THOMAS, WALLACE B. (1848-1926)

THOMAS, WALLACE B., Methodist minister, Derby circuit, 1896-97; b. Tryon, P.E.I., 12 Jun 1848, s/o George Thomas and Sarah Crossman; m. 1893, Agnes Lawson; d. Toronto, 15 Jun 1926.

Wallace B. Thomas first came to the Miramichi in 1877, at age twenty-nine, as the second probationer for the Methodist ministry to be assigned to the Bay du Vin and Escuminac mission field. His predecessor in 1876-77, and the first Methodist preacher in the place, was Theophilus L. Williams, a young man from England. When Williams arrived, Methodist sympathizers were so scarce that he had difficulty finding room and board. He soon made himself quite popular, however, and since there was no church at Escuminac, he succeeded in 1877 in getting the local people to build a 'union church' for use by all denominations. This was convenient for Wallace B. Thomas during his term, which extended from 1877 to 1879. Like his predecessor, he was 'much loved'. When he left it was to attend Mount Allison College to complete his theological studies.

Ordained in 1882, Thomas served most of his ministry in smaller places in the Maritimes. Jacksonville, Deer Island, Albert, and Baie Verte were among his stations in New Brunswick prior to his appointment to the Derby circuit in 1896. He stayed just one year and then went to Dorchester. He was subsequently located in Prince Edward Island and at Campbellton, N.B. His last assignment was in Gaspé, Que. He retired in Sussex in 1914 and moved to Toronto in 1923.

Thomas and his wife, Agnes Lawson, had one child, Winnifred F. Thomas, who graduated from Mount Allison University and became principal of the United Church's training school for deaconesses in Toronto.