Generation No. 1 1. FLOYD1 THOMAS was born Bet. 1824 and 1844 in Tennessee, and died Aft. 1908 in Marion (or Warren) Co., Tennessee. He married NANCY RANSOM Bef. 1864, daughter of LEWIS RANSOM and LAYER HOGSHEAD. He married a second time but her name is unknown to me. Child of FLOYD THOMAS and NANCY RANSOM is: 2. i. WILLIAM RUSSELL2 THOMAS, b. 07 December 1864, Rabun County, Georgia (near Clayton); d. 01 October 1947, Verbena, Chilton County, Alabama. Generation No. 2 2. WILLIAM RUSSELL2 THOMAS (FLOYD1) was born 07 December 1864 in Rabun County, Georgia (near Clayton), and died 01 October 1947 in Verbena, Chilton County, Alabama. He married (1) ABBIE STAMEY Abt. 1884 in Georgia. He married (2) SARAH ELIZABETH FRANCIS HOLDER (Source: 1900 federal census for Etowah County, Alabama, listed as daughter of Jay M. Holder.) 21 July 1900 in Gadsden, Etowah County, Alabama, daughter of JABEZ HOLDER and M. REED. Notes for WILLIAM RUSSELL THOMAS: In the 1900 census William R. Thomas was listed as living in Alabama City (precinct 29), Etowah County, Alabama. His birth date was given as Dec., 1864. He was born in Georgia and his parents were both listed as born in Tennessee. He had 4 daughters: Margaret A. born April 1885 in Georgia, Martha L. born April 1887 in Georgia, Jennie V. born March 1889 in Georgia and Lottie born November, 1890 in Georgia. All 4 of his daughters at the ages of 16, 13, 11, and 9 were listed as Spinners in a Cotton Mill. He also had one son, Clyde O. listed as born in March 1899, barely over one year old. Apparently his first wife had died in childbirth or shortly afterward. His marriage to Sarah Holder must have occurred shortly after this census was taken. In 1908 William Russell Thomas filed an application for the Guion Miller Roll based on his being a descendant of a Cherokee Indian through his mother, Nancy ransom. His children were listed as M. Angeline Thomas 17, born March 16, 1891; Martha L. Thomas 16, born March 17, 1892; Mrs. Jennie Smith 15, born June 1893; Lottie May Thomas 12, born Sep 18, 1896; John Lester Thomas 7, born Dec 12, 1901; and Abbie E. Thomas 5, born Dec 14, 1903. In the 1910 census for Calhoun County, Alabama he is listed with wife Sarah F. His daughters are Mattie (23), John L. (9), Abbie E. (7), and Oliver S. (2). Margaret A., 16 in 1900 would be 26 years old and married. She is apparently listed as M. Angeline in the 1908 application and her age given as 17. Jennie, listed as 11 on the 1900 census was listed as 15 on the 1908 application and her birth date, instead of March 1889 was listed as June 1893. She had apparenty left home before the 1910 census. Lottie was listed as 9 years old in 1900 and as 12 years old in 1908 and her birth date was given as 1900 and Lottie, 9 in 1900 would be ages 21 and 19 and were no longer at home. Martha, 13 in 1900 was the same as Mattie, 23 in 1910. Clyde O., 1 in 1900 possibly had died before the 1910 census. It is said that "Grandpa Thomas" worked in a cotton mill in Siluria, Alabama for 50 cents per day. He had to walk across a mountain at 2 AM with a lantern to get to work. He drank out of a dipper from a well and lived with no inside plumbing. They used a wood stove and made brooms from dogwood limbs and sage. Notes for SARAH ELIZABETH FRANCIS HOLDER: It is claimed that Sarah HOLDER was "Black Dutch" This has also been referred to as "German Dutch." Pictures of her look very much like Native American. It is a known fact that some families of Native American origin claimed other claimed to have other origins to avoid being removed during the "Trail of Tears." "Grandma" Thomas was a "bee charmer". It has been told by witnesses that she could walk up to bee hives and rob them and it was almost like the bees loved her. "Bear" Thomas couldn't get anywhere near the bee hives because they would sting him all over. Apparently none of the children inherited this ability. Children of WILLIAM THOMAS and ABBIE STAMEY are: i. MARGARET ANGELINE3 THOMAS, b. April 1885, Georgia; m. JOHN SWAFFORD. ii. MARTHA L. THOMAS, b. April 1887, Georgia; m. UNKNOWN HUGHES. iii. JENNIE THOMAS, b. March 1889, Georgia; m. STROUP SMITH. iv. LOTTIE MAY THOMAS, b. November 1890, Georgia; m. SAM HAMMONDS. v. CLYDE O. THOMAS, b. March 1899, Alabama. Children of WILLIAM THOMAS and SARAH HOLDER are: vi. JOHN LESTER MORRISON3 THOMAS, b. 12 December 1901; m. (1) ANNIE MAE HARRIS; m. (2) UNKNOWN UNKNOWN; m. (3) DAISY BAKER. vii. ABBIE ELIZABETH THOMAS, b. 14 December 1903; m. BYRON STEPHENS. viii. VEDA THOMAS, b. 22 January 1906; d. January 1987 ; m. JIM OSCAR LLOYD. ix. OLIVER SAMUEL THOMAS, b. 03 September 1907; d. 07 March 1969; m. CATHERINE LOUELLA THOMAS. x. CLAUDIA ETHEL THOMAS, b. Bet. 1907 and 1915. xi. MARY ESTHER THOMAS, b. Bet. 1907 and 1915; m. CHARLIE MOORE. xii. ROSCO THOMAS, b. 02 February 1915, Alabama; d. 03 December 1931, Alabama. xiii. RUBY ESTELLE THOMAS, b. 24 January 1916, Calhoun County, Alabama; m. ARNOLD ODELL WILLIAMS, 24 November 1933, Talladega County, Alabama. xiv. WILLIAM ERNEST THOMAS, b. 24 December 1919, Alabama; d. 01 May 1945, Okinawa, Japan. xv. WILLIE GERTRUDE THOMAS, b. 17 April 1921; m. CHARLES WASHINGTON HILL, 1940. xvi. GLADYS MYRTLE LEE THOMAS (Source: family information.), b. 16 April 1923, Verbena, Chilton County, Alabama (Source: family information.); d. 22 May 1994, Childersburg, Talladega County, Alabama (Source: personal knowledge.); m. WILFORD JOHNSON FIELDS (Source: personal knowledge.), 18 October 1941, Talladega County, Alabama (Source: Talladega County Marriage Records.). Notes for WILFORD JOHNSON FIELDS: As a young lad, Wilford Fields was required to help manage his parents' farm. One story that has been passed down was about a time when Wilford was very young and had to go out and round up the cows and bring them back to the barn. There was a lane down one side of the property leading from the born to the pasture where the cows grazed. When he tried to drive the cows into the lane they would often wander back out into the pasture. After quite a while Wilford tired of this and started trying to figure out how to get the cows to stay together. Then he hit upon a plan. Two of the cows that were standing fairly close together provided the first opportunity to try out his plan. He simply tied their tails together. Of course, as soon as the cows tried to move they realized that they were caught. The cows however did not stop there. They began to pull harder and harder, wanting to be free to move at will. The effort gained nothing which caused the cows to continue to strain. Finally, with a tremendous effort the cows were free. Unfortunately that freedom came at a price. The tail of one of the cows had been pulled completely off. Wilford had no choice but to tell his father what had happened. This honesty gained him a whipping. Or maybe it should be called a beating. Wilford was beaten with a stick of stove wood. Although this is considered to be very harsh punishment today it was not unusual at the time. It is said that Wilford Fields quit school in the 7th grade. This did not stop him from being a brilliant man who could repair most anything that was intended to run. If it was designed to run, he could usually make it run. Just when his life was beginning to look up, that was when his life ended. He had the best job of his life at Kimberly-Clark corporation in Childersburg, Alabama. He job title was Millwright. His ability to repair anything was paying off. He had this job for only 4 years when he was diagnosed with Leukemia and died. He spent most of the last six months of his life in the hospital. Marriage Notes for GLADYS THOMAS and WILFORD FIELDS: The marriage between Wilford Fields and Gladys Thomas had a shaky beginning. The Fields and the Hill families owned land and had a certain amount of money. The Hill family had more money than the Fields family but both families were land owners. The Thomas family by contrast owned no land. They were itinerant farmers. They had never owned anything, living in shacks that were rented wherever they might be at the time. Most of the children had to go to work very young. Census records indicate that some of "Bear" Thomas' daughters were working before the age of 9. Johnson Fields referred to the Thomas family as "Poor, white trash." The truth is that both Wilford Fields and Gladys Thomas grew up working hard. Wilford helped out on his dad's farm from a young age, Gladys Thomas had to work all her life to help out the family. Randall Fields