William Bevil Thomas

William Bevil Thomas (b. 1757 in St. John's, Newfoundland) was a prominent merchant, land developer and sea captain who is, with his descendants, notable in the history of that city and in the history of Newfoundland and Labrador province.

Thomas was from a line of merchant mariners from Devon, England and was genealogically connected with many other prominent families in Newfoundland, England and New England.

Daniel Woodley Prowse wrote:

The family of the Thomases are probably the most ancient in this Colony; their connection can be traced back to the Shapleighs (one of whom was grandfather to John Treworgie, the Cromwellian Governor of the Colony), thence through the Bevils to William Bevil Thomas. The Thomases carried on business at Dartmouth and St. John's in partnership with a Mr. Stokes, as Thomas & Stokes.Prowse, D.W., "A history of Newfoundland from the English, colonial, and foreign records", first released in London and New York in 1895, and has been reprinted several times.]

Treworgie married a woman of Newbury, Massachusetts in 1646 and through her Thomas may be descended from the puritans of Massachusetts Bay Colony. [1636 "Treworgye, Trueworgie, or Treworthy, James, Kittery 1636, merch. from Cornwall, m. Catharine, d. of Alexander Shapleigh, sis. of Nicholas, wh. surv. him, bef. com. from Eng. had d. Joanna, wh. m. John Ameridith, Meridith, or Merryday of Kittery; liz. wh. m. John Gilman of Exeter; and Lucy, wh. m. young Humphrey Chadbourne, and, next, Thomas Wells of K. from wh. part of K. got. its name Wells. He went to Newfoundland, perhaps for trade only, but d. bef. he was 35 yrs. old. His wid. m. Edward Hilton JOHN and NICHOLAS are ment. slightly, in N. E. bef. 1649, and prob. were brs. of the preced. Nicholas is not nam. again; but John had m. at Newbury, 15 Jan. 1646, a Spencer, perhaps d. of Thomas of Piscataqua, had John, b. 12 Aug. 1649; and Coffin says, he rem. to Saco. Yet a writer of so great dilig. as Mr. Thornton, in Geneal. Reg. V. 349, doubts the exist. of any John. SAMUEL, Boston, by w. Mary had Samuel, and d. 1698." "Genealogical Dictionary of New England Settlers"] [Note that Daniel Woodley Prowse does not specifically say whether Treworgie is an ancestor or William Bevil Thomas or just a relative on his mother's side. There is circumstantial evidence that William Bevil Thomas was, through the Bevils, descended from William de Beville who came to England with William the Conqueror in 1066 and whose descendants settled in the area of England from where the Bevils originate. This cannot, however, be genealogically proven.]

Thomas' shipping operations brought him along a triangular route that included Britain, the Caribbean and Newfoundland. In 1757, he married Elizabeth Way in Dartmouth, England. The couple's two sons, William Phillip Thomas and Henry Phillip Thomas, were prominent men in the generation after their father. According to Prowse:

...officials and merchants vied with each other in creating country residences and farms [...] finest of all, Brookfield, the property of William and Henry P. Thomas.

[...] William Thomas was foremost in every benevolent work. As a very young man he was secretary to the society for improving the condition of the poor; he was equally distinguished as a merchant and a politician. He filled all positions well, whether presiding at a religious meeting or as president of the Chamber of Commerce. Through a professedly religious man, sometimes the old broken out him. He was very active, and fond of directing everybody. Often, as he paced his long wharf, if one of his ships was beating in the Narrows, say his fine brig the "Cynthia", Captain Goldsworth, he could be heard muttering, "Luff, confound you, Goldsworth, luff, you !' Brookfield, the fine house at Devon Row, their Water Street premises, and the beautiful cottage at Topsail, are monuments to the large progressive ideas of the Thomases, and especially of the constructive ability of William Phillip Thomas.

The author also mentions that William Thomas was one of the most prominent Protestant merchants who rallied for a local legislature during the administration of Sir Thomas Cochrane.

Some of the Thomas' descendants married Irish Newfoundlanders and raised Roman Catholic families. Among these Irish Catholic descendants of the Thomases were Catherine Francis Dwyer and Nora Lambert (both maiden name Thomas). These half-sisters sold a large portion of Thomas family land along Portugal Cove Road in Torbay during World War II to make way for an airbase operated jointly by the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Air Force and the United States Air Force. This site is now occupied by St. John's International Airport [ [http://www.stjohnsairport.com/sitemap/default.htm St. John's Airport] ]

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