Gholson was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Tenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Dr. John Claiborne of Brunswick County.
During the War of 1812, the British invaded Washington, D.C. and Gholson became a volunteer aide on the staff of General Peter Buell Porter.
On July 28, 1806, Thomas Gholson Jr. married Anne Yates, the daughter of a former Virginia militiaman on General Washington's staff, and granddaughter of Rev.
Their first born son, William Y. Gholson became a lawyer like his father and moved to Mississippi, where he developed strong anti-slavery views.
He later freed his slaves, moved to Ohio because it did not permit slavery, then became the law partner of Salmon P. Chase and also active in the new Republican Party.