Hewitt L. Thomas

Hewitt Ludlow Thomas (April 27, 1805 – October 23, 1895) was an American educator, businessman, lawyer, judge, and politician who served in the Minnesota Senate and the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Early life Hewitt Ludlow Thomas was born on April 27, 1805, in Tompkins County, New York, to parents Reverend Minor Thomas, a Baptist minister, and Nancy Thomas (née Wynans). Thomas was educated in common school while working as a farmer in New York and eventually became a teacher and studied in Oxford, Ohio, for several months before moving to Fayette County, Indiana, in 1826. Thomas was also the initial schoolmaster of Clinton township and was later elected as the township's justice of the peace.

Political career Thomas moved to Minnesota Territory in 1855 following his son, Minor T. Thomas, who had originally settled in the territory to recover from malaria. The Minnesota Legislative Reference Library also confirms Thomas' move to Minnesota Territory as being in 1855. In 1860 Thomas was elected as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives representing District 2 of the Minnesota House which at the time included Chisago, Kanabec, Pine, and Washington Counties.

Personal life and death Thomas married Charlotte Corday Helm of Mason County, Kentucky, on March 9, 1826. They had four children, one of which was Minor T. Thomas.