Jeremiah Thomas
(1856-1891)
Jeremiah Thomas was the sixth child of John and Elizabeth Davies Thomas of Brynmawr, Wales and Scranton, Pennsylvania, and until recently very little was known about his life. Jeremiah was born in Hyde Park/Scranton, Pa. circa 1856, and lived most of his life in Scranton. We first see Jeremiah in the 1860 census (4 years old) living with his mother and father and brothers and sisters in Hyde Park's 4th Ward. He appears again in the 1870 census of Hyde Park (14 years old), listed as a "mule driver in the mines," a familiar occupation of the Thomas boys, and one that would claim the life of Jeremiah's younger brother Daniel (see below).Sometime prior to 1880 Jeremiah married Alice E. Fletcher, the daughter of Charles and Mary Ann Fletcher. She was born circa 1857 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, as evidenced by the 1861 UK census. Ship's passenger records tell us that the Fletcher family emigrated from England to America in 1870, arriving at the port of New York on board the ship "Wisconsin" on 17 July of that year. The Fletcher family makes it first appearance in American records in the 1870 census of Scranton, taken barely a month after the family arrived in America. By the time of the 1880 census, Jeremiah had become a full fledged miner. In the census Jeremiah and Alice Thomas are living on Decker's Alley in Hyde Park, next door to Alice's widowed mother Mary and family. (Mary's husband Thomas died sometime between the 1870 and 1880 census.) Living on the opposite side next door was the family of Jeremiah's brother John J. "Drummer" Thomas.
We know that there were two children born to Jeremiah and Alice, in Scranton, Mary Emily, born 10 May 1883, and Gertrude, born in July of 1885. While both daughter's birth dates are confirmed by the marriage records, Gertrude's birth was also registered in Scranton, her parents listed as "Jerry" Thomas and Alice Fletcher Thomas. The year 1885 was an important one for Jeremiah and family, because sometime shortly after the birth of Gertrude the family emigrated from Scranton to Hamilton, Ontario in Canada, as evidenced by the 1901 and 1911 Canadian census. We don't know why Jeremiah and family migrated to Canada, however we know that Jeremiah worked as a fireman in Hamilton, which is perhaps an indication that he had given up his life as a miner, and was seeking his fortune elsewhere. We know that Jeremiah worked as a fireman because, sadly, death registers for the City of Hamilton tell us that Jeremiah Thomas died in a fire in Hamilton on 23 Feb 1891, at the age of 34 years 10 months. Jeremiah was the second son of John and Elizabeth Thomas to be killed in the mines. Two and a half years earlier his younger brother Daniel, a mule driver in Hyde Park's Diamond mine, was crushed to death by a coal car at age 16. News of Jeremiah's untimely death was reported just two days later in the Scranton local newspapers, as follows:
Scranton Republican, Wednesday, 25 Feb 1891Killed in the West
Jeremiah Thomas, formerly of Hyde Park, was killed at Hamilton, Ontario, Monday at a fire. He belonged to the Ontario paid fire department.
Life for Alice and her two young daughters must have been difficult following Jeremiah's death, however information from the 1901 Canadian census indicates that the family remained in Hamilton and that Alice did not remarry. In the 1901 census Alice and her daughters Mary and Gertrude are living in Hamilton. Alice was working in a local bakery, Mary was working in a Millinery, while the census describes Gertrude's occupation as "Tailor apprentice."
Some changes were in store for the Thomas family during the next decade. Marriage records from Hamilton indicate that on 28 Mar 1908 daughter Mary Thomas married an iron worker named Adam J. Crossman. Born circa 1879, Adam was born in Preston, Ontario and was the son of Adam Crossman and Ellen Hagarty. Adam and Mary are present in the 1911 census of Hamilton, however no children are present in the return, and at this point I do not know if the couple produced descendants. Her death certificate tells us that Mary Crossman died of pneumonia at age 45, in Hamilton, on 5 Oct 1828, and was buried in the Hamilton (city) cemetery.
Daughter Gertrude married Frank A. Staunton 0n 25 June 1910. Frank was the son of John Staunton and Mary Jane Woods. Their marriage certificate tells us that Frank was a musician, while his father John is described as a "Hotel Keeper." Information from the 1911 census of Hamilton tells us that Frank and Gertrude had a son John born in March of 1903. The return is also important because it shows that Gertrude's mother Alice Thomas was living with her daughter and family, and this is the last record we have for her.
Although the premature death of Jeremiah Thomas is a sad affair, family members can perhaps take solace in knowing that this previously forgotten branch of the Thomas family has been restored to its rightful place in the Thomas family tree. I would be very interested in hearing from anyone else researching this family line, especially from any descendants of Jeremiah and Alice Thomas.
Jeffrey L. Thomas
Revised September 2006
jltbalt1@comcast.net
Death certificate of Jeremiah Thomas
Web site copyright © 2006 by Jeffrey L. Thomas, with all rights reserved
e-mail: jltbalt1@comcast.net
