Description
William Thomas enlisted at Elwood, Kansas on July 17, 1863, and was mustered as a Private into the 83rd USCT Infantry, Company A. On November 17, 1866, Robert B. Thomas of Buchanan County, Missouri, signed claim for compensation #125 for enlisted slave William Thomas and swore an oath of allegiance before Buchanan County Notary Public J. C. Robidoux.
Robert B. Thomas claimed he had acquired title by “…the said William Thomas was given to him by his mother Sallie Thomas in the year 1840, when the said slave was a child, and was raised by said claimant, claimant at that time being a resident of Bourbon County, Kentucky.
Isaac Sower and Thomas C. Feland County swore under oath that Thomas had owned William for “26 years" and also swore oath that Robert Thomas was loyal to the U.S. Government and had defended it against the Confederate States of America. Buchanan County Notary Public J. C. Robidoux certified that Thomas, Sower, and Feland had personally appeared before him and swore an oath to the truth of the claim. Thomas gave power of attorney to the law firm of Chipman, Hosmer & Co. of Washington, DC, to prosecute his claim for compensation.Date(s) of Creation
11/17/1866
