06/06/18
PHILIP FRANCIS THOMAS
PHILIP FRANCIS THOMAS 1860
Less than one year out of the long and colorful political career of Philip Francis Thomas was spent in the service of the Patent Office.
A native of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, he was born in Easton on September 12, 1810. Leaving the beaten political track of his Whig ancestors, he became a Democrat and was for half a century more or less active in Maryland politics. The son of a doctor, he studied law at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was admitted to the bar in 1831, and at the age of 24 plunged into Maryland politics, finally getting himself elected to the legislature.