James W. Thomas [RG1460.AM]

HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID



RG1460.AM:  James W. Thomas, 1840-1916



Reminiscences:  1911

Plattsmouth, Cass County, Nebraska:  Pioneer; soldier

Size:  One folder



BACKGROUND NOTE



Born in Indiana on January 20, 1840, James W. Thomas migrated with his family to Glenwood, Iowa, in 1856.  That same year, the family traveled to Plattsmouth, Nebraska, to look into land claims.  The Thomas family eventually filed a claim in Cass County near Plattsmouth, and built their home.  James Thomas served with the Nebraska 2nd Cavalry during the Civil War.  By 1880, James Thomas was married to Julia Child and living in Plattsmouth.  He worked as a carpenter, and the 1900 census lists him as a fruit grower.  James W. Thomas died at Plattsmouth, Nebraska, on November 23, 1916, and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.



SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE



The collection consist of one folder containing a handwritten reminiscence by James W. Thomas, written in 1911.  In the reminiscence Thomas describes settling in Cass County, Nebraska; filing land claims; building a frame house; interactions with Pawnee Indians; blizzards and other weather conditions faced; and battling prairie fires.  A typescript copy of the reminiscence is included, as well as an introductory letter by James W. Thomas.



INVENTORY



Reminiscences of James W. Thomas, 1911



 



Subject headings:



Blizzards — Nebraska

Cass County (Nebraska) — History

Frontier and pioneer life — Nebraska — Cass County

Grassland fires — Nebraska

Indians of North America

Plattsmouth (Nebraska) — History

Reminiscences

Thomas family

Thomas, James W., 1840-1916

Weather — Nebraska



 



Revised TMM      02-11-2020

 

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