• Thomas initially traveled to the Salt Lake Valley in the Willard Richards Company in 1848. He later participated as one of the rescuers that were sent out in the winter of 1856 to assist the members of the Church stranded in Wyoming. He was among the small group of men who remained behind at Devil's Gate until spring to guard the personal belongings of the emigrants who had been rescued.

Willard Richards Company (1848)

• Age at Departure: 17

Rescue Companies (1856)

• Age at Departure: 25

Sources

• Find a Grave (Website)
• Handcart Veterans Association. Handcart Veterans Association scrapbook, 1906-1914, folder 7. 
• Jaques, John, [Minutes of meeting at Devil's Gate, 9 November 1856], in John Jaques, Collection, 1846-1920.
• Jones, Daniel W., Forty Years Among the Indians (1890), 62-75.
• Josiah Rogerson, "Strong Men, Brave Women and Sturdy Children Crossed the Wilderness Afoot," Salt Lake Tribune, 4 January 1914.