Preston County, West Virginia Biography: Jeremiah THOMAS ************************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: 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 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. Submitted by Valerie Crook, , March 2000 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 377-378 JEREMIAH THOMAS, banker, business man, minister, and for many years a successful teacher, is a resident of Bruce- ton Mills and represents a family that has given substan- tial aid to every worthy interest in that section of Preston County for considerably more than a century. Members of this family came to West Virginia from Pennsylvania. Michael Thomas was born in Pennsylvania, a descendant of one of three brothers, Alexander, William and Lewis, who came from Wales in Colonial days. The probable ancestor of the West Virginia branch of the fam- ily was Alexander, of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Michael Thomas was the father of seven sons and an initial "M" was used in each of these sons' names in honor of the father. These seven song were Jacob M., Michael M., George M., John M., Samuel M., Daniel M. and Christian M. The sisters of these brothers were Magdalena, Bar- bara and Anna, the latter becoming the wife of Andrew Umbel and spending her life in Fayette County, Pennsyl- vania. The song Michael and George remained in Fayette County. Samuel and Daniel went West, one to Iowa and the other probably to Ohio. John and Jacob became per- manent residents of West Virginia. Jacob M. Thomas, grandfather of Jeremiah, was born in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and came to West Vir- ginia from Fayette County about 1816, shortly after the close of the second war with Great Britain. He built the pioneer home on hia farm four miles east of Brandonville, and lived the rest of hia life in that house, where he died November 21, 1881. While an industrious farmer, his life was of considerably more importance than that of an in- dividual business man. He was a minister and elder of the Church of the Brethren, and performed missionary labors over six or eight counties of West Virginia, frequently preaching in court houses at the invitation of judges. While his educational advantages were not above those now af- forded by the common schools, he was a real student, and acquired a wide range of knowledge. After reaching his majority he gave his entire attention to farming until about the age of thirty-five, when he was converted and about five years later began preaching. He was thor- oughly well informed on the Scriptures, and was conversant with both the German and English, though all his sermons were delivered in English. He had a gift as an expounder of religions doctrines, and as a missionary, accompanied by a few friends, built up church communities and caused the erection of a number of places of worship. His knowledge and interest extended beyond church and religion to the events of his day. He was one of the early readers of the old Wheeling Intelligencer, and was one of the pioneer voters of the republican faith in his sec- tion of West Virginia. His mother was a Miss Maust, of German ancestry, and the Thomas family lived in a Ger- man community of Pennsylvania, which accounts for the knowledge Reverend Jacob had .of the German tongue. Rev. Jacob M. Thomas married Mary Fike. Their four sons were John J., Levi, Jacob and Andrew, the last two serv- ing as Union soldiers. The daughters were Magdalena, who died unmarried; Sallie, who became the wife of Adam Rosenberger; Anna, who married William Conn; Mary, who became Mrs. Jesse Knox; Barbara, who was the wife of Joseph Zimmerman; and Catherine, who married Samuel Rishel. After the death of the mother of these children Rev. Jacob Thomas married Hepsy Davis, but there were no children from this union. Andrew Thomas, father of the Bruceton Mills banker, was born in Preston County, May 4, 1836. He acquired a country school education, and spent his life on the old homestead farm. During the last years of the Civil war ho was a member of Company K, Seventeenth West Vir- ginia Infantry, going in as a private, and he escaped wounds and capture. He was a stanch republican, always voting at elections but declining political honors. He did his religious work as a layman. Andrew Thomas married Barbara Boger, daughter of Samuel Boger. She was born in Preston County, May 3, 1840, and died February 22, 1879, being survived over twenty years by her husband, Andrew. Their children consisted of a daughter and three sons: Mary Elizabeth, who became the wife of Irvin Wilson and died in Preston County, June 30, 1889; Jeremiah; Noah, who occupies the homestead farm in suc- cession to his father and grandfather; and Ira, a farmer and stock raiser at Bruceton Mills. Jeremiah Thomas was born June 20, 1862, and was reared at the old Thomas homestead. He was educated in the common schools, and for a term or two in West Virginia University at Morgantown. Mr. Thomas began teaching at the age of nineteen. His work was in the same school where he had learned his first lessons, and he taught that school altogether for fifteen years. Subsequently his abil- ity as a teacher benefited other schools, and his career as an educator only came to a close after he had taught for twenty-seven years. In the intervals of teaching he car- ried on a farm, was also land surveyor, and he had a teacher's certificate good for five years when he was in- duced to leave the school room and became cashier of the Bruceton Bank in 1907. He succeeded R. W. Machesney as cashier of the Bruce- ton Bank. At that time L. E. Friend was president of the institution. The Bruceton Bank was opened in December, 1903, its promoters being farmers in the Bruceton locality. Its capital has been $25,000 from the beginning and it now has surplus and undivided profits of $32,000. Its directors are the Thomas brothers, Jeremiah, Noah and Ira, also Vestus Thomas, Walter Collins, Floyd Cale, H. A. Knox, J. E. Jenkins and W. S. Ridenour. Mr. Thomas several years ago was elected president of the bank, his son suc- ceeding him as cashier. Mr. Thomas was president of the company which bought the Beeghly property at Bruceton, moved the old plant away and built a new mill on the site and operated the greatly improved property for about a dozen years, until the company sold to the Hydro Electric Company of West Virginia. The Hydro Electric Company sold the plant to W. D. Smith, who sold in 1922 to H. P. and S. F. Movers. Mr. Thomas is and has been for fifteen or twenty years secretary of the Farmers Union Association and Fire In- surance Company. In his work as a land surveyor he ran the lines around more than fifty farms in Preston County, and did similar work in Maryland and Pennsylvania. These interests thus briefly sketched would seem to make up a busy program for a very energetic man. However, Mr. Thomas has other work to his credit. He was con- verted as a youth of fourteen and joined the Church of the Brethren, his grandfather's old faith. At the age of nineteen he was elected to the ministry, and a year later began preaching as a helper to Elder Solomon Bucklew, At the age of twenty-six he was ordained to the eldership to take charge of the congregation. He preached his first sermon at the Valley schoolhouse near Wymp's Gap from the text "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation." He has had charge of that congregation ever since, with helpers under him, and the congregation has four church buildings and an interest in two others, and in all of these and in three schoolhouses regular service are held. The congregation in 1922 had a membership 550. Mr. Thomas is also chairman of the Mission Board of the First District of West Virginia and a member of the Ministerial Board of the same district. Mr. Thomas led the movement for the establishment a high school in Grant District, a school that has been running three years. While teaching he was urged to per- mit his name to be used in connection with the nomination for county superintendent of schools, but he declined the honor. His competence as a surveyor also led friends to induce him to become candidate for county surveyor, I this too he declined, having no ambition for political honors. He is a republican voter. On May 25, 1882, in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, Mr. Thomas married Miss Susanna Seese. She was born Dec- cember 19, 1861, daughter of John and Mary Ann (Um- bel) Seese, a family of substantial farmers in Fayette County. Mrs. Thomas is one of nine surviving children and others living in West Virginia are Andrew, George and Mrs. Zeima Livingood. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have three children and five grandchildren. Walter Herbert, who is a graduate of the business department of the Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, succeeded his father as cashier of the Bruceton Bank for several years, but re- signed and is now holding a position in the office of the Norfolk & Western Railroad Company at Roanoke, Vir- ginia. He married Mary Collier, and his three children are Lena, Beulah and Dwight. Chester Arthur, the sec- ond son, has given a number of years to work as a teacher and is a farmer near Brandonville. He married Grace Wolfe, and their two children are Pauline and Alma. The youngest of Mr. Thomas' children and only daughter is Ethel May, now in the junior class at Bridgewater Col- lege in Virginia.