Timelines

1816

John Joel Abbott Thomas

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

Senior class in 1835, Franklin College

John Abbott Thomas Graduates from UGA, Franklin College, 1835

1938

John A. Thomas and Malvina Henrietta Huguenin

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.

1839-1843

John Abbott Thomas and Family in Savannah

During this time, JAT is in Savannah as the Deputy Port Collector. His sons were born in 1839 (John Huguenin Thomas) and 1840 (Edward Jonathan Thomas–my great-great-grandfather). By 1842, his first daughter Eliza Huguenin Thomas, Jr., would be born. Soon after, JAT loses his job as the Deputy Port Collector in Savannah, and relocates his family to McIntosh County, GA where his father owns about 15,000 acres of land. His father lives at Marengo Plantation with his second wife Mary Ann Houstoun and JAT lives on Peru Plantation on the South Newport River.

30 Nov. 1845

Savannah Daily Republican, 4 Dec. 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.