[1] In 1819, he moved with his parents to Worcester, Massachusetts, and attended Lancaster Academy.

He was commissioner of bankruptcy in 1842, judge of probate for Worcester County 1844-1848, and a presidential elector on the Whig ticket in 1848.

In 1861 he was elected as a Unionist to the 37th Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Charles F. Adams, and served from June 11, 1861, to March 3, 1863.

[3] He served on the society's board of councilors from 1842 to 1843, as secretary for domestic correspondence from 1841 to 1867, and as vice president from 1867 until his death in 1878.

[4] Thomas died at his home in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts on September 27, 1878, and is interred at Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston.