Sheriff Robert Thomas

ROBERT W. C. THOMAS
HENDERSON COUNTY'S 1ST APPOINTED SHERIFF

Term of Office 1839 - 1844

b. 15 Oct 1806 d. 22 Apr 1865
buried at Thomas-Fletcher Cemetery

Headstone of Sheriff Robert Thomas, buried at Thomas-Fletcher Cemetery in Etowah

Robert Thomas (1806-1865) and Susan Matilda Reese Thomas (1809-1895) were married ca 1836 and farmed in the Pleasant Grove section of Etowah near Willow Creek and the French Broad River.

Children:
William Robert (1837-1865)
James Lafayette (1842-1918)
Mary Solomi (1845-1928)
Susannah Matilda (1849-1876)

In February 1839, Justices of the Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions, the governing body of the newly formed Henderson County, appointed the County's first Sheriff, Robert Thomas. He was 32 years old when appointed and married to Susan Matilda Rees(e) Thomas.

At some point in the marriage, the Thomas' lived in the Pleasant Grove section of today's Etowah. [to be determined: when did Robert and Susan Thomas establish a homestead in Pleasant Grove?]

Robert Thomas served five years as Sheriff of Henderson County, 1839-1844.

From the Court Minutes,
" The court then consisting of the same Justicis [Justices] of the peace proceeded to the Election of whereupon Robert Thomas was declared duly elected Sheriff for said county who entered into bond with Hugh Johnson, John M. Kimzey, Charles Greer & Boyd McCrary securities & took the necessary oaths and entered upon the discharge of the duties of his office. "
Source:
" Henderson County Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions, 1839 - 1848 " transcribed and published by the Henderson County Genealogical and Historical Society, 2010.

Tragically, former sheriff Thomas, age 58, was murdered by a roaming band of men on April 22, 1865 at the end of the Civil War, just as North Carolina was negotiating terms of surrender. He was murdered at the Thomas homestead in Pleasant Grove which was somewhere near the cemetery where he and Susan are buried.

To date, it is unknown whether the band was Confederate or Union. Some speculate that perhaps Thomas' role in the leadership and politics of the County led to the murder.

Civil War & North Carolina:
https://northcarolinahistory.org/commentary/n-c-played-crucial-role-at-civil-wars-end/

A 1913 letter written by William Kimsey Osborne to Mrs. T. Ed Patton of Davisdon River N.C. recounts the night of the Thomas' murder. Osborne at the time was married to daughter Mary Salomi and at the Thomas home on the night of the murder. It is not clear from his account if he and Mary lived there, or just happened to be at the Thomas home on that night.

Excerpt from W. K. Osborne letter, dated "Sept. 1, 1913, Brevard, N.C"
Transcribed as written by Osborne, spellings by author.
Letter courtesy of Thomas King McCrary Jr.

" ... I volunteered for service under the Confederate flag in 1862 at the age of twenty-two and was assigned for duty in the 25th North Carolina Infantry commanded by Captain Johnston with headquarters at Asheville. ..."

"Soon after my return from the Army of Virginia I was happily married to Miss Mary Thomas, a daughter of Robert Thomas, who was later brutally murdered by a band of tories. The murder of Father Thomas was a most distressing occurrence and without the slightest provocation. The band of pirates applied the torch to his property for the purpose of luring him from his house that they might carry out their devilish purpose unmolested. Seeing the fenses enclosing the farm being rapidly consumed he sent the negroes out [to] extinguish the flames, little dreaming that a company of murderers were awaiting in the ambush to pounce upon them like vultures upon a dead carcass. When the faithful slaves did not return, we supposed they were fighting the fire and I went out to assist them only to be taken captive at the point of two double-barrel shot guns. Father Thomas followed me and met with a similar fate. Four members of the gang then entered the house, occupied only by defenseless women and children, and robbed of everything of value including an automatic revolver belong to Mr. Thomas, with which he was shot to death on the departure of the heartless mob who took to the woods after the dastardly deed had been consummated. I afterwards learned that I, too, had been marked for slaughter, but this purpose was not carried into effect. I presume their hearts (?) failed after a defenseless old patriot lay dead at their feet. ..."

From hendersonheritage.com

Robert Thomas was the first appointed sheriff of Henderson County and supervised the controversial special election between the River Party and the Road Party to determine a county seat.

His home with wife Susan was in the Pleasant Grove section of Etowah near the French Broad River on land that is now known as a part of the abandoned Seven Falls development. He grew up in the Crab Creek and Etowah communities.

In 1845 he was a member and chairman of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions (Select Court) that governed Henderson County.

In 1847, he was deeded lots in the original plat for Hendersonville.

On April 22, 1865, deserters from either the Confederate or Union armies set fire to his barn. When he came outside to defend his property, he was shot and killed.

Source: hendersonheritage.com Political History to 1860

After restoration - headstone of Susan Matilda Reese Thomas (1809 - 1885), wife of Robert Thomas, buried next to her husband at Thomas-Fletcher Cemetery in Etowah.

Susan Matilda Rees(e) Thomas
Restoration of a Headstone

In 2014, several members of Etowah Heritage adopted the Thomas-Fletcher Cemetery under Henderson County's "Adopt-A-Cemetery" volunteer program. We found Susan Reese's headstone broken and laying on the ground. A restoration was completed in 2014 - 2015 under the guidance of the County's Cemetery Advisory Board.

Right, broken top part of headstone laying on the ground. Over the years, the headstone had been severely damaged by the combination of a rock-hard tree root and the freezing winter ground.

See pictures and a video of the headstone restoration process.

Susan's headstone prior to restoration. Only the top part lay on the ground. Broken pieces from the rest of the headstone were found buried around a tree stump.