John Chew Thomas (October 15, 1764 – May 10, 1836) was an American politician who served as a Federalist 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 ...

for

Maryland's 2nd congressional district Maryland's 2nd congressional district elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives every two years. The district comprises parts of Howard, Harford, Baltimore, and Anne Arundel Counties, as well as small portions of th ...

from 1799 to 1801. He also served as a member of the Maryland State House of Delegates from 1796 to 1797. Born in

Perryville, Maryland Perryville is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,361 at the 2010 census. The town is located near an access for Interstate 95, on the north side of the outlet of the Susquehanna River. History Perryville was fir ...

, Thomas attended private schools and graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1783. He moved to "Fairland" in

Anne Arundel County, Maryland Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, wh ...

, around 1789, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia on December 15, 1787, but did not engage in extensive practice. He was elected as a Federalist to the Sixth Congress, and served from March 4, 1799, to March 3, 1801, but declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1800. In 1810, Thomas sold Fairland, freed most of his slaves, and moved to Pennsylvania, where he lived until his death near Leiperville. He is interred in the

Chester Friends Meetinghouse Chester Friends Meetinghouse is a Quaker meeting house at 520 East 24th Street in Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The first recorded meeting of Friends in the province of Pennsylvania was in Chester at the house of Rober ...

Cemetery in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester i ...

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* * 1764 births 1836 deaths American Quakers Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland People from Cecil County, Maryland University of Pennsylvania alumni {{Maryland-politician-stub