Hiram M. Thomas
History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894
USGENWEB Montana Archives
May be copied for non-profit purposes.

Hiram M. Thomas, one of the most successful farmers in 
Flint Creek Valley has been a resident of Montana since 
1865.He was born near Niles Michigan, October 11, 1838, 
and is of Scotch and Welsh extraction. His father, Ezekiel 
Thomas was born in Ireland, in 1806 and his mother Mary 
(McCartney) was born in Ohio and her mother, a native of 
America, was of German descent. After their marriage, his 
parents removed to Indiana, where they took claim to a 
tract of landand which they sold after having made some 
improvements upon it. From there they removed to Fillmore 
County Minnesota,where the father resided up to the time 
of his death, which occurred in 1890, in his eighty-
fourth year. His first wife died at the age of thirty-
five, leaving six children, of whom only three are now 
living and was afterward married again.Hiram M. was the 
fourth born in his father's family. He was reared in 
Minnesota, receiving his education in the district schools, 
and remaining at home until he was twenty years of age. He 
then started across the plains to makehis fortune and 
a home in the far west. Leaving Minneosta on the 20th 
of April, he was five months and a half on thejourney, 
traveling with a horse team and continuing on until he 
reached southern Oregon. There he mined for two years.
Afterward he was engaged in mining in Idaho. He was at 
the Florence diggings in 1862-63, and was also for a 
time in Placer County, California. In 1865, as above 
stated, he came to Montana, making the journey here 
with pack animals. Up to this time he had made but 
little money. He was, however, rich in experience. 
He first located in Blackfoot country, where he mined 
two seasons, for wages at $6 per day and saved all he 
could. From there he came to Pioneer and became 
interested in placer mining, remaining at Pioneer 
until 1870, and making some money there. He then 
came to his present location and took claim to a 
tract of land and engaged in raising cattle and 
horses. Prosperity attendedhis efforts and as the
 years passed by he added to his original tract, 
and at this writing his farm comprises 1100 acres. 
In 1886 he built a nice residence on his property. 
From time to time he has made other valuable 
improvements here and today his farm is one of 
the finest in the state. Seeing the need of keeping 
a better grade of horses than were being raised here, 
he purchased blooded trotting horses and later Norman 
Percheron and Clydesdale stock and in this way has 
done much to improve the grade of horses in this part 
of the country. He was the owner of "Live Oak" for
a number of years and finally sold him, he afterward 
was sold for $3000. This horse was the sire of many valuable
horses.Mr. Thomas was married February 5, 1868 to Anna 
Mariah Williams, a native of England. She came to 
America with her parents when she was eighteen 
months old. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have three children: 
Ella (now Mrs. Solan M. Hughes); Mary Elizabeth, who 
died in childhood; and George W. who is attending 
college.

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