Thomas was among 27 Friends from Furness and elsewhere in Lancashire prosecuted several times for interrupting priests and addressing their congregations.
He was arrested in 1659 and imprisoned in Lancaster Castle for failing to pay parish tithes and seemingly on later occasions as well.
The group, known as Naohites, used the Quaker term "first-day" for Sunday, rejected payment for preachers, forbade gaudy dress, debt, stealing, lying, and swearing, and emphasized that the Spirit puts into people's hearts what they should do.
[7] The Curwens returned to England, where they preached in London, the South-East and the East Midlands, as well as retaining their connections in Furness, especially Swarthmoor Hall and the meeting there.
It included a tribute by the fellow preacher Rebecca Travers, a notable Quaker writer of the period.