Roderick B Thomas (1848 - 1887)

Born 26 Dec 1848 in Knoxville, Knox, Tennessee, United States

Died 16 Nov 1887 at age 38 in Little Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas, United States

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Biography

Roderick Thomas is Notable.

Roderick Thomas was the first African-American judge in Alabama.^[1]

In 1870, Roderick (44) was living with his mother, Amelia Thomas in Selma, Alabama. He was employed as a clerk with the Circuit Court.^[2] He had been appointed to the clerkship earlier that year.^[3]

Roderick Thomas was born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1848.^[4]

He married Viola Chafin on July 11, 1883 in Dallas County, Alabama, USA.

Roderick was listed as an attorney in a directory in 1887 in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States.^[5]

He died in 1887.

Research Notes

In his will, he requests that his wife (the executrix) have a marble slab or tombstone placed on the graves, in Selma, Alabama, of his mother, Mrs Amelia Thomas, and his sister, Angeline Thomas.

He also stipulated that one-half of the estate (after debts and other bequests to his wife) was to be divided equally between his nephew, Roderick B Thomas, son of his sister Emily Asberry, and his nephew Roderick E Thomas, son of his deceased brother, Lawson E Thomas

Sources

1. ↑ "Judge Roderick B. Thomas." Alabama Lawyers Association. Accessed 28 Aug 2020.
2. ↑ 1870 Census: "1870 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1870; Census Place: Selma, Dallas, Alabama; Roll: M593_14; Page: 683A
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 7163 #13260943 (accessed 8 October 2023)
   Roderick Thomas (24), Clerk of Circuit court, in Selma, Dallas, Alabama. Born in Tennessee.
3. ↑ Civil Appointment: "Alabama, U.S., Civil Appointments, 1818-1939"
   Original data: Card index to the commissions and civil appointments register of the Secretary of State. Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 60923 #27539 (accessed 8 October 2023)
   Name: Roderick Thomas; Appointment Date: 22 Mar 1870; Appointment Place: Dallas, Alabama, USA; Commission Date: 6 Apr 1870; Film: M881667; Film Title: Civil Appointments.
4. ↑ Marriage: "Alabama, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1805-1967"
   Original data: Marriage Records. Alabama Marriages. County courthouses, Alabama
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61365 #170988 (accessed 27 August 2023)
   R B Thomas (35) marriage to Viola E Chafin on 11 Jul 1883 in Dallas, Alabama, USA.
5. ↑ 1887 Directory: "U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995"
   Original data: Original sources vary according to directory. The title of the specific directory being viewed is listed at the top of the image viewer page. Check the directory title page image for full title and publication information
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2469 #751609005 (accessed 27 August 2023)
   Residence Place: Little Rock, Arkansas, USA; Street Address: 912 W 14th; Name: Roderick B Thomas; Residence Year: 1887; Occupation: Attorney; Publication Title: Little Rock, Arkansas, City Directory, 1887.

• "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHK3-K1M : 19 March 2020), Roderick Thomas in entry for Amelia Thomas, 1870.

• Probate: "Arkansas, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1818-1998"
  Probate Packets (Pulaski County, Arkansas), 1819-1920; Indexes, 1819-1920; Author: Arkansas. Probate Court (Pulaski County); Probate Place: Pulaski, Arkansas
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8638 #934633
  Roderick B Thomas probate on 26 Nov 1887.
• "Alabama, U.S., Civil Appointments, 1818-1939"
  Card index to the commissions and civil appointments register of the Secretary of State. Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 60923 #27539
  Name: Roderick Thomas; Appointment Date: 22 Mar 1870; Appointment Place: Dallas, Alabama, USA; Commission Date: 6 Apr 1870; Film: M881667; Film Title: Civil Appointments.