Thomas W. Furnas (1768-1846)

Thomas Wilkinson Furnas was born 23 Mar 1768 in Bush River, SC, fourth child and third son of John Furnas and Mary Wilkinson. He is my son-in-law’s 5th great-grandfather.

His parents were Quakers, his father was born in Standing Stone, England (it seems to have been a village near Wigton, Cumbria, and is now only a bus stop), and his mother in Wigton. They left for the New World shortly after their marriage, arriving in Charleston harbor on 18 Feb 1763. Their eldest son Joseph was supposedly born on the ship (see his father’s page for a historical quote.⁽¹⁾)

Thomas had six siblings, all but the first two born in the settlement of Bush River (Joseph was born on he ship, and the first daughter Rebecca at The Ridge (possibly now Ridge Springs?)  Joseph, John, and Robert also married within the Quaker faith, it is not known to me whether the others did. Thomas married Rachel Coate, who was not a Quaker, and his children also seem to have abandoned the faith.

So far, I only found Thomas in the 1800 census in Newbury District, SC. While both he and Rachel supposedly died in South Carolina, 1820 and 1830 census records have a Thomas W. Furnas/Furnace in Miami County, Ohio.^(2),(3) In 1820 the household consists of 1 male 15-18, 2 males 18-25, 1 male over 45, 1 female 15-25, and one female over 45; multiple Pearsons and Jenkinses are on the same page; in 1830 the household consists of 1 male 30-40, 1 male 60-70, 1 female 20-30, and 1 female 40-50; a W. Furnas is on the same page with 1 male <5, 1 male 20-30, 1 male 30-40, 1 female <5, and 1 female 20-30. Some careful comparisons of the tick marks is needed, but it seems likely that Thomas and Rachel moved to Ohio as well. Rachel may have died between 1820 and 1830; it is unclear where the exact death date of Thomas comes from, my two sources do not indicate where they got their information. Thomas does not show up in the 1840 census.

Clearly there is more work to be done, but that happens every time I write one of these posts!

(1) Geo. M Pearson, Benjamin and Esther (Furnas) Pearson; Their Ancestors and Descendants (Los Angelos: Times-Mirror Printing & Binding, 1941), pg. 37-38. Online at https://archive.org/details/benjaminestherfu00pear quoting Tanzy R. Furnas, Genealogy of the Furnas Family (Dayton, OH: Furnas Brothers, 1897)
(2) “United States Census, 1820,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBS-916Y : 16 July 2015), Ohio > Miami > Monroe > image 3 of 3; citing NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
(3) “United States Census, 1830,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYYD-9GPT : 14 August 2015), Ohio > Miami > Concord > image 3 of 18; citing NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).