[2] These sessions were characterized by colonial opposition to the imposition of taxes by parliament and to resisting efforts by proprietary governors Horatio Sharpe and Robert Eden to proclaim new fees for civil offices.
It was not until 1776, however, that the Conventions formally rejected a call for new elections by Governor Eden, who then left the province, bringing to an end nearly 150 years of colonial rule.
[2] During his time as Speaker, he presided over the establishment of the first Court of Appeals in Maryland and the adoption of the full text of the Declaration of Independence into the proceedings of the House.
As a member of that court, Thomas helped oversee the declaration that a number of prominent Marylanders had committed high treason by staying loyal to Great Britain, and ordered the confiscation of their property.
[2] Thomas never married or had children, and upon his death his remaining assets we bequeathed upon his housekeeper Esther Skinner, his brother James, and his nephew Nicholas Goldsborough.