He was apprenticed as a carpenter and joiner, and worked building houses and barns.

He started in the clock business in 1807, working for clockmaker Eli Terry.

He died in 1859, whereupon the company was taken over by his son, Aaron, who added many styles and improvements after his father's death.

[citation needed] Thomas died on January 29, 1859, in Plymouth Hollow, Connecticut, and was interred at the Hillside Cemetery.

In 1875, the town's Plymouth Hollow district was renamed Thomaston in Thomas's memory.