Richard Morris THOMAS

[thomas143]

Hanes

Thanks for that link.

I had seen part of that notice in Welsh before but not the complete text. There is also some new information in there that I was not aware of.

Would be fascinating to find that I have cousin in Mauritius.

Chris

[James Thomas]

Well, this is what is portrayed in the school books of Mauritius.
If you have a picture, do send as the government here will have to rectify the mishap.

As for the lineage , like said the Thomas name was taken back in use some 6 generations ago, and we are still looking for the ancestor that did the name change and have to then look to his forefathers till it reaches the time of 1829 or such to know for certain if we are the descendants of that south indian woman born in mauritius and Richard Thomas. Or more specifically if our ancestor was indeed the same woman that was his 'wife' in the island

[thomas143]

James

I have attached two portraits of Richard Morris Thomas. I don't know the dates but he is clearly younger in the miniature.

I think his early life as a merchant in Italy and Malta and later work as a diplomat / Protector of Slaves are fairly well documented. there can be no doubt that he originated for Wales.

As I said in my earlier post - do you have any firm evidence that you are descended from him or is this a story passed down through the family over the years ? Would be fascinating to know.

Is the picture in the book you posted meant to be the same Richard Morris Thomas , Protector of Slaves ? Perhaps the artist did not have a portrait to copy and used some artistic licence with his features.

I would also be interested if to know if there are any historical documents or records about him available in Mauritius

Best Regards

Chris

[James Thomas]

Hello Chris

You have no idea what value your pictures have, not only to me or the Thomas family here but to the whole history of the country of Mauritius. That might be the first real picture the archives might get.

The shape of his face is somewhat similar to that drawing in our history book,and i'm starting to think the author depicted him as dark skinned because he was a protector of slave,in contrast  to the white-skinned colonist figure that is immediately under the drawing of Richard Morris Thomas in the book.

I'm going next week to the authorities with the pictures so as for them to rectify along the future line.

For the family stories here,like mentioned, all Thomas families agree that we descend from an Indian root woman with a foreign colonial officer and that the name Thomas was taken back 6 generations ago. What we are actually looking for on our side is who did the name change so as for us to be named Thomas again.

There is no contest whatsoever that Richard Morris Thomas was Welsh though a branch argue he was maybe french. latest update i had was Midglammorgan or somewhere around cardiff, and was even planning on getting on to the uk (wales more specifically to have a look at the parish's register. I did learn last year about his whereabouts and death location.

The records of his life here are nowhere to be found ( bizarrely the records pertaining to slavery times were burnt in the last decade...by accidental fire )

I will keep you updated if i find anything. But our quest here remains about the line from the 6 generation name change to up the line

On your side do let me know of any updates, especially on Richard Thomas' brothers and sisters if any and his mother


P.s : you might want to google for John Jeremy,he came with Richard Thomas to Mauritius

Cheers

James