John Addison Thomas (May 28, 1810 – March 26, 1858) was an American engineer and military officer who served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, and later served as

United States Assistant Secretary of State Assistant Secretary of State (A/S) is a title used for many executive positions in the United States Department of State, ranking below the under secretaries. A set of six assistant secretaries reporting to the under secretary for political affairs ...

Early life

Thomas was born in

Cabarrus County, North Carolina Cabarrus County ( )
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Columbia, Tennessee Columbia is a city in and the county seat of Maury County, Tennessee. The population was 41,690 as of the 2020 United States census. Columbia is included in the Nashville metropolitan area. The self-proclaimed "mule capital of the world," Colum ...

. He was the son of Isaac Jetton Thomas and Asenath ( née Houston) Thomas. His older brother was James Houston Thomas (1808–1876), a member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from Tennessee's 6th district. He graduated at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

in 1833.

Career

Upon his graduation from West Point, he was assigned to the 3rd artillery, served in garrison and as assistant instructor of infantry tactics and became 2nd lieutenant on December 1, 1835 and 1st lieutenant on June 30, 1837. From 1840 to 1841 he was assistant professor of geography, history and ethics at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

and from 1842 to 1845 he was commandant of cadets and instructor of infantry tactics. He was made captain on November 19, 1843 and resigned on May 28, 1846 to practice law in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. On July 23, 1846, he became colonel of the 4th New York regiment which had been raised for the war with

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, but was not mustered into service. Thomas was chief engineer of New York state in 1853 to 1854 and from April 19, 1853 to January 14, 1854 was advocate of the United States in London, England under the convention of February 8, 1853 with Great Britain for the adjustment of American claims. From November 1, 1855 to April 3, 1857 he was

, serving under

U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

William L. Marcy and, later, Lewis Cass, in Washington, D.C. He gained reputation by his report of the convention with Great Britain and by other state papers.

Personal life

In 1844, Thomas was married to Catherine Ronalds (1820–1885), the daughter of Maria Dorothea Lorillard (1790–1848) and Thomas Alexander Ronalds (1788–1835), a New York merchant. Eleanora was the granddaughter of

Pierre Lorillard II Pierre Abraham Lorillard II or Peter Abraham Lorillard II (September 7, 1764 – May 23, 1843), also known as Peter Lorillard, Jr., was an American tobacco manufacturer, industrialist, banker, businessman, and real estate tycoon. Early life Lo ...

, the head of the

Lorillard Tobacco Company Lorillard Tobacco Company was an American tobacco company that marketed cigarettes under the brand names Newport, Maverick, Old Gold, Kent, True, Satin, and Max. The company had two operating segments: cigarettes and electronic cigarettes. Th ...

, and a cousin of

Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Catharine Lorillard Wolfe (8 March 1828 – 4 April 1887) was an American philanthropist and art collector. Though she gave large amounts of money to institutions such as Grace Episcopal Church and Union College, her most significant gifts wer ...

. Her sister, Eleanora Lorillard Ronalds, was married to

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Frederick A. Conkling. They were the parents of: * Addison Thomas (1845–1908), who married Alice Gridley Abbott (1850–1874), daughter of James Alexander Abbott. After her death, he married Susan Cox (b. 1839), daughter of Rev.

Samuel Hanson Cox Samuel Hanson Cox (August 25, 1793 – October 2, 1880) was an American Presbyterian minister and a leading abolitionist. Cox was born in Rahway, New Jersey to Quaker family. After renouncing his religion and serving in the War of 1812, he ...

. * Ronald Thomas (1847–1923), who married Daisy Richards (1857–1900), daughter of Dr. John Custis Richards, in 1881. They lived at "The Roses" in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...

. After her death in 1900, he married Julia Hayes Percy in 1902. * Catherine Lorillard Thomas (1850–1934), who married Ernest Christian de La Haye, Viscount d'Anglemont (d. 1885) in 1869. * George Lorillard Thomas (b. 1851), an attorney, who married Nora Clayton Thomas, his cousin and the daughter of James Houston Thomas, a member of the

Confederate Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new na ...

. Thomas died in Paris, France, on March 26, 1858.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, John Addison 1810 births 1858 deaths United States Assistant Secretaries of State United States Army officers People from Cabarrus County, North Carolina United States Military Academy alumni Commandants of the Corps of Cadets of the United States Military Academy People from Columbia, Tennessee