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EDWARD H. THOMAS. This work would be incomplete were the sketch of this honored pioneer to be omitted from its pages. He was born in Portland, Me., on the 1st of January, 1813, and his parents were Elias and Elizabeth (Widgery) Thomas. They were among the best and most highly respected families of the State of Maine. His father, who was of Welsh descent, was born in Portland, that State, Jan. 14, 1772, and after a useful and honored life, died in that city on the 5th of August, 1872, at the advanced age of one hundred years and five months. In his earlier years he was engaged in commerce, but later held various positions of public trust, among which was the office of State Treasurer, which he held for a number of years, resigning and retiring from public life in order to give personal attention to his business affairs.
Mrs. Thomas, the mother of our subject, was of English descent, and the only daughter of William Widgery, a man greatly distinguished in his time for his talents and force of character, as well as for the ability he manifested in the various public positions he held. He served as Member of Congress, as a member of the Constitutional Convention of Massachusetts and for many years was one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas. The characteristic traits of the father would seem to have descended to the daughter, for she was a lady of remarkable ability, thought and action. She died in Portland, Me., July 2, 1861, at the age of sixty-two years.
Edward H. Thomas, our subject, received a collegiate education in Bowdoin College, being graduated from that celebrated institution in the class of ’31. He studied law in the office of Stephen Longfellow, father of H. W. Longfellow, America’s loved poet, in Portland, Me., where he was admitted to the bar in 1835. In company with his friend, Judge Springer, he emigrated to Iowa in 1838, and settled in this county in December of that year. He remained a citizen of Iowa some twenty years or more, residing in Louisa County for thirteen years, and in Des Moines County for about seven or eight years.
Mr. Thomas spent the time between the years 1851 and 1854 in traveling over this and other countries, seven months being passed, in company with his sister Charlotte, among the interesting and historical scenes of Europe. He then returned to Des Moines County, locating in Burlington. He was an accomplished lawyer, though probably the practice was not always entirely to his taste, since after he had left Wapello he became, in 1854, a member of the banking firm of Green, Thomas & Co., of Burlington. He seemed to care little for official position, though in 1854 he accepted the appointment tendered him by Gov. Chambers, of District Attorney for the Middle Judicial District of Iowa, comprising eight counties, which office he held for two years.
In 1855, in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., Mr. Thomas was united in marriage with Miss Charlotte A. Dubois, a lady of French descent. They had two children—Edward H. and Charles. Edward was born in Burlington, Iowa, Dec. 28, 1855, and died in the same city, May 9, 1859. Charles was also born in Burlington, on the 9th of June, 1860. The death of Mrs. Thomas occurred in Burlington, Dec. 28, 1861, and soon afterward Mr. Thomas left Iowa for Portland, Me., placing his infant son in charge of his sister Charlotte, a lady inheriting the independent traits of her grandfather Widgery, blended with the active, but unobtrusive, benevolence of her mother. The good training which Charles received at the hands of this lady has been manifested in his later years. He is a bright young man, a fine critical writer, and possessed of much executive ability in business matters.
Mr. Thomas is numbered among the honored pioneers of this county. He was deservedly popular with the early settlers, for they knew him to be a genial, generous, true-hearted man. Scholarly, witty, conscientious, true to his convictions of right and duty, always a star in the social circle, he would have been considered a valuable acquisition to any . . .
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. . . community. As an amateur musician, he had few equals. His favorite instrument was the flute, though he could play well on other instruments, and he possessed the additional charm of a rich bass voice. Since 1863 Mr. Thomas has resided in his native city, Portland, doubly afflicted for a number of years past by the loss of his eyesight and partial loss of hearing. His old settler and other friends will, however, be glad to know that he bears his misfortunes like a philosopher, as he is; that he appears almost as cheerful as ever, and is in fair general health at this writing, in September, 1888. He seems to enjoy life and keeps well posted in current literature and in the news of the day. A lady is employed to read magazines and books to him one day in each week, and his attendant and relatives read the morning and evening papers to him. He takes considerable exercise indoors and out, walking miles a day in pleasant weather, going on excursions, attending public meetings and others places of interest. He still retains a warm regard for his Iowa friends, and an undiminished interest in Iowa affairs.
It is with pleasure that the portrait of this good man is present to the readers of the ALBUM.
