Peter Swope Thomas (1857 - 1930)

Born 12 Apr 1857 in Spring Creek, Rockingham Co, VA

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 21 Feb 1930 at age 72 in Harrisonburg, VA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Whitney Faler [send private message]

Biography

Peter Swope Thomas entry from the book:

Men of Mark and Representative Citizens of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, VA ISBN: 9780806348346 Pages 346-347

Born April 12, 1857 near Spring Creek; attended Beaver Creek School and Spring Creek Academy (later Bridgewater College); teacher at Beaver Creek; Came to Harrisonburg in 1881; dealer in farm implements; contractor with W.H. Rickard in construction work; contractor in plumbing and heating; secretary Harrisonburg Board of Trade; active in church work; captain of Fire Company No. 3; founder and first elder of the Harrisonburg Church of the Brethren.

Mr. Thomas for many years was a faithful minister in the Church of the Brethren and a prominent leader in chuch enterprises; at the same time he engaged in various lines of business and participated actively in civic and philanthropic organizations of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. He was a son of Elder Jacob Thomas of Beaver Creek and his wife Elizabeth Swope. His father was one of the early supporters of higher education in the Church of the Brethren, and Mr. Thomas himself was for many years a trustee of Bridgewater College. For 25 years he was secretary of the Brethren orphans home board at Timberville; also for some years general secretary of the child rescue organization of the Church of the Brethren, as well as an active worker for the temperance and welfare agencies.

In 1881, in partnership with his father, Mr. Thomas began business in Harrisonburg as a dealer in farm implements and so continued until about 1896 when his building was burned. For several years he and W.H. Rickard engaged in construction work, one of their contracts consisting in grading a part of the roadway for the C.W. Railway. In 1907 he went into the plumbing business, with his shop on the northside of East Market Street, just east of Federal Alley. About this time he took a correspondence course in heating and plumbing with the International Correspondence Schools. Shortly afterwards he took the contract for laying the first main sewer line in Harrisonburg. He was instrumental in developing the city water system, and was an active member of one of the fire companies, being captain for some time of the old Fire Company No. 3. For 25 years he was secretary of the Harrisonburg Board of Trade, the forerunner of the present Chamber of Commerce. About 1901 he and several others established the Church of the Brethren in Harrisonburg, and a few years later he was instrumental in building the brick church of the denomination on the hill, on the site formerly occupied by the first Methodist Church. Until a short time before his death he served the congregation as pastor and elder.

On October 11, 1881, Mr. Thomas married Miss. Lizzie E. McLaughlin, daughter of John and Hannah J. McLaughlin, and at the time of his death, February 21, 1930, he was survived by Mrs. Thomas and seven children: Nina, Mrs. John D. Garber; Lottie, Mrs. Claude Bowban; Margaret, Mrs. E.V. Crist; Pauline, Mrs. Glen Cline; Edna, Mrs. Earl Wetsel; Anna, Mrs. Russell Lee; and a son, Charles H. Thomas. He was survived also by a brother, Rev. Abraham S. Thomas and a sister, Miss Susan Thomas, both of the Spring Creek neighborhood. Internment was made in the cemetery of Beaver Creek Church located near the old Thomas homestead. The popularity of Mr. Thomas was indicated by the large congregation in attendance, made up of ministers and members of the various denominations represented in the city and county.

Burial

Find A Grave: Memorial #49023764
Rev Peter Swope Thomas
Birth 12 Apr 1857 Spring Creek, Rockingham County, Virginia, USA
Death 21 Feb 1930 (aged 72) Harrisonburg, Rockingham County, Virginia, USA
Burial Beaver Creek Church of the Brethren Cemetery
Bridgewater, Rockingham County, Virginia, USA
^[1]

Residence

Residence:

Date: 1910

Place: Central, Rockingham, Virginia^[2]

Residence:

Date: 1900

Place: Central District (west part, excl. Harrisonburg Town), Rockingham, Virginia^[3]

Residence:

Date: 1920

Place: Harrisonburg Ward 1, Harrisonburg (Independent City), Virginia^[4]

Residence:

Date: 1920

Place: Harrisonburg Ward 1, Harrisonburg (Independent City), Virginia^[5]

Residence:

Date: 1880

Place: Ashby, Rockingham, Virginia, United States^[6]

Residence:

Date: 1910

Place: Central, Rockingham, Virginia^[7]

Marriage

Husband: Peter Swope Thomas

Child: Pauline E Thomas

Relationship to Father: Natural

Child: Nina Thomas

Relationship to Father: Natural

Marriage:

Date: 11 OCT 1881^[8][9]

Wife: Elizabeth (Betsy) Swope

Child: Abraham Sager Thomas

Relationship to Mother: Natural

Child: Susan C. Thomas

Relationship to Mother: Natural

Child: Peter Swope Thomas

Relationship to Mother: Natural

Child: Sara Frances Thomas

Relationship to Mother: Natural

Marriage:

Date: 17 AUG 1843^[10][11]

Sources

1. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #49023764
2. ↑ Source: Page: Year: 1910; Census Place: Central, Rockingham, Virginia; Roll: ; Page: ; Enumeration District: ; Image: . Data: Text: Birth date: 1857 CONT Birth place: Virginia CONT Residence date: 1910 CONT Residence place: Central, Rockingham, Virginia
3. ↑ Source: #S5 Page: Year: 1900; Census Place: Central, Rockingham, Virginia; Roll: T623_1726; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 59. Data: Text: Birth date: Apr 1857 CONT Birth place: Virginia CONT Marriage date: 1881 CONT Marriage place: CONT Residence date: 1900 CONT Residence place: Central District (west part, excl. Harrisonburg Town), Rockingham, Virginia
4. ↑ Source: #S12 Page: Year: 1920; Census Place: Harrisonburg Ward 1, Harrisonburg (Independent City), Virginia; Roll: T625_1893; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 104; Image: . Data: Text: Birth date: abt 1858 CONT Birth place: Virginia CONT Residence date: 1920 CONT Residence place: Harrisonburg Ward 1, Harrisonburg (Independent City), Virginia
5. ↑ Source: #S12 Page: Year: 1920; Census Place: Harrisonburg Ward 1, Harrisonburg (Independent City), Virginia; Roll: T625_1893; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 104; Image: . Data: Text: Birth date: abt 1858 CONT Birth place: Virginia CONT Residence date: 1920 CONT Residence place: Harrisonburg Ward 1, Harrisonburg (Independent City), Virginia
6. ↑ Source: #S11 Page: Year: 1880; Census Place: Ashby, Rockingham, Virginia; Roll: 1388; Family History Film: 1255388; Page: 466C; Enumeration District: 078; Image: . Data: Text: Birth date: abt 1857 CONT Birth place: Virginia CONT Residence date: 1880 CONT Residence place: Ashby, Rockingham, Virginia, United States
7. ↑ Source: #S15 Page: Year: 1910; Census Place: Central, Rockingham, Virginia; Roll: ; Page: ; Enumeration District: ; Image: . Data: Text: Birth date: 1857 CONT Birth place: Virginia CONT Residence date: 1910 CONT Residence place: Central, Rockingham, Virginia Object: @M800@
8. ↑ Source: #S5 Page: Year: 1900; Census Place: Central, Rockingham, Virginia; Roll: T623_1726; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 59. Data: Text: Birth date: Apr 1859 CONT Birth place: Virginia CONT Marriage date: 1881 CONT Marriage place: CONT Residence date: 1900 CONT Residence place: Central District (west part, excl. Harrisonburg Town), Rockingham, Virginia Object: @M699@
9. ↑ Source: #S5 Page: Year: 1900; Census Place: Central, Rockingham, Virginia; Roll: T623_1726; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 59. Data: Text: Birth date: Apr 1857 CONT Birth place: Virginia CONT Marriage date: 1881 CONT Marriage place: CONT Residence date: 1900 CONT Residence place: Central District (west part, excl. Harrisonburg Town), Rockingham, Virginia
10. ↑ Source: #S5 Page: Year: 1900; Census Place: Ashby, Rockingham, Virginia; Roll: T623_1726; Page: 26B; Enumeration District: 55. Data: Text: Birth date: Nov 1821 CONT Birth place: Virginia CONT Marriage date: 1843 CONT Marriage place: CONT Residence date: 1900 CONT Residence place: Bridgewater town, Rockingham, Virginia Object: @M797@
11. ↑ Source: #S5 Page: Year: 1900; Census Place: Ashby, Rockingham, Virginia; Roll: T623_1726; Page: 26B; Enumeration District: 55. Data: Text: Birth date: Mar 1823 CONT Birth place: Virginia CONT Marriage date: 1843 CONT Marriage place: CONT Residence date: 1900 CONT Residence place: Bridgewater town, Rockingham, Virginia Object: @M797@

1880 United States Federal Census 1900 United States Federal Census 1910 United States Federal Census 1920 United States Federal Census Web: Virginia, Find A Grave Index, 1607-2011

• Source: S11 Author: Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Title: 1880 United States Federal Census Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. All use is subject to the limited; Repository: #R1
• Repository: R1 Name: Ancestry.com Address: http://www.Ancestry.com E-Mail Address: Phone Number:
• Source: S12 Author: Ancestry.com Title: 1920 United States Federal Census Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data - Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Reco; Repository: #R1
• Source: S15 Author: Ancestry.com Title: 1910 United States Federal Census Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.Original data - Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Was; Repository: #R1
• Source: S5 Author: Ancestry.com Title: 1900 United States Federal Census Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 18; Repository: #R1
• Source: S9 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.; Repository: #R1 NOTEThis information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created.

Notes

Note N11Birth: Apr. 12, 1857 Spring Creek Rockingham County Virginia, USA Death: Feb. 21, 1930 Harrisonburg Rockingham County Virginia, USA Family links: Children: Nina Elizabeth Thomas Garber (1883 - 1978)* Carrie 'Edna' Thomas Wetsel (1895 - 1980)* Spouse: Elizabeth "Lizzie" E. McLaughlin Thomas (1859 - 1936) *Point here for explanation Burial: Beaver Creek Church of the Brethren Cemetery Bridgewater Rockingham County Virginia, USA Created by: Marlin Diehl Record added: Mar 02, 2010 Find A Grave: Memorial #49023764