John Thames (abt. 1799 - 1865)

Born about 1799 in Cumberland County, North Carolina

Ancestors

Husband of Rutha A. Banks (Cobb) Thames — married 18 Dec 1820 in Bibb County, Alabama, USA

Descendants

Died Jan 1865 at about age 66 in Shelby County, Alabama

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Biography

John Thames was married to Rutha Banks Cobb on December 10, 1820 in Cahawba/Bibb County, Alabama. They had a total of 17 children, all of whom survived infancy.

John Thames was arrested in October of 1864 for "willfully and knowingly finding, harboring, or aiding a deserting soldier." The soldier has long been thought to be John Faust Thames, John and Ritha's son. It was probably this incident which led to John's murder in January of 1865. Apparently, James Cobb, Rutha's brother, had a strong dislike for John. One account says that he resented John for turning his sister into a "baby factory". It is also thought that some of John's family were Northern sympathizers during the Civil War, adding to an already intense hatred. James had been at war for a few months in the early campaign, but had to return for health reasons. Upon his return, he made it his business to find all of the Confederate deserters and return them to the front lines. He may have found out that John was hiding his son and turned him in. James is also held responsible for the murders of Luke Avery, John and Rutha's son in law, Charles Cobb, another one of Rutha's brothers, and also John Faust Thames. James was later hanged by a vigilante gang made up of the families of other boys James had sent back to die in the war. ^[1]

Burial: Old Rocky Mount Methodist Cemetery, Chilton Co. AL, unmarked grave

Occupation: Farmer

Sources

1. ↑ Descendants of David Thames by Irma J. Roy 2010

See also:

• Reference to John Thames in entry for Rutha Banks Cobb in Descendants of Alexander Cobb at Central Alabama Genealogy.
• "VIOLENCE AND CONFEDERATE RECRUITING EFFORTS: SHELBY COUNTY, ALABAMA, 1863-1865 by Alan J. Pitts. Presentation at the Alabama Historical Association Annual Meeting, 1994. Full text accessed 4 July 2020.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Barbara Corley for creating WikiTree profile Thames-112 through the import of export-BloodTree.ged on May 12, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Barbara and others.

Amanda Collum, firsthand knowledge, Jan 1, 2012. Click the Changes tab for the details of edits by Amanda and others.