John Thomas appears to have replaced Henry Kendall, following his death in 1835, to work alongside the long serving Walter Norton. He is first mentioned in the Newmarket Union minutes of 1836, when ‘Norton and Thomas of Newmarket’ were elected medical officers to District 2 of the newly formed Newmarket poor law union. At that stage Walter Norton would have been in his early 70s yet still working, as appears to have been the custom in those days (most people appear to have worked until they died – Thomas Searanke 1 being an early exception – see the page on The Greenes – Fraser chain for further comments also); John Thomas would have been Walter Norton’s young new business partner, in his mid 20s.
According to his apprenticeship records at the Society of Apothecaries, John Thomas was the son of Rees Thomas, a mercer (i.e. cloth merchant) of Llangadock, Carmarthenshire, Wales. He was baptised in 1808, then nearly 30 years later licensed to practice by the Society of Apothecaries in 1837, following an apprenticeship to David Jones of Dulwich, Surrey (Jones perhaps indicating Welsh connections, and possibly the Thomas family had London connections through the cloth trade too?). He had studied a typical selection of subjects (see details in the references below) and served 6 months in the Whitworth Chronic & Hardwicke fever Hospital (which interestingly was in Dublin, Ireland, and linked to a workhouse – see the relevance of that below). John Thomas then came to Newmarket some time before 1836 (interestingly the year before he qualified, so it’s odd that Walter Norton is not mentioned on his 1837 examination record, but this does appear to be the same John Thomas, since he was described as ‘John Thomas, Esq., surgeon, Newmarket, formerly of Llangadock, Carmarthenshire’ at his death).
In Newmarket, Norton and Thomas covered District 2 of the Newmarket Union initially, which was not defined, but after only a few months they were covering District 3 (possibly just re-numbered), which comprised Newmarket All Saints, Cheveley, Woodditton, Kirtling, Stetchworth, Dullingham, Borough Green, Brinkley and Westley Waterless. However, this didn’t last long, and by 1837, instead of this southern district, they were covering the north-western district of Burwell, Reach, Exning, Landwade and Newmarket St Mary, and they were elected surgeons to the new workhouse too (it’s interesting to consider whether John Thomas’ experience at Dublin helped their practice to secure that position).
Norton and Thomas were elected registrars too in 1837, but this decision was overturned on the basis that the post could be held by only one person, so John Thomas alone was appointed. Sadly however, later in 1837 he died from apoplexy (the old word for a stroke), at the very young age of 28 (presumably a subarachnoid haemorrhage?). Walter Norton then died less than a month later (not of the same cause). Mark Bullen took on their medical district and John Thomas’ registrar role (although Richard Faircloth became surgeon to the workhouse). We know that Richard Faircloth was from a separate practice, but these takeovers hint that Mark Bullen continued the Norton and Thomas practice, which is confirmed by a reference from a couple of years later when on the death of Mark Bullen he was referred to as ‘of the firm Norton and Bullen’ (see the page on Walter Norton for further comments on this, and the page on Mark Edwin Bullen for an image).
There is no evidence that John Thomas ever married or had any children. His medical contemporaries from other practices during his short time in Newmarket (1836-1837) would have been Robert James Peck, Robert Fyson, and Richard Faircloth. Robert McPherson mentioned on the death certificates of both Walter Norton and John Thomas was an assistant in one of the practices according to an 1839 entry in the Newmarket Union minutes, but it’s not known which practice that was. Presumably it wasn’t with their practice, otherwise he wouldn’t have been described as an assistant after Mark Bullen’s death.
1835, 14th December: Under deaths, ‘On Monday, aged 39, Mr. Henry Kendall, of the firm of Norton and Kendall, surgeons, of Newmarket.’ Reference: Huntingdon, Bedford, & Peterborough Gazette. Saturday Dec 19 1835: 2. [Note: The Bury and Norwich Post printed, ‘Mr. Henry Kendall, of the firm of Martin and Kendall, surgeons, of Newmarket’, Martin clearly being a typo for Norton therefore (just in case anyone were to spot this and think that there was a Mr Martin, surgeon, in Newmarket, for which there is no other evidence, and this evidence clearly proves the typo.). Reference: The Bury and Norwich Post. Wednesday Dec 16 1835.]
1836, 11th March: ‘Norton and Thomas of Newmarket Surgeons’ elected as medical officers to District 2 of the newly formed Newmarket Union (there were seven divisions, not defined). Reference: 611/11, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1836, 24th June: Norton & Thomas’ first quarterly payment as Medical Officers for District 2: 6-7-6. Reference: 611/11, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1836, 9th September: The Newmarket Union medical districts redefined and reduced to five from seven ‘having regard to the residence of the Medical Officers’. Walter Norton and John Thomas were allocated District 3, named the Cheveley district, which comprised Newmarket All Saints’, Cheveley, Woodditton, Kirtling, Stetchworth, Dullingham, ‘Boroughgreen’, Brinkley and Westley (waterless). Reference: 611/11, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1836, 21st October: Walter Norton and John Thomas Registrars for District 3, Cheveley District. Reference: 611/11, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1837, 10th March: The Newmarket Union medical districts redefined again, this time from five to six districts. Walter Norton and John Thomas were allocated District 2, which comprised Burwell with ‘the whole Hamlet of Reach’, Exning, Landwade and Newmarket St Mary. Reference: 611/11, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1837, 25th March: ‘Messrs Norton and Thomas were elected Surgeons to the new workhouse’. Reference: 611/11, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1837, 18th April: Walter Norton and John Thomas Registrars for District 1, Newmarket District. Reference: 611/11, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1837, 16th May: ‘The Registrar General having declared the election of Messrs Walter Norton & John Thomas as Registrars of the Newmarket District void the office of Registrar being tenable by only one person Mr John Thomas was elected Registrar for the said District’. Reference: 611/12, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1837, 21st September: ‘21. Sept 1837 18 Mr. John Thomas – of full age, Candidate for a Certificate of Qualification. Son of Rees Thomas of Llangadock Carmarthenshire mercer An APPRENTICE to Mr. David Jones late of Dulwich Surrey – APOTHECARY for 5 Years from March 1825. INDENTURE lost TESTIMONIAL of MORAL CHARACTER. [blank] AGE May 11. 1808. Bap. LECTURES commenced .. 1826. 2 COURSES on CHEMISTRY. Apjohn – 2 – MATERIA MEDICA. – BOTANY. [bracketed together] Mcnamara – 2 – ANATOMY and PHYSIOLOGY. Mccartney 2 – ANATOMICAL DEMONSTRATIONS. Dermott – 2 – PRINCIPLES and PRACTICE of MEDICINE. Graves – Shatten – MIDWIFERY. [blank] CLINICAL LECTURES. [blank] FORENSIC MEDICINE. [blank] 6 MONTHS’ ATTENDANCE at Whitworth Chronic & Hardwicke fever Hospital EXAMINED by Mr Randall + approved’. Reference: Court of Examiners Candidates’ Qualification Entry Book, The Society of Apothecaries Archives, Apothecaries’ Hall, Black Friars Lane, London EC4V 6EJ.
1837, 22nd October: Under deaths, ‘On Sunday se’nnight, very much respected and lamented, Mr. John Thomas, of the firm Norton and Thomas, surgeons, of Newmarket.’ Reference: The Bury and Norwich Post. Wednesday Nov 1 1837: 2.
1837, 22nd October: Under deaths, ‘On the 22d ult., of an apopletic [sic] fit, John Thomas, Esq., surgeon, Newmarket, formerly of Llangadock, Carmarthenshire.’ Reference: The Lincolnshire Chronicle and General Advertiser. Friday Nov 3 1837: 3.
1837, 22nd October: Death certificate of John Thomas, male, aged 28, surgeon, cause of death apoplexy, informant Robert McPherson surgeon Newmarket All Saints’ in attendance during last illness, registered 25th October 1837, registrar Richard Faircloth. Reference: Certified copy of an entry of death, given at the General Register Office, 16th November 2015.
1837, 17th November: Death certificate of Walter Norton, male, aged 72, surgeon, cause of death fever, informant Robert McPherson present at the death, Newmarket All Saints, registered 25th November 1837, registrar Richard Faircloth. Reference: Certified copy of an entry of death, given at the General Register Office, 13th November 2015.
1837, 24th October: ‘The Clerk reported to the Board the death of Mr John Thomas Registrar of the Newmarket District and the election of another officer was ordered to take place the next board day’. Reference: 611/12, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1837, 27th October: John Thomas of All Saints’ parish buried, aged 31. Reference: Microfiche of Newmarket All Saints’ parish register (fiche 9), (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1837, 14th November: ‘Mr Mark Edwin Bullen was elected registrar for the Newmarket District’. Reference: 611/12, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1837, 5th December: ‘Mr Bullen was elected Medical Officer of District No 2’, ‘Mr Richard Faircloth was elected surgeon to the Union House’. Reference: 611/12, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1839, 1st January: Under deaths, ‘On the 1st inst., after a long and painful illness. Mr. Bullen, surgeon, of Newmarket, of the firm Norton and Bullen.’ Reference: The Bury and Norwich Post. Wednesday Jan 9 1839: 2. [Note: see the page on Mark Edwin Bullen for an image of this.]
1839, 15th January: ‘Mr Robert MacPherson of Newmarket Saint Mary assistant surgeon was elected Registrar of the Newmarket District in the room of the late Mr Bullen’. Reference: 611/12, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
Suffolk Medical Biographies. http://www.suffolkmedicalbiographies.co.uk (originally accessed pre October 2013). [Note: see comments regarding this website on the Francis Greene page.], [Note also, this website did not have a page on John Thomas at the time of writing (30th January 2016).]
The Workhouse website. http://www.workhouses.org.uk/DublinNorth/ (accessed 30th January 2016).
Note: For published material referenced on this website see the ‘Acknowledgements for resources of published material’ section on the ‘Usage &c.’ page. The sources used for original unpublished documents are noted after each individual reference. Any census records are referenced directly to The National Archives, since images of these are so ubiquitous on microfilm and as digital images that they almost function like published works. Census records are covered by the ‘Open Government Licence’ as should be other such public records (see the ‘Copyright and related issues’ section on the ‘Usage &c.’ page for which references constitute public records, and any other copyright issues more generally such as fair dealing/use etc.).