Edward I. Thomas

(Born: about 1811? - Died:????)

A merchant on Broad Street in New York about 1845. He was apparently a friend of Frances S. Osgood. His business is listed in an 1847 advertisement as Thomas & Co. His partner was Augustus W. Payne. He may be the E. I. Thomas, noted as a merchant, who at the age of 25, travelled from Liverpool to New York on November 23, 1836 on the ship Roscoe. The name is too common for easy tracing. His middle initial is often given incorrectly as “J”. Given his apparent interest in Frances S. Osgood, one may presume that he was of about her age, and perhaps born in 1811, as she was. He does not appear, however, to be the Edward Isaiah Thomas who was born in 1811 and died in 1891, as he seems to have lived his entire life in Worcester, MA. Nor does he appear to have been the Edward Isaiah Thomas who was born in 1833 and died in 1890, as he would have been only 13 in 1846.