crown jewel Desert Inn Country Club for close to 20 of those years, and during Las Vegas' most astounding growth and development period. Dick and his wife, Karen, created a marketing management company named Kerat in 1995, and provided sales and convention-related services for the next 11 years at the Holiday Inn Boardwalk hotel and casino. Richard A. Thomas was stalwart in his devotions to family, to profession, to colleagues and to philanthropic associations. He rose to become a SKAL International president in Las Vegas, Statewide Chairman of both the Alabama and Georgia JAYCEES, and a sustaining member in ASAE, MPI, PCMA, SITE, PATA, HSMA and JATA. He was loved and respected in each of his professional avocations.

 

 THE LINEAGE:

(Richard Alfred "Dick" Thomas was the son of Cyrus Bryan and Carolyn Calve Coates Thomas, grandson of Stanley, Jr. and Callie May Bennett Thomas and great grandson of Stanley and Emily Ann Light Thomas.  Stanley was the second child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Mary Bridges was the seventh child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)