John Jones Thomas journals, 1900-1915
Scope and Contents note
Sixteen journals John Jones Thomas kept while living on his ranch in Fish Springs, Utah. They span the years 1900-1915, one for each year. John mentions his neighbors, the Karren’s, the Kearney’s from Deer Creek, his sons Jay and Jerome, his wife, and a lot of day his day-to-day ranching life, such as hauling hay and slaughtering of cattle. His journals are mostly an Excelsior Diary brand, which was manufactured with printed pages at the front displaying information about the calendar year, countries, states, territories, and cities, postage, business vocabulary, weights and measures, the time of the tide, and foreign coinage. They are leather-bound in either red, black, or burgundy colors. There are two or three entries per page, and they are usually no longer than one sentence. Of the nineteen, two have Date Book
printed on their cover and have one entry per page. John begins each entry with his location, which is most oftenFish Springs
.
Dates
- Other: 1900-1915
Creator
- Thomas, John Jones, 1852-1917 (Person)
- Thomas, John Jay, 1893-1972 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access note
Open for public research.
Conditions Governing Use note
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from the John Jones and John Jay Thomas journals must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.
Biographical History
John Jones Thomas (1852-1917) was the county commissioner for Juab Counter, Utah, and also operated a successful ranch there in Fish Springs.
John Jones Thomas was born to Daniel Stillwell Thomas and Martha Pane Jones 10 January 1852 in Salt Lake City, Utah. His parents were Mormon pioneers from the eastern United States who had settled in Utah. John married Myra Amanda Clark on 4 November 1873 in Salt Lake City, Utah. They had eleven children: Myra Lenore, Jerome Clark, Pearl, Victor Stillwell, Ethel Stanley, Genevieve, Hazel May, Inabell, John Jay, Beulah, and Myra. His wife died in 1900 in Lehi, Utah, and he remarried Leanore Genevieve Kearney 22 October 1901 in Salt Lake City. They had one daughter, Eva Kearney. John served as county commissioner for Juab County, Utah, and owned a ranch there in Fish Springs. He loved the desert, so he confidently homesteaded his land in Fish Springs despite the isolated conditions and ran a successful business. The ranch became a way station for travelers passing through the area. He operated the ranch up to the time of his death. His daughter described him as “a stand out man,” big, tall, and with hair as “black as tar.” The Thomas Range in Juab County was named for him. John died 17 April 1917 in Fish Springs, Juab, Utah. He was buried in his hometown of Lehi, Utah.
Biographical History
John Jay Thomas was born 9 June 1893 in Lehi, Utah, to John Jones Thomas and Myra Amanda Clark. He married Rose Winnifred Kirkham on 15 May 1913. They had ten children. John worked on his father’s ranch in Fish Springs before his father’s death in 1917. He died 11 February 1972, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Extent
1 box (0.5 linear ft.)
1 folder (0.1 linear ft.)
Language of Materials
English
Subject
Repository Details
Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States