Francis
Thomas
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carried home for dead! On another occasion he broke through thin ice with his horse, and narrowly escaped with his life. Having learned the trade of a cabinetmaker,
he was married to Sr. Anna Catherine Graeff (decd. Oct. 1815) on Jan.
12 1762, with whom he led a happy matrimonial life for 53 On Nov. 13 1763 both of them were admitted to membership in the congregation, and on June 8 1765 Br. Thomas joined the congregation in the celebration of the Holy Communion for the first time. That holy rite he continued to help in high esteem to the day of his death. In 1767 he removed to Litiz with his wife as an assistant in the hotel, and in the year 1772 came to Bethlehem under an engagement of like character. He subsequently resumed his mechanical profession, in the prosecution of which his industry, honesty and faithfulness won for him the respect and confidence of all with whom he dealt. This he acquired in a far more extended degree, after he received the opportunity of attendance on visitors. In this employment he succeeded by his candour, obliging disposition and readiness to do any act of kindness, in securing for himself the love and regard of every one, and his name will long continue to be held in affectionate remembrance. For some time previous to the death of his wife, he was subject to severe attacks of rheumatism, which frequently disturbed his nocturnal repose. These returns occurred at shorter intervals during the last years of his life, when the infirmities of advanced age were added to his sufferings. He felt the more grateful, that in the providence of God, he and his wife, being themselves childless, had educated three children of missionaries, Rachel Schneller, Ann Maria Schneller, and Marcia Elizabeth Brown, whose stay under his roof will be ever gratefully remembered by them.
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