Elnora Thomas (F)
(11. May. 1875 - 29. May. 1875), #276775
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin 2 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=7th great-granddaughter of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Elnora Thomas was born on 11. May. 1875. She was the daughter of Jesse Thomas and Eunice Smith Lee. Elnora Thomas died on 29. May. 1875 at age 0.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Elon Thomas (M)
(c 1909 - ), #381938
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=9th great-grandson of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Elon Thomas was born c 1909 at Illinois. He was the son of Morton Edward Thomas and Margaret Buchanan Van Doren.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Enid Thomas (F)
(14. Nov. 1921 - 4. Jun. 1988), #275888
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=8th great-granddaughter of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Enid Thomas was born on 14. Nov. 1921 at Swan Lake, Bannock County, Idaho. She was the daughter of Chauncey Willard Thomas and Parry Pauline Hendricks. Enid Thomas married David Leroy Johnson, son of Julius Johnson and Marion Jensen, on 21. Apr. 1940 at Logan, Cache County, Utah. Enid Thomas died on 4. Jun. 1988 at Logan, Cache County, Utah, at age 66. She was buried on 7. Jun. 1988 at Preston, Franklin County, Idaho.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Eva Mae Thomas (F)
(c 1910 - ), #144317
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=9th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=8th great-granddaughter of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Eva Mae Thomas was born c 1910 at New Jersey. She was the daughter of Leon Allen Thomas and Eunice Sooy Conover. Eva Mae Thomas married Reubin M. Adams Sr. on 17. Feb. 1929.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Eva Thomas (F)
(8. Nov. 1890 - Dec. 1975), #316507

     Eva Thomas was born on 8. Nov. 1890 at Ashland, Ashland County, Wisconsin. She married Allen Morris, son of George Uriah Morris and Seno Howardty. Eva Thomas died in Dec. 1975 at Ashland County, Wisconsin, at age 85.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Florence Thomas (F)
#410507

Last Edited=12 Sep 2006

Floy Allen Thomas (F)
(8. Aug. 1910 - 16. Aug. 1980), #379137

     Floy Allen Thomas was born on 8. Aug. 1910 at Walton, Kansas. She married Theodore Frederick Starr, son of Royal Oscar Starr and Hattie Belle Maybee, on 20. Feb. 1931. Floy Allen Thomas died on 16. Aug. 1980 at age 70. She was buried at Mount Vernon Cemetery, Mount Vernon, Skagit County, Washington.

Last Edited=3 Dec 2005

Frances Bennett Thomas (F)
#252194

     Frances Bennett Thomas married William Jewell Fike, son of Homer Lee Fike and Ida Ellen Nicks.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Frank Thomas (M)
#407335
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=8th great-grandson of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Frank Thomas was the son of Isaac Thomas and Martha Ann Gearhart.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Franklin Eugene Thomas Jr. (M)
(15. Jan. 1938 - ), #409138

     Franklin Eugene Thomas Jr. was born on 15. Jan. 1938. He married Pamela Jo Thompson, daughter of Raymond Grant Thompson and Clara Vinnette Mundell, on 10. Apr. 1965.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Franklin Fleet Thomas (M)
(4. Mar. 1855 - ), #93793
Pop-up Pedigree

     Franklin Fleet Thomas was born on 4. Mar. 1855. He was the son of Abel Thomas and Harriet W. Blair.

Last Edited=6 Oct 1997

Franklin Thomas (M)
(c 1810 - ), #304781

     Franklin Thomas was born c 1810. He married Philura Jane Collier, daughter of James Collier and Philura Wyckoff.

Last Edited=3 Dec 2005

Frell Navor Thomas (M)
(8. Apr. 1928 - 18. Feb. 1946), #275890
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=8th great-grandson of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Frell Navor Thomas was born on 8. Apr. 1928 at Swan Lake, Bannock County, Idaho. He was the son of Chauncey Willard Thomas and Parry Pauline Hendricks. Frell Navor Thomas died on 18. Feb. 1946 at age 17.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

George Everett Thomas (M)
(28. Feb. 1909 - ), #385401

     George Everett Thomas was born on 28. Feb. 1909 at Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. He married Rita Irene Boyles, daughter of Benjamin Lynn Boyles and Grace Amelia Brown, on 22. Apr. 1947 at Montoursville, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

George Everett Thomas Jr. (M)
(13. Jan. 1953 - ), #385404
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=9th great-grandson of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     George Everett Thomas Jr. was born on 13. Jan. 1953. He was the son of George Everett Thomas and Rita Irene Boyles.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

George H. Thomas (M)
(8. Aug. 1867 or 8. Aug. 1868 - 11. May. 1917), #276771
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin 2 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=7th great-grandson of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     George H. Thomas was born on 8. Aug. 1867 or 8. Aug. 1868. He was the son of Jesse Thomas and Eunice Smith Lee. George H. Thomas died on 11. May. 1917.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

George W. Thomas (M)
#138983

     George W. Thomas married Sarah A. Conover, daughter of James Adams Conover and Charlotte Ruth Leeds Risley, on 11. Mar. 1877.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

George Thomas (M)
#407338
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=8th great-grandson of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     George Thomas was the son of Isaac Thomas and Martha Ann Gearhart.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Gilberta Thomas (F)
(23. May. 1916 - 17. Feb. 1997), #347000

     Gilberta Thomas was born on 23. May. 1916. She married Leslie D. Moore, son of William Preston Moore and Levenia Lacy. Gilberta Thomas died on 17. Feb. 1997 at age 80.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Hanna W. Thomas (F)
(13. Nov. 1841 - ), #93787
Pop-up Pedigree

     Hanna W. Thomas was born on 13. Nov. 1841. She was the daughter of Abel Thomas and Harriet W. Blair.

Last Edited=6 Oct 1997

Hannah Allen Thomas (F)
(13. Nov. 1852 - 9. Mar. 1917), #139351

     Hannah Allen Thomas was born on 13. Nov. 1852 at Wickford, Rhode Island. She married Waldo Parks Clement on 30. Jan. 1877 at Wickford, Rhode Island. Hannah Allen Thomas died on 9. Mar. 1917 at Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Kings, New York, at age 64.

Last Edited=3 Dec 2005

Harriet Thomas (F)
(30. Jun. 1827 - 15. May. 1866), #431521

     Harriet Thomas was born on 30. Jun. 1827 at Shelby County, Kentucky. She married James Wilson Wright Sr., son of John A. Wright and Martha Kelly, on 11. Feb. 1846; 5 children. Harriet Thomas died on 15. May. 1866 at age 38. She was buried at Paris Cemetery, Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky.

Last Edited=5 Sep 2007

Harry George Thomas (M)
(30. May. 1869 - May. 1952), #183138

     Harry George Thomas was born on 30. May. 1869 at Darke County, Ohio. He married Harriett Wagner, daughter of Jonathan Wagner and Emeline Throp, on 30. Jul. 1890. Harry George Thomas died in May. 1952 at New Jersey.

Last Edited=14 Mar 2008

Harry Hutton Thomas (M)
#82852

     Harry Hutton Thomas married Emma Harriet Conover, daughter of Charles Albert Conover and Frances Meriam Voorhees, on 11. Feb. 1914 at New York City, New York County, New York.

Last Edited=3 Dec 2005

Harry Thomas (M)
#285225

     Harry Thomas married Margaret Eleanor Ray.

Last Edited=3 Dec 2005

Hattie E. Thomas (F)
(1. Mar. 1853 - ), #93791
Pop-up Pedigree

     Hattie E. Thomas was born on 1. Mar. 1853. She was the daughter of Abel Thomas and Harriet W. Blair.

Last Edited=6 Oct 1997

Hattie M. Thomas (F)
(c 1875 - ), #432795
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin 2 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=7th great-granddaughter of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Hattie M. Thomas was born c 1875. She was the daughter of Lewis E. Thomas and Mary L. Talbott. Hattie M. Thomas married Francis M. Harrison, son of Benjamin Harrison and Rachel R. Hendricks, on 6. Aug. 1895 at Hendricks County, Indiana.

Last Edited=12 Oct 2007

Henry C. Thomas (M)
#215127

     Henry C. Thomas married Anna P. Godbou.

Last Edited=3 Dec 2005

Herbert H. Thomas (M)
#36720

     Herbert H. Thomas married Grace Gillam, daughter of George William Gillam and Josie Thatcher, on 6. Apr. 1918 at Clinton County, Indiana.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Ida Thomas (F)
#260284

     Ida Thomas married Isaac Miller Voorhees, son of Minna T. Voorhees and Jemima Suydam.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Ida Thomas (F)
#407337
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=8th great-granddaughter of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Ida Thomas was the daughter of Isaac Thomas and Martha Ann Gearhart.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Isaac Henry Thomas (M)
(20. Nov. 1846 - ), #93792
Pop-up Pedigree

     Isaac Henry Thomas was born on 20. Nov. 1846. He was the son of Abel Thomas and Harriet W. Blair.

Last Edited=6 Oct 1997

Isaac Thomas (M)
(c 1820 - ), #407332
Pop-up Pedigree

     Isaac Thomas was born c 1820 at Woodbridge, New Haven County, Connecticut. He was the son of John Thomas and Naomi Hotchkiss. Isaac Thomas married Martha Ann Gearhart, daughter of George Gearhart and Rebecca McPherson.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Ivan Thomas Thomas (M)
(26. Dec. 1904 - Oct. 1978), #327033
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin 2 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=7th great-grandson of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Ivan Thomas Thomas was born on 26. Dec. 1904 at Idaho Springs, Clear Creek County, Colorado. He was the son of Abraham E. Thomas and Lulu Manerva Dole. Ivan Thomas Thomas married Mary Parvin, daughter of Isaac Newton Parvin and Joye Belll Lehman. Ivan Thomas Thomas died in Oct. 1978 at Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, at age 73.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

J. W. Thomas (M)
#306922

Last Edited=3 Dec 2005

Jacob Schenck Thomas (M)
(31. Dec. 1847 - ), #313226
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 2 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=7th great-grandson of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Jacob Schenck Thomas was born on 31. Dec. 1847 at Somerset County, New Jersey. He was the son of Waterman Thomas and Mary Craven Schenck.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

James V. Thomas (M)
#327032
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin 2 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=7th great-grandson of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     James V. Thomas was the son of Abraham E. Thomas and Lulu Manerva Dole.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Jane Thomas (F)
#249216
Pop-up Pedigree

     Jane Thomas was the daughter of Elisha Thomas. Jane Thomas married Francis Voris, son of John Voorhees and Rachel Monfort, on 4. Jan. 1830 at Shelby County, Kentucky; no issue.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Jeanne Lynn Thomas (F)
(6. Nov. 1949 - ), #385403
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=9th great-granddaughter of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Jeanne Lynn Thomas was born on 6. Nov. 1949. She was the daughter of George Everett Thomas and Rita Irene Boyles.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Jesse Thomas (M)
(25. May. 1839 - 25. May. 1919), #139214

     Jesse Thomas was born on 25. May. 1839. He married Eunice Smith Lee, daughter of Abel Lee and Margaret Smith, on 7. Mar. 1865 at Atlantic County, New Jersey. Jesse Thomas died on 25. May. 1919 at age 80.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Jesse Thomas Jr. (M)
(24. Aug. 1877 - ), #276776
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin 2 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=7th great-grandson of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Jesse Thomas Jr. was born on 24. Aug. 1877. He was the son of Jesse Thomas and Eunice Smith Lee.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Jessie Josephine Thomas (F)
(15. Oct. 1856 - ), #93794
Pop-up Pedigree

     Jessie Josephine Thomas was born on 15. Oct. 1856. She was the daughter of Abel Thomas and Harriet W. Blair.

Last Edited=6 Oct 1997

Jessie Thomas (F)
(1886 - 1918), #306917
Pop-up Pedigree

     Jessie Thomas was born in 1886. She was the daughter of J. W. Thomas. Jessie Thomas married Harry A. Taylor, son of Thomas Mathias Taylor and Pernina Adillia Hoglan. Jessie Thomas died in 1918.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Jim Thomas (M)
#388663

     Jim Thomas married Delilah Melissa Fike, daughter of Moses Perry Fike and Sarah Ann Howell.

Last Edited=3 Dec 2005

Joan Thomas (F)
#395026

     Joan Thomas married Herbert Howard Tabb, son of Herbert Henry Tabb and Lena Brooks English.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Joe Thomas (M)
#394850

     Joe Thomas married Joan Tabb, daughter of Edmund Heady Tabb and Ethel Shannon.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

John G. Thomas (M)
#280399

     John G. Thomas married Antonnette Wiles, daughter of John Wiles and Ruth Ann Bruner.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

John Walker Thomas (M)
#249249

     John Walker Thomas married Eliza Vories, daughter of Francis Voorhees and Catherine Monfort.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

John Wesley Thomas (M)
#412351

     John Wesley Thomas married Mary Bean.

Last Edited=2 Nov 2006

John Thomas (M)
#407333

     John Thomas married Naomi Hotchkiss.

Last Edited=29 May 2006

Jonas Thomas (M)
#97610

     Jonas Thomas married Eleanor Rider, daughter of William Rider Sr. and Cinthia (Cinthy) Hendricks(x), in 1849. HHFO: D11020103-S1.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Jonathan Thomas (M)
(19. Jul. 1849 - ), #313227
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 2 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=7th great-grandson of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Jonathan Thomas was born on 19. Jul. 1849 at Somerset County, New Jersey. He was the son of Waterman Thomas and Mary Craven Schenck.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Joseph Thomas (M)
#407339
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=8th great-grandson of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Joseph Thomas was the son of Isaac Thomas and Martha Ann Gearhart.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Josynthe Thomas (F)
#892

     Josynthe Thomas was also known as Josyntje Thomas. She married Lt. Pieter Wolphertse Van Kouwenhoven, son of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven and Neeltgen Jacobsdochter, on 19. May. 1699; Not historians agree that this marraige took place.     

Last Edited=14 Mar 2008

Joyce Thomas (F)
#320911

     Joyce Thomas married Larry Merlin Eliason, son of Merlin Eliason and Harriet Reese.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Karen Lynn Thomas (F)
(25. Mar. 1852 - ), #357948

     Karen Lynn Thomas was born on 25. Mar. 1852 at Seattle, King County, Washington. She married Michael Edward Foley, son of Jack Edward Foley and Betty Lou Dunn.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Katie Carolina Matilda Thomas (F)
#328718

Last Edited=3 Dec 2005

Keller Thomas (M)
#433155

     Keller Thomas married Martha Anderson.

Last Edited=21 Oct 2007

Laura Bay Thomas (F)
#285230
Relationship=9th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=10th great-granddaughter of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Laura Florence Thomas (F)
(19. Jul. 1877 - 1932), #215126
Pop-up Pedigree

     Laura Florence Thomas was born on 19. Jul. 1877. She was the daughter of Henry C. Thomas and Anna P. Godbou. Laura Florence Thomas married Ezra Adams Lake, son of John Tilton Lake and Amanda Adams, on 8. Sep. 1897. Laura Florence Thomas died in 1932 at Pleasantville, Atlantic County, New Jersey.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Lawrence Thomas (M)
(c 1914 - ), #144383
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=9th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=8th great-grandson of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Lawrence Thomas was born c 1914 at New Jersey. He was the son of Leon Allen Thomas and Eunice Sooy Conover.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Lela Claudia Thomas (F)
#403716

     Lela Claudia Thomas married George Washington Vickery.

Last Edited=22 Mar 2006

Leo Milton Thomas (M)
#320337

     Leo Milton Thomas married Nyda May Reese, daughter of Richard Osmond Reese and Florence Eltha Woolf, in 1920.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Leon Allen Thomas (M)
(c 1883 - ), #144311
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin 2 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=7th great-grandson of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Leon Allen Thomas was born c 1883 at New Jersey. He was the son of George W. Thomas and Sarah A. Conover. Leon Allen Thomas married Eunice Sooy Conover c 1909.
Leon Allen Thomas and Eunice Sooy Conover appeared on the census of 2. Jan. 1920 at Galloway Twp., Atlantic County, New Jersey. Leon Allen Thomas was a mason on 3. Apr. 1930.
Leon Allen Thomas and Eunice Sooy Conover appeared on the census of 3. Apr. 1930 at Galloway Twp., Atlantic County, New Jersey.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Lester L. Thomas (M)
(13. Sep. 1919 - ), #352715

     Lester L. Thomas was born on 13. Sep. 1919. He married Betty Jane Covault, daughter of Clifford Jacob Covault and Bertha May Knoop, on 21. Oct. 1945. Lester L. Thomas and Betty Jane Covault were divorced on 7. Dec. 1955.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Letitia Thomas (F)
(28. May. 1827 - 8. Mar. 1884), #132152

     Letitia Thomas was also known as Letha Thomas. Letitia Thomas was born on 28. May. 1827 at Somerset County, Kentucky. She married James Conover, son of Garret Cownover and Susannah Monteith, on 4. Nov. 1847.
Letitia Thomas and James Conover appeared on the census of 29. Aug. 1850 at Taylor Twp., Owen County, Indiana; real estate value 150.00.
Letitia Thomas and James Conover appeared on the census of 21. Jun. 1860 at East Half, Owen County, Indiana; real estate value 2,500.00, personal property 400.00.
Letitia Thomas and James Conover appeared on the census of 9. Jul. 1870 at Wayne Twp., Owen County, Indiana; real estate value 900.00, personal prperty 400.00.
Letitia Thomas and James Conover appeared on the census of 18. Jun. 1880 at South Macon, Macon County, Illinois. Letitia Thomas died on 8. Mar. 1884 at age 56.

Last Edited=31 Aug 2007

Lewis E. Thomas (M)
#432794

     Lewis E. Thomas married Mary L. Talbott, daughter of Willis Talbott and Nancy McCoon, on 14. Feb. 1872 at Hendricks County, Indiana.

Last Edited=12 Oct 2007

Liza Thomas (F)
#403193

     Liza Thomas married John Womack.

Last Edited=14 Mar 2006

Louie Orlene Thomas (F)
#317529

     Louie Orlene Thomas married Uriah Ashton Jones, son of Uriah Treharne Jones and Mary Alice Higbee, on 2. Jun. 1920.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Louise Hall Thomas (F)
(19. Nov. 1888 - 3. Jul. 1968), #259133
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=8th great-granddaughter of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Louise Hall Thomas was born on 19. Nov. 1888 at Washington, Daviess County, Indiana. She was the daughter of Charles Wesley Thomas and Laura Ellen Wood. Louise Hall Thomas married Harry Mason Palmer on 23. Aug. 1916 at Washington, Daviess County, Indiana. Louise Hall Thomas died on 3. Jul. 1968 at Franklin County, Indiana, at age 79.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Lowell Jackson Thomas (M)
(6. Apr. 1892 - 29. Aug. 1981), #183139
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=8th great-grandson of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Lowell Jackson Thomas was born on 6. Apr. 1892 at Woodington, Darke County, Ohio. He was the son of Harry George Thomas and Harriett Wagner.











Lowell Jackson Thomas married Frances Ryan on 4. Aug. 1917.



Lowell Jackson Thomas was shown in the census on 7. May. 1930 as an author, lecturer.
Lowell Jackson Thomas and Frances Ryan appeared on the census of 7. May. 1930 at Pawling, Dutchess County, New York. Lowell Jackson Thomas married Marianna Munn in 1977. Lowell Jackson Thomas died on 29. Aug. 1981 at Pawling, Dutchess County, New York, at age 89.

Lowell Thomas was a man ahead of his time: the first roving newscaster, a film maker through the 1920s, a radio presenter in the 1930s, an adventurer who wrote more than 50 books, he was heralded as the father of 'Cinerama'.

Born in 1892, Lowell Thomas started out as a reporter for the Chicago Evening Journal. He had a flair for making ordinary stories exciting.

Inspired by the growing art of documentary film, Thomas dreamed of filming the war in Europe. He raised $50,000 from Chicago businessmen and headed for France accompanied by his wife and a talented cameraman, Harry Chase.

Depressed by the brutality of the war on the Western Front Thomas and Chase set off for the Middle East. They arrived in time to film General Allenby's historic entry in to Jerusalem. While in Jerusalem they met the man who was to make them famous, a diminutive British officer in a borrowed uniform called Captain Lawrence.

Lawrence was allegedly introduced to Thomas as the 'Uncrowned King of Arabia'. Thomas and Chase were invited to Feisal's desert camp where they shot moving and still pictures of Lawrence with the Arabs.

Later both men were to dispute how long the filming had taken, Thomas claiming it was a few weeks, Lawrence said it was only days. Lawrence later claimed he had been "tricked" into being filmed and photographed; Thomas said he had been a willing model.

Nonetheless, the images of Lawrence in Arabia captivated a public exhausted by the horrors of the 'war to end all wars'.

The romantic and adventurous tales of this "mysterious blue eyed Arab in the garb of a prince wandering the streets" were an instant hit. Lowell Thomas' screen show showed to packed audiences in New York and then London.

Thomas' planned London run of two weeks was extended and ran for six months. There was even a Royal Command Performance. Allenby turned up to a standing ovation and Thomas later claimed that even Lawrence had sneaked in for a viewing.

The show went on to Australia, New Zealand, South-East Asia, India and Canada. Over four million people saw it, making Thomas millions of dollars and turning Lawrence into a movie star. Lawrence at once loved and hated fame and never forgave Thomas for exploiting his image, calling him a 'vulgar man'.

When asked about Lawrence's aversion to celebrity Lowell Thomas quoted an old Turkish saying, "He had a genius for backing into the limelight".

Thomas went on to live an adventurous life, making many more films and radio broadcasts. He was also the first man to film the Dalai Lama in Tibet.

Thomas died in 1981 in New York at the age of 89.


Lowell Jackson Thomas (April 6, 1892 – August 29, 1981) was an American writer, broadcaster, and traveller best known as the man who made Lawrence of Arabia famous. So varied were Thomas's activities that when it came time for the Library of Congress to catalog his memoirs they were forced to put them in "CT" in their classification -- biographies of subjects who don't fit into any other category.

Early life and career
He was born in Woodington, Ohio, in Darke County, the son of Harry and Harriet (Wagner) Thomas. His father was a doctor and his mother a school teacher. In 1900, the family moved to the mining town of Victor, Colorado. There he worked as a gold miner, a cook, and a reporter on the newspaper.

In 1911, he graduated from Valparaiso University with bachelor's degrees in education and science. The next year he received both a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of Denver and began work for the Chicago Journal, writing for it until 1914. While in Chicago, he was a professor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, teaching oratory. He then went to New Jersey, where he studied for a master's at Princeton University (he received the degree in 1916) and again taught oratory at the university.

A relentless self-promoter, he persuaded railroads to give him free passage in exchange for articles extolling rail travel. When he visited Alaska, he hit upon the novel idea of the travelogue, movies about faraway places. When the United States entered World War I, he was part of an official party sent by President Wilson, former president of Princeton, to "compile a history of the conflict." In reality the mission was not academic. The war was not popular in the United States, and Thomas was sent to find material that would encourage the American people to support it. Thomas did not want to merely write about the war, he wanted to film it. He estimated that $75,000 would be needed for filming, which the U.S. government thought too expensive, and so he turned to a group of 18 Chicago meat packers. (He had done them a favor by exposing someone who was blackmailing them, without the damaging material becoming public.)

[edit] Lawrence of Arabia
He and a cameraman, Harry Chase, first went to the Western Front, but the trenches had little to inspire the American public. They then went to Italy, where he heard of General Allenby's campaign against the Ottoman Empire in Palestine. With the permission of the British Foreign Office, as an accredited war correspondent, Thomas met T. E. Lawrence, a captain in the British Army in Jerusalem. Lawrence was spending £200,000 a month encouraging the inhabitants of Palestine to revolt against the Turks. Thomas and Chase spent several weeks with Lawrence in the desert, though Lawrence said "several days."

Thomas shot dramatic footage of Lawrence and, after the war, toured the world, narrating his film, With Allenby in Palestine and Lawrence in Arabia, making Lawrence—and himself—household names. The performances were highly dramatic. At the opening of Thomas's six-month London run, there were incense braziers, exotically dressed women danced before images of the Pyramids, and the band of the Welsh Guards played to provide the accompaniment. Lawrence saw the show several times, and though he later claimed to dislike it, it generated valuable publicity for his own book. However, to strengthen the emphasis on Lawrence in the show, Thomas needed more photographs of him than Chase had taken in 1918. Lawrence therefore agreed to a series of posed portraits in Arab dress in London, though he claimed to be shy of publicity. Thomas later said of Lawrence, "He had a genius for backing into the limelight." Thomas and Lawrence's initially friendly relations grew colder as Thomas's show grew in popularity, with Thomas ignoring several personal requests from Lawrence to stop the show.

The shows gave Lawrence a degree of publicity that he had never previously experienced. Newspapers became keen to print his attacks on Government policy, and politicians began to pay attention to his views. At the end of 1920, he was invited to join the British Colonial Office, under Winston Churchill, as an adviser on Arab affairs. However, Lawrence said that he never forgave Thomas for exploiting his image, and called him a "vulgar man." For his part, Thomas genuinely admired Lawrence and defended him against attacks on his reputation, even after Lawrence's death.

About four million people saw the show around the world, and it made Thomas $1.5 million. Thomas would also later write a book, With Lawrence in Arabia (1924), about his time in the desert and Lawrence's exploits during the war. It would be the first of fifty-six volumes.

Site dedicated to one of Britain’s Greatest Heroes

[edit] Later career
During the 1920s, he was a magazine editor. In 1930, he became a broadcaster with the CBS radio network. After two years, he switched to the NBC radio network but returned to CBS in 1947. He hosted the first-ever television-news broadcast in 1930 and the first regularly scheduled television news broadcast, beginning on February 21, 1940, on NBC.[1][2] But television news was a short-lived venture for him, and he favored radio. Indeed, it was over radio that he presented and commented upon the news for four decades until his retirement in 1976, the longest radio career of anyone in his day (a record later surpassed by Paul Harvey). "No other journalist or world figure, with the possible exception of Winston Churchill, has remained in the public spotlight for so long," wrote Norman R. Bowen in Lowell Thomas: The Stranger Everyone Knows (1968). His signature sign-on was "Good evening, everybody" and his sign-off "So long, until tomorrow," phrases he would use in titling his two volumes of memoirs.

Thomas never lost his fascination with the movies. He narrated Twentieth Century Fox's Movietone newsreels until 1952. That year he went into business with Mike Todd and Louis B. Mayer to exploit Cinerama, a movie format that used three projectors and an enormous curved screen. Because of both the cost and technical issues in synchronizing the projectors, Cinerama never caught on, but a quarter-century later, Thomas was still raving about it in his memoirs and wondering why someone wasn't trying to revive it. Thomas is also known for his television series of the 1950s entitled High Adventure and television's Lowell Thomas Remembers in the 1970s.

"The world's foremost globetrotter" took his radio show on his travels, broadcasting from the four corners of the globe. Once on the Spanish Steps in Rome he was asked by a fellow American, "Lowell Thomas, don't you ever go home?" He was a fanatical skier, helping develop the Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec and skiing near Tucson, Arizona.

Thomas's most amusing on-air gaffe occurred during one of his daily CBS news broadcasts in the early 1960s. He was reading a story "cold" which had the phrase "She suffered a fatal heart attack" in it. The line came out of Thomas's mouth as "She suffered a fatal fart attack". Realizing instantly what he had said, he collapsed into gales of roaring laughter, which continued into - and beyond - his announcers chuckling sign-off for the day. In another famous "blooper", Thomas' long time friend and ghostwriter, Prosper Buranelli, compiled the nightly newscasts prior to Thomas' final editing. One evening, Buranelli had as the final item a story about an actress going into a Los Angeles hotel with a great dane. The dog's tail got caught in the revolving door and she sued the hotel for $10,000. The story was intended to give Thomas a laugh before going on air, but Thomas arrived late for the broadcast and did not read the story or edit the news. He related the story as written together with Buranelli's comment, "Who ever thought a piece of tail was worth 10 grand." Some of his famous "bloopers" were included in the numerous LPs released in the 1950s through 1970s by Kermit Schaefer.

He was a successful businessman, helping to found Capital Cities Communications, which in 1986 took over the American Broadcasting Company, and developed the Quaker Hill community in Dutchess County, New York, near Pawling, where Thomas resided when not on the road. Among his neighbors there was Thomas E. Dewey, one of a huge circle of friends that included everyone from the Dalai Lama to Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1976, President Gerald Ford awarded Thomas the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989.

In May 1955, The board of directors of The Lancaster and Chester Railway Co. of South Carolina, appointed him Press Agent, in N.Y.C.("The Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines" page 543).

His wife of 58 years, Fran Ryan, who often travelled with him, died in February 1975. He was married a second time in 1977 to Marianna Munn. True to form, he embarked with her on a 50,000-mile honeymoon trip that took him to many of his favourite old destinations. Thomas died at his home at Pawling at the age of eighty-nine and was buried in Christ Church Cemetery.

His son, Lowell Thomas, Jr., was a film and television producer who collaborated with his father on several projects before becoming a State Senator, and later the Lieutenant Governor of Alaska, in the 1970s. Today, Lowell Thomas Jr. remains an active bush pilot and environmental activist in Alaska.

Lowell Thomas has the communications building at Marist College (in Poughkeepsie New York) named in his honor.

[edit] In Popular Culture
Thomas was fictionalized in David Lean's 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia as American journalist Jackson Bentley, played by Arthur Kennedy (who was some twenty-five years older than Thomas was at the time). When he heard this film was being produced, Thomas offered to give producer Sam Spiegel a large amount of documentation about Lawrence to use for the film, but was rejected. Thomas enjoyed the film but was critical of its historical inaccuracies.

In the unofficial sequel to Lawrence, A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (1990), he was more accurately portrayed by actor Adam Henderson, who gave a recreated version of Thomas's slide lectures on Lawrence.

The Lawrence-themed play Ross by Terrence Rattigan featured another Thomas-like character named Franks, who hectors General Allenby and Lawrence for photographs and interviews after the fall of Jerusalem.

Thomas also appeared in an episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. The episode takes place in Morocco in 1917. Fresh from his adventures with Lawrence in Arabia, Thomas (played by Evan Richards) meets up with young Indy (Sean Patrick Flanery) and the novelist Edith Wharton (Clare Higgins).

He was also fictionalized in two Warner Brothers cartoons, She Was an Acrobat's Daughter (as Dole Promise) and The Film Fan (as Cold Promise). Both Dole Promise and Cold Promise were billed as newsreel "prevaricators."


[edit] Lowell Thomas Award
Since 1980, the Explorers Club, which Thomas was a member of, annually presents the Lowell Thomas award to "honor men and women who have distinguished themselves in the field of exploration". The awards are presented at a yearly dinner to a select group of people having made particular contributions in the specific area chosen to be that year's focus. Past awardees include Edmund Hillary, Isaac Asimov, David Doubilet, Mary Cleave, Buzz Aldrin and Bertrand Piccard. [1].

Last Edited=14 Mar 2008

Lowell Thomas Jr. (M)
(6. Oct. 1923 - ), #437876
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=9th great-grandson of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Lowell Thomas Jr. was born on 6. Oct. 1923 at England. He was the son of Lowell Jackson Thomas and Frances Ryan.

Last Edited=14 Mar 2008

Lulla Thomas (F)
#381890

     Lulla Thomas married Fred Henry Van Arsdale, son of Henry Vanderveer Van Arsdale and Harriet Janette Perry, on 30. May. 1896.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Mabel Thomas (F)
#266600
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=8th great-granddaughter of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

     Mabel Thomas was the daughter of Sanford E. Thomas and Ida Stagg.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006

Margaret Elizabeth Thomas (F)
#285227
Relationship=9th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..
Relationship=10th great-granddaughter of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.

Last Edited=15 Oct 2006