Thomas Floral Monuments
Location: Area F/Lot 24 & 26
Date of Placement: after 1902
Decedents: William Hamilton Thomas, Susannah Thomas and Martha Ritchie Hanna
Monument inducted into the Hall in September 2023 (Class #3)
Location: Area F/Lot 24 & 26
Date of Placement: after 1902
Decedents: William Hamilton Thomas, Susannah Thomas and Martha Ritchie Hanna
Monument inducted into the Hall in September 2023 (Class #3)
The floral carvings on these monuments are amazing, exhibiting expert craftsman skills by the talented stonemason who performed this work. These monuments were likely quite expensive, but based on other stones in this lot and those adjacent, money was no object. Within feet is an earlier inductee of the MOC Hall of Fame with the Celtic Cross marker of John Knight McDannold made by Tiffany's of New York around 1899, the year of the decedent's passing. It would not be a surprise if these gravestones were produced by a larger stonecutting firm in a larger city such as Baltimore, Philadelphia or New York.
Susannah Hanna Thomas was a cousin of John Knight McDannold and grew up in the Brookville, Indiana area. Earlier "Stories in Stone" blogs focus on John Knight McDannold and his grandfather, John Knight. This latter gentleman has a large, impressive monument a few feet away and was very wealthy at the time of his death in 1864. As a matter of fact, Mr. Knight died in Biarritz France, and his body was brought overseas for burial in Mount Olivet —something rarely done at the time.
Susannah's husband, William Hamilton Thomas (1835-1917), had roots in Frederick, and had done very well for himself going into his father Edward C. Thomas’s oyster and fruit packing business. This was started several decades before in Baltimore. The couple would reside in Baltimore and had three daughters: Florence, Fannie and Marcia Virginia. Marcia Virginia Thomas was featured in a past "Story in Stone" feature as she died tragically due to a terrible drowning accident while the family was vacationing at Rangeley Lake, Maine in 1892.
Susannah's husband, William Hamilton Thomas (1835-1917), had roots in Frederick, and had done very well for himself going into his father Edward C. Thomas’s oyster and fruit packing business. This was started several decades before in Baltimore. The couple would reside in Baltimore and had three daughters: Florence, Fannie and Marcia Virginia. Marcia Virginia Thomas was featured in a past "Story in Stone" feature as she died tragically due to a terrible drowning accident while the family was vacationing at Rangeley Lake, Maine in 1892.
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Recently, the Friends of Mount Olivet monument restoration and repair team up-righted Susannah's mother's monument as it had been face down from a fall several years ago. This was Martha Ritchie (Knight) Hanna (1811-1887). Mrs. Hanna's gravestone revealed the same design and craftsmanship that adorned both Susannah and William's stones.
Another signature element included on these three monuments is a draped cloth atop the stone. This represents a veil, or curtain, that separates the living from the dead.
William Thomas died in 1917, and his wife died three years later. The three stones stand today quite proudly in Mount Olivet's Area F/Lot 52. They are surrounded, as stated earlier, by several monuments and gravestones of high quality which matched their social standing at the time of their prominence.