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Note: HI5985
Note: (Research):Born in Ware or Bulloch Co., GA Source: Debbie Parsons, GenCircles, debpar@usintouch.com
Listed in the Index to Florida Militia Muster Rolls, Seminole Indian Wars: Surnames T-Z
Thomas, Roland Pvt, 10:044-45 Thomas, Rolen Pvt, 10:042-43 Thomas, Rolin Pvt, 10:034-35 Thomas, Rowlan Pvt, 03:015, 03:017 Thomas, Rowland Pvt, 10:040-41 Roland enlisted in the Indian War as a private on Jan. 23, 1837. He was a Captain of a company in the Florida Militia, part of Col. John Warren's command. Roland was honorably discharged at Fort Mills on June 5, 1837. (Fort Call was probably previously Fort Mills). Source: From Debbie Parsons (GenCircles.com, debpar@usintouch.com) and she references Anita at Jimani7@aol.com
Date of birth is reported to be 8 April 1820 in the LDS Indian War Records, not verified.
He applied for Bounty Land Warrant - assigned #44127 and was granted 160 acres. Source: From Debbie Parsons (GenCircles.com, debpar@usintouch.com) and she references Anita at Jimani7@aol.com
1859-1860 Sheriff New River County, Florida Sheriff again from January 1, 1866 until month of Oct. 1967 in Bradford County, Florida.
Listed on the 1860 Agricultural Census for New River County, Florida. 1. Name of Owner: Rolane Thomas 2. Acres of Improved Land: 40 3. Acres of Unimproved Land: 209 4. Cash Value of the Farm: 2500 5. Value of Farm Implements and Machinery: 50 13. Value of Livestock: 570
Roland served as Sheriff of New River Co., FL 1859-1860 and Bradford Co., FL 1865-1874. (New River Co. was Bradford & Union Co. combined.) He was elected Captain of Company A, 7th Florida Infantry Regiment Confederate Soldiers-Civil War as early as 3/08/1862 however records indicate he had been in the service sometime and he was Captain. Was honored with Iron Cross Dedication this year on 4/21/2001 at Antioch Baptist Cemetery LaCrosse, Alachua County, FL. Source: From Debbie Parsons (GenCircles.com, debpar@usintouch.com) and she references Anita at Jimani7@aol.com
Name: Roland Thomas , Residence: Fort Call, Florida Enlistment Date: 08 March 1862 Distinguished Service: DISTINGUISHED SERVICE Side Served: Confederacy State Served: Florida Birth Date: 08 April 1827 Death Date: 17 November 1899 Unit Numbers: 1118 1118 1098 Service Record: Enlisted as a Captain on 08 March 1862 at the age of 35 Commission in Company A, 7th Infantry Regiment Florida on 08 March 1862. Resigned Company A, 7th Infantry Regiment Florida on 02 August 1862 Enlisted in Company F, 2nd Cavalry Regiment Florida on 01 October 1862. Oath Allegiance on 17 May 1865 at Baldwin, FL
Captain Roland Thomas (b. 4/8/27; d. 11/17/99 buried in Antioch Cemetery, La Crosse, Alachua Co.) lived in Fort Call and enlisted 3/8/62 at Gainesville. He resigned due to ill health 8/2/62. He enlisted 10/1/62 in Company F, 2nd Florida Cavalry at Camp Rou. He was promoted to 4th Cpl in early 1863 then 3rd Cpl in mid 1863. He was present on the last roll and was paroled at Baldwin 5/17/65. Source: p. 683, volume II, Biographical Rosters of Florida's Confederate and Union Soldiers 1861-1865, David W. Hartman and David Coles, Broadfoot Publishing Company: Wilmington, NC, 1995.
Listed on the 1875 Census of Male Inhabitants for Alachua County, p. 100. Source: Ancient Records, Alachua County, Florida
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Florida Land Records
Name�tab� Land Office Total Acres�tab�Issue Date�tab� ROLAND THOMAS�tab�NEWNANSVILLE�tab�79.96�tab�May 01, 1855�tab� ROLAND THOMAS�tab�GAINESVILLE�tab�40.34�tab�July 02, 1889�tab� ROLAND THOMAS�tab�GAINESVILLE�tab�161.31�tab�December 11, 1890�tab� ROLAND THOMAS�tab�GAINESVILLE�tab�160.17�tab�September 22, 1897 From: kdoke1 [kdoke1@alltel.net] Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2005 9:30 PM To: geoffrey.thompson@sbcglobal.net Cc: kdoke1@alltel.net Subject: Jesse Thomas Line
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From: kdoke1 [kdoke1@alltel.net] Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2005 9:30 PM To: geoffrey.thompson@sbcglobal.net Cc: kdoke1@alltel.net Subject: Jesse Thomas Line
Geoff, We are almost sure there is an error on Roland Thomas' War record. You show him as a captain in the Indian war. He was not a Captain in the Indian war. He was a private under Captain William Cason. He enlisted 1/23/ 1837 and was discharged 6/5/1837. If he was born on 3/8/1827 as you show he would have been only ten years old. When he applied of a pension 3/27/1893 he said he was born in1820 or 1822.
He also served in the War between the States, He was elected Captain in March of 1862 after having served some months, we think around the Tampa area. He was discharged after being diagnosed with hepatitis by an Army Doctor ( we have a copy of the Army record).
You show him reenlisting in a cavalry unit 10/01/1862,. We feel sure that was another Roland Thomas. We have never heard of him going back in service. We even know who took his place after he resigned from service. That man was wounded and his life was spared by yankee solders as they killed the badly wounded after a battle because they saw a masonic emblem around his neck (he lived to come home and tell the tale).
You also refer to the Iron Cross dedication for Roland Thomas done on 4/21/2001 at Antioch Baptist church. I am the one that gave the talk and my Sister Nell did most of the resarch. By the way we think the dates on his stone are incorrect. Nell is looking through her records to see if she can help with some of the early names and dates.
A few years ago Nell was swapping info with a Richard Thomas, Grand son of Henry Thomas, he worked for a bank in Jacksonville Fla.. He later was transfered to North Carolina. We found him tonight in St Augustine, Fla. I have Just talked to him and he is very intrested in joining in our search. I feel sure he came bring some good things to the table with him. Please e-mail him your "Descendants of Jesse Thomas". His E-mail address is pepperhead1@msn.com I'm working on getting our line ready to send. Thanks for all of your work. Kent
**************************************************** While I'm writing, I will also say that I dug through my records on Roland Thomas and Jesse E. Thomas. It appears from their own testimony, that each served in a home guard cavalry unit during the Civil War. And while one would assume that after resigning his commission due to hepatitis that Roland would not serve, it appears he did. The same is true for his brother Jesse. Jesse E. was denied a pension for his service in the Mexican War because while he received a discharge due to a debilitating case of rheumatoid arthritis during that conflict, during the Civil War he served in a home guard cavalry unit. Apparently the pension board thought if you could ride a horse you couldn't be that disabled. Jesse E. vehemently denied any allegiance to the Confederacy during the war, and testified that he only served because he was a conscript that was made to serve. And while Roland doesn't mention being a conscript, he may have been as well.
All of this plays into a family story I heard as a child about a member of the Thomas family deserting and being hid by slaves. My sister Debbie and I believe there may be several instances where members of the family avoided the Civil War except when it came to serving on Florida soil. Of the three Thomas' I have records for, there was only one who appears to have actually left Florida during the war, but he was sent home pretty early for an injury and served out his time in Florida. But ironically, when it came time for a pension, they had no problem applying. Source: e-mail, Richard Thomas, pepperhead1@msn.com, 28 February 2005
Notes for Roland THOMAS: The actual place and year of birth are in question. Mr. Thomas lists his place of birth as Ware County, Georgia, while his wife lists Bulloch County as the place of birth; both are places the family had lived.Mr. Thomas also states the year was either 1820 or 22 from the best information he has. His headstone at Antioch Cemetery in Alachua County says he was born on April 8, 1827. The earlier date is the preferred date as it was provided by the subject.
Roland Thomas married Mary Ann Mathews on February 27, 1853 in Providence, Columbia County, Florida. The couple was married by Benjamin Moody. One note of interest concerning the marriage comes from the testimony of W.T. Weeks and T.W. Sweat. It seems that the marriage of Roland Thomas to Mary A. Mathews was opposed by her father. Both Mr. Weeks and Mr. Sweat swore that Mr. Mathews had threatened violence to both Roland Thomas and Benjamin Moody if the marriage proceeded. Nothing is mentioned about Mr. Mathews reaction after the marriage was performed.
The compiled service record for Captain Roland Thomas contains his resignation and a surgeons statement. Roland Thomas apparently was suffering from hepatitis which made it impossible for him to serve as captain of the company. Based on a statement contained in Roland's application for a pension under the Indian Wars of 1832 - 1842, it seems he may have served in a home guard cavalry unit later in the war. There are no doubt military records for several different Roland Thomas'. Because of this researchers need to use caution when making statements about Roland Thomas. Even the National Archives have provided files for the wrong Roland Thomas when requesting a file.
In the 1860 census of New River County, Roland Thomas' occupation is listed as Sheriff. It was learned later in an interview with his great granddaughter that he was the first Sheriff of Bradford County. Roland Thomas' picture hangs in the Sheriffs Office in Starke, Bradford County. Source: Richard Thomas
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