In 1850, Joseph Thomas is living in District 13 in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia. Enumerated as born in 1798 and head of household, Joseph may be married to the much younger Sarah E Thomas. According to marriage records for Chatham County, Joseph H. Thomas married Sarah Jane English on August 6, 1849. By occupation Joseph is a “net maker” with others in the home also being tradesmen including a saddler, several tailors, and a fisherman.  Some were born in Georgia while others came from Virginia, South Carolina, and as far away as Scotland.  As for Joseph, he is born in North Carolina.

The 1860 Chatham County census illuminates why the above may be important to me as at that time Joseph Thomas is 64 years of age, a farmer, with land and real property valued at $1,000.  In 1860 Joseph is enumerated as born in “Berty Co. N. C.”  At that point Joseph and wife Sarah have a respectably sized family with another couple, Jonah and wife Catherine Harrell living in the household.  This couple is also born in Bertie County NC.

In harmony with the 1850 Georgia census, looking back to Bertie County in search of clues based on the ages of Joseph and Jonah, I found Joseph clearly in the 1830 census as over thirty and under forty years of age. He is living within twelve households from Josiah Harrell (related to Jonah?). He’s also near James Collins and John Fife; understand my mention of both will become better understood in a bit.

So this is Joseph and in finding him, I can now begin to unravel a curious person who I’ve been wondering about. Particularly, there are some good mentions of Joseph Thomas in records though I have still not been able to properly connect him to earlier family. Yet, what we know solidly begins to resolve some issues connecting him to the lands and records of Josiah Thomas Senior, son of Joseph Thomas (II).

Josiah Sr. had a son “Jordan Thomas” whom folks have been all over the place in addressing.  The 1814 estate division of Josiah Thomas Sr. deceased devises upon son Jordan 80 acres along the road, I think being present-day Republican Road near the intersection of School Road. Laid off by Moses Gilliam, Turner Bazemore, Zed. Stone, and Geo Outlaw, and Simon A. Bryan: Jordan’s 80-acre share (shaded green) is identified as:

“beginning at a pine in the road in Turner Bazemore’s line, then to a  pine, then along the line of said Bazemore to a pine in Simon A. Bryan’s, then along his line and Joseph S. Pugh’s to a gum in a branch, then south 89 west a new line.”  

But then, at this point, we can begin to trace other members of family, and even those who are not, though Jordan becomes lost in an almost vacuum of nothingness.  One ray of hope some have followed is believing that Josiah’s son above is a Jordan Thomas who died earlier in Franklin County NC.  Though Josiah’s son seems to vanish, the dates simply do not match though for others out there chasing this fellow who served as Sheriff for Franklin County, I offer the arousing bit of record below.  Again, to be clear, this is the record for a Jordan Thomas, though not the son of Josiah of Bertie County.

Nearly coming to an end without any lifelines reaching back in time, I believe the record I’m about to share relates to both Josiah’s son and Joseph Thomas who moved to Georgia.  Dated May 15, 1833, Joseph Thomas of Bertie County purchased an eighty-one acre tract from John Fife (Bertie DD – 67). In the land instrument is written the following:

“a certain piece or parcel of land lying and being situated in the county and state aforesaid bounded by the lands of Joseph Pugh’s heirs, Josiah Thomas [Junior], Thomas Speller, and others it being the tract of land upon which Jordan Thomas late of the state and county aforesaid lived and died, it being the right of my wife Judah, daughter of the said Jordan Thomas.”

From this deed one can clearly see that Josiah’s son Jordan lived and died on the family lands he had inherited.  Further, according to a Bertie County marriage bond, the above John Fife and Judy Thomas were married on March 23, 1827. And of the marriage, Judy apparently died young as on April 16, 1838, John married second to Anna Harrell.  A sister or relative of Jonah Harrell who married Catherine and was living in 1860 at the home of Joseph Thomas in Savannah, Georgia?

Back in Bertie, Joseph S. Pugh who was mentioned in the deed died circa 1830 at which time Joseph Thomas and James Collins purchased canoes from the estate. Also making purchases nearby on the list was Henry Harrell whose relation to Jonah Harrell is unknown to me. Joseph Thomas, along with George Thomas, also provided depositions on how slaves owned by the heirs of Gov. David Stone deceased were hired out to move and stack lumber.

Pertaining to Joseph Thomas’ acreage purchased of John Fife in 1833, being the land once owned by Jordan Thomas, son of Josiah Thomas Senior, that land was not held too long as Joseph Thomas sold fifty acres of it in 1837 to “Elizabeth Speller” (Deed DD – 572). At that time the land is described as:

“Beginning at the road in the said Elizabeth Speller’s line then running her line near a south course to a corner in her line then running near a north east coarse to the road Everett Thomas & wife’s line then down the road to the first station.”

This appears to be Jordan’s land east of Republican Road.   The land on the west side of the road may have been sold to the house carpenter, Jeremiah Bunch.

Note that Everett Thomas is the son of Josiah Thomas Junior who received the northwest-most tract from his father’s estate, including the homeplace. The homeplace is identified in both the estate division and the 1860’s Confederate Engineering Map which the division plat overlays.  In 1850, 45-year-old Everett Thomas is living in the home of his aged father, Josiah Thomas, who is 75 years of age. Next door in the census is Jeremiah Bunch [Junior] who is also identified on the Confederate map.

Following recent participation in a genealogy talk at Historic Hope Plantation concerning architecture, specifically homes built by the family of person of color Jeremiah Bunch, Mr. Lou Craig offered to tour me though numerous places important to the family.  Seen in the Confederate map above, you will note Craig’s Mill close to the Josiah Thomas estate.  Well, that’s Lou’s folks and he carried us to look out from “school road” towards the old mill pond site.  Also, take a minute to look at the photo below.

Isaiah Thomas is the son of Michael Thomas, who is the son of Josiah Thomas Junior, the son of Josiah Thomas, Senior who died circa 1811-14. Apparently, the old home tract passed from Senior to son Junior and then on to Michael or at least later purchased by Isaiah as in real life the photo above goes further to unravel the mystery.  Looking beyond the stone, and beyond the woods, one will see a small field within which the old Josiah Thomas Senior’s home once stood.  So, this is naturally the perfect for a cemetery and likely under the leaf-covered ground lies stones marking the grave of original owner, Josiah Sr.  And looking beyond the distant field, see the woods in the background?  That’s on the other side of Republican Road and is close to the spot where Jeremiah Bunch’s home once stood before being moved to School House Road.

This was the area and land once lived upon by Joseph Thomas who later appears as “net maker” in the Savannah Georgia census.  We do not know yet how he ties into the family …maybe as a brother of Judy and therefore a son of Jordan Thomas.  And with that, it’s time for this bit of writing to come to an end until further information can be found kicking the can further down the road.