William
G. Thomas
WILLIAM G.
THOMAS. As editor of the Western
Enterprise at Anson, Mr.
Thomas has been able to wield a very effective influence for the
betterment and advancement of his section of West Texas. Both through
his paper and through his personality he has been one of the loyal
boosters of west Texas in general, and Jones county, in particular, for
a number of years.
William G. Thomas was born in Llano county, Texas, June
29, 1875, and was the third in a family of eight children born to Rev.
William G. and Mary (Chamberlain) Thomas. His father, who died in 1889,
at the age of about forty-one years, and is buried in Fisher county,
was a native of this state, and was a prosperous cattle rancher, took
an active part in politics, and served as the first county elective
judge of Fisher county. He was a minister of the Baptist faith, but
never took a salary, and preached for the good of souls. His widow, who
was born in Texas, and who shared with her husband in his devotion to
the church, now resides at Anson with her son William.
Mr. William G. Thomas, who has spent all his career in
Texas, obtained his early education in the public schools of Llano
county. His father died when the son was thirteen years old, and that
event threw him upon his own responsibility, and not only did he have
to provide for his own livelihood, but for a number of years
contributed to the support of his widowed mother, and the younger
children in the family. When hardly old enough to mount into the saddle
he became a cowboy, and continued working on cattle ranches, until he
was about twenty-six years of age. Finally his means allowed him to
direct his energies to a more congenial field, and he found a place in
the printing office of the Roby Banner
in Fisher county. He has been in the printing and publishing business
ever since. For several years he worked on various newspapers and in
all capacities from compositor to editor, in Texas, New Mexico and
Oklahoma. On April 15, 1905, he came to Anson and bought the Western Enterprise, a paper which
under his management has become one of the best country journals in the
western section of the state. It enjoys a large circulation throughout
Jones and adjoining counties.
Mr. Thomas was married in Fisher county, October 7, 1903,
to Miss Minnie Davis, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Vol Davis, of Fisher
county. The four children, three sons and one daughter, born to their
marriage are: Willard, Velma, William G., Jr., and Frederick. Mr.
Thomas, while not an active member of any church prefers the church of
his parents, the Baptist. He is affiliated with the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, and has passed through all the chairs of his local
lodge. A Democrat, he interests himself especially in state and
national politics, and has always supported good government in his home
locality. Mr. Thomas through many years of thrifty management and
honorable business relations, has built up a generous prosperity, and
has other interests outside of his publishing plant. He finds great
pleasure in the handling of live stock, and enjoys hunting and fishing.
from A
History of Texas and
Texans,
by Frank W. Johnson.
The American Historical Society. Chicago, 1914. Vol. III,
p. 1092.