[1] He remained on the family farm until the age of 17 years when he started his pursuit of higher education, graduating from Union College in 1830.
While in this capacity, he and Lorenzo Burrows were tasked with drafting amendments to the village charter in 1842 to allow for the establishment of Mount Albion Cemetery.
In 1873 his commitment to the African-American population in Albion culminated in the establishment of the A.M.E. Church located on Ingersoll Street north of the Erie Canal.
[5] He was passionate about the preservation of local history and aided in the establishment of the first museum in Orleans County, situated within a log cabin constructed on the old fair grounds on the western boundary of Albion.
Thomas was married three times, first to Mary Udall (February 2, 1812 – June 16, 1856),[6] then to Harriet Ellsworth, and finally to Eliza Parsons Herrick.