Dr. J. Hanson Thomas manuscript collection

Dr. John Hanson Thomas was born on September 23, 1813 in Frederick, Maryland to John Hanson and Mary Isham Colston Thomas. His parents named him Charles Edward, but he had it changed to John Hanson by Act of Legislature. His mother was from an established Virginia family and lived on the “Honeywood” estate in Berkeley County. His father served as the Chairman of the Committee of Defense during the War of 1812 and served in Congress, first as a delegate in the House of Representatives and then as a state Senator. Thomas grew up in Virginia and attended the University of Virginia. He moved to Baltimore in 1834 and enrolled at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine. He also studied under Dr. Ashton Alexander and after graduation practiced medicine for a short time in the city. In 1838, he joined the Farmers and Merchants’ Bank and became president the following year, a position he held for 40 years. He also held several government positions, including in the state legislature. On September 12, 1861, he was arrested, along with several other Maryland legislators, for his pro-Confederacy leanings. He was imprisoned for several months, and he was transferred between Union prisons. He was held at Fort McHenry for a brief time until he was moved to Fort Monroe, then Fort Warren, and finally to Fort Lafayette. In 1870, he helped found the Academy of Music in Baltimore and served on the board of directors.

Thomas married Annie Campbell Gordon (1819-1886) on November 15, 1837. They had seven children, Basil Gordon, John Hanson, Raleigh Colston, Douglas Hamilton, Nannie Gordon, Mary Randolph, and John Marshall. The family moved to 1 West Mount Vernon Place in Baltimore in 1850. After the death of Annie Thomas in 1886, one of the daughters, Mary Randolph Thomas Carroll (1847-1926), wife of John N. Carroll of “The Caves,” lived there until 1891. Thomas died on July 15, 1881.