Thomas Genealogy

Isham B. Thomas was born about 1803 as determined from his gravestone. However, some census records show he may have been born as late as 1815. His place of birth is listed as Georgia on census records. I believe he may have been from Bulloch County, Georgia, only because of some early 1830's real estate transactions there and his two known sisters were married and lived there. He died in Alachua County, Florida, December 18, 1868, and is buried there.

He married Mary Ulmer in Decatur County, Georgia, November 29, 1846. According to census records, Mary was born in South Carolina around 1820-1822. The Ulmer family is shown on the 1840 and 1850 census records as being in Decatur County, Georgia, but not there on the 1830 census. Mary is the daughter of Elender (Eleanor?) Ulmer. I do not know her father's name. Mary died September 15, 1873 in Alachua County, Florida.

Their first child, Sarah, was born in Decatur County, GA, in 1847. On the 1850 Federal Census, Isham B. and Mary Thomas were living in Lowndes County, Georgia. They then had the following children, all shown as born in Georgia: Sarah C., age 3; Nancy E., age 1; and Mary F., age 3 months.

In late 1850 Isham B. Thomas began purchasing land in Alachua County, Florida.

On the 1860 Federal Census, Isham B. and Mary Thomas were living near Newnansville in Alachua County with 8 children. Also in the household were 2 farm laborers (Isham Thomas and Ivey Thomas - more about them later) and 1 family teacher (William Hagler). The agricultural census of the same year showed Isham B. Thomas as having 130 acres of improved land and 610 acres of unimproved land. They had one additional child in 1863. All nine children survived to adulthood, married and remained in Florida.

Information on the family and descendants of Isham B. Thomas is contained in the menu.

Many of the Thomas family members are buried in the Thomas Cemetery and the Hague Cemetery, both in Alachua County. Joseph Murray Thomas and several of his descendants are buried in the Umatilla Cemetery in Lake County, Florida.

The name "Murray" crops up numerous times in Isham's descendants. It has been used both as a first and as a middle name. I do not know the origin of the name and would be interested in any information concerning this.

Two other members of the household on the 1860 census were Ivey Thomas and Isham Thomas, both of whom are shown as farm laborers and have been determined not to be children of Isham B. and Mary Thomas. They have been identified as Ivey A. Thomas from Madison County, Florida, and Isham Jackson Thomas reportedly born in Tattnall County, Georgia.

There is a DNA relationship between Isham B. Thomas' descendants and Isham J. Thomas' descendants. However, to my knowledge, the exact connection/relationship between Isham B. and Isham J. has not been conclusively documented.

I have conducted research on Ivey and Isham J. Thomas hoping to find their ties to Isham B. - so far, without success. However, the available information indicates both Ivey A. Thomas' and Isham J. Thomas' fathers were named "William," but they do not appear to be the same person. Click on their links in the menu to read what I know about them.

It should be noted that some researchers mistakenly show Isham B. Thomas as being married in 1838, prior to his 1846 marriage to Mary Ulmer, and that Isham J. Thomas and/or Ivey A. Thomas were children from this first marriage. This is a convenient explanation since Isham J. and Ivey were in Isham B. Thomas' Alachua County, Florida household for the 1860 census but too old to be from his 1846 marriage. This 1838 marriage claim is likely based on erronous online marriage indexes showing a July 10, 1838, marriage between Isham Thomas and Emeline Wiggins in Randolph County, Georgia. Examination of the original Randolph County marriage record shows that groom was Isham "Thompson," not "Thomas." Also, Isham and Emeline Thompson are found on the 1850 and 1860 U. S. censuses continuing to live in Randolph and Terrell Counties whereas Isham B. Thomas was in Lowndes County, Georgia, and Alachua County, Florida, on those censuses.