1816
John Joel Abbott Thomas born
John Joel Abott Thomas was born to Major Jonathan Thomas (b? d. 1845, Marengo Plantation, McIntosh County, GA) and Mary Jane Baker who may have died in childbirth or soon after. John Abbott Thomas (JAT) married Eliza Henrietta Huguenin (born in SC) and they had 7, possibly 8 children.
1835
John Abbott Thomas Graduates from UGA, Franklin College, 1835
1938
1838 John Joel Abbott Thomas Marries Malvina Henrietta Huguenin
In 1838, John A. Thomas marries Malvina Henrietta Huguenin in Savannah, GA. Malvina is the daughter of John Huguenin and Eliza Vallard (both originally from Charleston, SC). In 1825, the Huguenins settle in Chatham County (Savannah) and buy a large plantation south of Savannah. John Huguenin would die in 1835, leaving his large estate to his wife Eliza. Eliza Vallard Huguenin would live in a large home on Liberty Street in Savannah until her death in 1870, but her largest estate–the plantation–would be divided among her children and pass into the Thomas family hands after her death.
30 Nov. 1845
Major Jonathan Thomas dies at Marengo Plantation
For many years until 2024, this date of Jonathan Thomas’s death was unknown until I found his obituary in the Savannah newspapers. His estate would not be settled until many years later and evidence of the estate changes are complicated due to McIntosh County courthouse fires over the years. According to his grandson’s memoir, Major Jonathan Thomas was buried on his plantation along the South Newport River in the family cemetery. There is no extant location of his burial to this day, and it is assumed he was buried on Peru Plantation, which is now the location of the U S Fish & Wildlife Harris Neck Refuge.