Gilbert, Frank T. "Historic Sketches of Walla Walla, Whitman, Columbia and Garfield Counties, Washington Territory; and Umatilla County, Oregon." Portland, OR: Print & Lithographing House of A. G. Walling, 1882. p. a37. ALFRED THOMAS was born in Hardinsburgh, Breckenridge county, Kentucky, on the sixteenth of April, 1828. His father was the proprietor of an extensive tannery in that place, and the tanner's trade, consequently, was that learned by Alfred before leaving home, which occurred in 1849, when he emigrated to Linn county, Iowa. In 1850, on the tenth of December, he was married to Miss Elizabeth E. Lewis, of Linn county, in that State. In 1870 he rented his Iowa farm and moved with his family to Walla Walla, and settled the same year on the place now occupied by hint as a homestead. A view of the improvements and the east end of his farm accompanies this book. There are 660 acres of it, situated three miles east of Walla Walla city, through which, for one and one-fourth miles runs Mill creek. All is enclosed with fence, 360 acres are under cultivation, and the balance is timber and pasture land. There is an orchard with 2,100 bearing fruit trees including apple, peach, pear, plum, prune and apricot. In 1876 sixty acres of it produced 78 bushels of barley to the acre, and 125 acres produced 48 bushels of wheat to the acre. There are 80 acres of that farm upon which barley has been grown for nine consecutive years, and the last year it yielded 60 bushels to the acre. Nothing further need be said in regard to its productiveness. Mr. Thomas makes a specialty of growing hogs, and has at this time about 300 head. His crop of fruit in 1882 was sold by him for $3,000. To this add the grain product and it would seem to be enough business for one man to excel at. At the time of his purchasing the place, many considered it an exhibition of deficient knowledge of agriculture. But the years that he had spent in new countries in varied climes and upon different soils, had proved a school of experience that caused him to take as a choice what he has, and the result has proved the wisdom of the selection. Yellow Hawk, the Cayuse chief, after whom the creek is named, is buried upon this farm, where he lived in the time when the Indian was "monarch of all he surveyed." Mrs. Elizabeth E. Thomas died October 8, 1878, leaving the following children : Sarah E., Ellen S., John G., Carrie E., Joseph Guy, Mary K., Eugene, Bertie, and Eliza. September 24, 1879, Mr. Thomas was again married, this time to Mrs. Margaret Lewis, a cousin of his former wife, who has one child, Lewis H., born July 1, 1880. * * * * Submitted to the WA. Bios Project in February 2007 by Diana Smith. Notice: These biographies were transcribed for the Washington Biographies Project. Unless otherwise stated, no further information is available on the individual featured in the biographies.