Bio of Joseph THOMAS (b.1846), Wright Co., MN
Pages 990
========================================================================
USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information
on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities,
as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is
obtained from the contributor of the file.
These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or
presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to
use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written
consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter,
and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent.

If you have found this file through a source other than the MNArchives 
Table Of Contents you can find other Minnesota related Archives at:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm
Please note the county and type of file at the top of this page to find 
the submitter information or other files for this county.
FileFormatted by Terri--MNArchives

Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Diane Hanson
=========================================================================

990           HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY 

Joseph Thomas, an influential farmer of Rockford township, was born in 
Wales, May 18, 1846, son of Hugh and Anna (Davis) Thomas, and grandson 
of Joseph and Jane Davis. Hugh Thomas was a miner. He came to the United 
States in 1853, bringing his wife and his children, Hugh, Jr., Joseph, 
Anna, Ellen, Mary and Elizabeth, and located in Oneida county, New York, 
where he worked in the cotton factories. In 1857 he came to La Crosse, 
Wis., and took up farming near that city. Anna (Davis) Thomas died at 
La Crosse at the age of sixty-one. Hugh Thomas then took his daughter 
Ellen and made a trip to Wales. She died at Troy, N. Y., on their return.
Then he returned to Wisconsin and made his home with his daughter, Anna, 
until he died in 1891 at the age of eighty-eight. One of the sons, Hugh 
Thomas, Jr., was a veteran of the Civil War, having served in the 26th 
New York Volunteer Infantry. Joseph Thomas received his education in 
Wisconsin, and at the age of fourteen started out for himself. When he 
was twenty-five, he and his wife located in Olmsted county, Minnesota, 
where they farmed until 1880, with the exception of about a year and a 
half spent in Lyon county, this state. It was in April, 1880, that they 
came to Wright county and located in Rockford village. For sixteen years 
he was a finisher in the Rockford Woolen Mills. In 1894 he traded his 
village property for eighty acres in section 22, Rockford township. 
He has made many improvements, and later bought eighty acres more. Ever 
since coming here he has taken a leading part in the affairs of this 
vicinity. He has been a member of the village council of Rockford four 
years and president of that body one year, as well as supervisor of 
Rockford township for four years. He is a stockholder in the Dickinson 
Co-Operative Creamery at Dickinson, Minn. Mr. Thomas was married 
December 16, 1865, to Sarah Josephine Allen, who was born in La Crosse 
county, Wisconsin, August 27, 1853, daughter of Martin and Jane Allen, 
pioneer farmers of that county.  Mr. and Mrs. Thomas had two children, 
Jennie and Frank.  Jennie is the wife  Levi Thompson, and they have 
three children, Joseph, Ansel and Ethel.  Frank farms on an adjoining 
farm to his father.  He married Bertha Darrow and has four children, 
Roy, Vernon, Gladys, and Kenneth.  The family are members of the Advent 
Christian church.