Thomas was born on October 19, 1833 in Perry Co., Indiana. He was the son of Ira A. Blanchard and Margaret Rutherford. Ira was born in New York and Margaret was born in Indiana. He was one of seven children; he had two older brothers, three younger brothers and one younger sister. The family moved to Iowa about 1841 and by 1850 the whole family was living in Monticello Township, Jones Co., Iowa. Thomas, his two older brothers and his father were farmers and Thomas had attended school.
On November 11, 1853, Thomas married Martha A. Mallory. She had also been born in Perry Co., Indiana in 1836 and had moved with her family to Jones Co., Iowa by 1850. The two families were living just ten dwellings apart. Their marriage did not last long, as Martha died on April 3, 1854. Also, Thomas’ father died in 1854. On July 9, 1857, Thomas married Sarah Elizabeth Allen in La Plata, Macon Co., Missouri. Sarah was born in Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri on June 25, 1842, the daughter of John C. Allen and Margaret Ann Murphy. By 1860, the two of them were living in Pettis Township, Adair Co., Missouri next door to his mother and his siblings.
The records are confusing on when Thomas and Sarah began to have their children. The 1860 Census showed them without any children. Some records indicate that in 1859, their first son, Orlean, was born. I could not find any other record of him; he may have died early. Also, Thomas had a brother by that name and there may be confusion in that regard. The 1870 Census shows there was a daughter, Sophia, who was born in 1857 in Kansas. She would then have been their first child. In 1861, their son, Valentine, was born in Kansas. On January 15, 1863 their son Ira A. was born in Missouri.
On December 1, 1861, Thomas joined the 7th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry at Macon City, Missouri, to serve for three years. He was appointed the 5th Sergeant in Co. I and he used his own horse until May of 1862. He was present on the Muster Rolls until September-October when he was sick at Sedalia. As such it can be assumed he was in the Battle of Lone Jack.
In mid 1863 he became the Quartermaster Sergeant and was back to using his own horse. On January 2, 1864, Thomas reenlisted as a Veteran Volunteer at Little Rock, Arkansas and continued as the Quartermaster Sergeant. At that time, he was five feet ten inches tall, had hazel eyes, brown hair and a light complexion. His occupation in civilian life was a mill wright. In July he received a thirty-day furlough and went home to Adair County. Thomas was transferred to the 1st Missouri Cavalry as the two units were consolidated, and he mustered out with that unit in 1865.
Now back in civilian life, Thomas and the family moved to Owl Creek Township, Woodson Co., Kansas and he took up farming and stock raising. Within the same household was Thomas, Sarah and their son, Ira A., plus Thomas’ mother, Margaret, two of his brothers, Seth and George, and one sister, Mary. Their daughter, Mary E. was born on April 9, 1865. Thomas was also Sheriff of that county for one term.
In 1869, the family moved to Walnut Township, Cowley Co., Kansas, and according to the 1870 Census, Thomas was a farmer with a Real Estate Value of $1000 and a Personal Estate Value of $500. As noted previously, along with Sarah, there were now five children: Sophia, age 12; Valentine, age 9; Ira A., age 7; Mary E., age 5 and John D., not quite 1 year old. His brother, George, was also living with them. Notice that prior to this, only Ira had appeared on any census. In April of 1870, Thomas’ mother died.
Thomas was Township Clerk for four terms, was a Trustee of Walnut Township and was one of the first County Commissioners of the county. On December 18, 1874, their daughter, Lammie Marie, was born into the family, and by the 1880 Census, the household consisted of Thomas, Sarah, Ira, Mary, John and Lammie. Thomas filed for a Veteran’s Pension on June 5, 1880 and received Certificate no. 244666. The family was still in Cowley Co., Kansas by 1885, but Ira had died two years earlier.
In 1889, Thomas, Sarah, John and Lammie moved to Oklahoma and settled in Guthrie. On July 14, 1892 Thomas died and is buried in the Summit View Cemetery in Guthrie, Logan Co., Oklahoma. He has a Military Stone on his grave site. Sarah filed for a Widow’s Pension on August 10, 1892 and lived on until August 27, 1903. Sarah was buried to the right side of Thomas’ grave.