Thomas -- Young Husband and Entrepreneur

The next time Thomas appears in the public record is as a young husband to Mary Elizabeth Diamond. They were married in Lexington on December 23, 1846. The marriage was reported in the Lexington Observer and Reporter. Both the bride and the groom were of Lexington. Thomas was 22 and Mary Elizabeth was 21 years old at the time of their marriage.

Thomas initially supported his young family as a baker. The 1850 Census showed that Thomas was not only supporting his young wife and first-born daughter Atlanta (aka Addie), but also his widowed mother, Mary, and younger brother, William. William, John Bridges and Bow Higginbotham are listed as bakers and apparently living in the same residence.

Source Citation: Year: 1850; Census Place: District 2, Fayette, Kentucky; Roll: M432_199; Page: 200B; Image: 178.

His bakery appeared to be quite successful as this notice was published in the Kentucky Statesman on March 30, 1850. 

Published in Kentucky Ancestors, Vol. 39. p. 183.

All seemed well for the young family. Thomas, who was left fatherless at the young age of 13 appeared to have stepped up to the plate and was quite responsible at the age of 25. What could possibly go wrong?

Note: The spelling of "Diamond" has appeared both with and without an "a" in  various records. The family that survives has chosen to spell it with an "a."

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