My Genealogy Hound

HON. ATHA THOMAS, attorney at law and ex-treasurer of State, was born in Williamson County, October 5, 1829, and is the son of William and Eliza Thomas, both natives of Virginia. In a family of twelve children the subject is the tenth and is of Welsh-English extraction. The father of Mr. Thomas immigrated to Tennessee in 1796 and settled in Davidson County, but in 1801 he removed to Williamson County and here he and his wife died. Our subject was reared on the farm and received a liberal education at private schools and at Wirt Academy in Sumner County. In 1851 he began teaching school and about the same time he began reading law. He continued teaching for two years and then entered the Lebanon Law School and graduated from that institution in 1853. In 1854 he took charge of Thompson’s Academy in this county where he conducted a most successful school until the beginning of the war. From 1861 to 1864, he had charge of Harpeth Academy in Franklin and was one of the most successful teachers the county has ever had. In 1865 he began the practice of law in this and adjoining counties and was, for a number of years, associated in the practice with G. W. Hicks, and was a member of the House of Representatives in 1869-70. In 1883 Mr. Thomas was elected State treasurer of Tennessee, and accepted that office at an inauspicious time, which was during the greatest financial crisis the State has ever experienced. He held the office one term and then resumed the law practice, which he now continues in partnership with William House, and together they constitute one of the best law firms in the county. In 1856 our subject wedded Miss Sarah E. North, daughter of Rev. Henry B. North. Mrs. Thomas died in 1858, and in 1882 Mr. Thomas was married to Mrs. Bettie Sikes, of Rutherford County. To the last union were born two children: Atha and Woodlief. Mr. Thomas has always been a true Democrat. He is a Mason (Knight Templar) and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. In addition to his extensive law practice, he has held many positions of trust and is one of the first men of the State. Mrs. Thomas is a worthy member of the Baptist Church.