Nevada
County
Biographies
WALTER G. THOMAS
There is perhaps no profession in
which such rapid progress has been made through the past half century as that
of dentistry. In fact it has been a
comparatively short period in which the profession has had a place among the
business interests to which men devote their energies. Wonderful discoveries, however, have been
made, and dentistry has reached a degree of perfection that is truly
marvelous. In all the discoveries
connected with the science Dr. Thomas has kept abreast, and is particularly
skillful in the manipulation of the tools used in the practice of his chosen
calling. Thus has he won a large practice and has gained a place among the
leading representatives of dentistry in this section of the state. His parlors are located on the corner of Main
and Mill streets in Grass Valley, and there his time is largely occupied with
the labors resulting from the large practice which he now enjoys.
The Doctor is a native of the
Keystone state, his birth having occurred in Susquehanna County, September 29,
1866. His father, Charles Thomas, was
also born in Pennsylvania and was descended from one of three brothers who came
from Wales in the early part of the seventeenth century. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Lydia
Giles, was born in Pennsylvania, and is a daughter of Judge Samuel Giles, who
was one of the loyal American soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Dr. Thomas is the youngest in a family of
five children, and with his parents he removed from Pennsylvania to Iowa
County, Wisconsin, in 1867. He was seven
years of age when taken by them on their removal to DeKalb County, Missouri,
where he obtained his literary education in the public schools.
He was but a youth when he started
out to make his own way in the world, and many are the experiences that have
come to him through the varied business interests with which he has been
connected. Upon leaving home he went to
Topeka, Kansas, where he began the study of pharmacy, spending two years in a
drug store there. On the expiration of
that time he went to St. Clair County, Missouri, and was employed in a drug
store for five years at that point.
Although not a graduate of any school of pharmacy, he has a comprehensive
knowledge of the science and also of anatomy, which he has made a special study
for several years. In 1888 he came to
California and accepted a position as a traveling representative of a wholesale
drug house, and later he became associated with Dr. C. A. Perry, a dentist of
San Francisco, having in the meantime passed an examination before the state
board of California. For five years he
was engaged in practice in San Francisco and then came to Grass Valley, where
he opened an office.
On the 5th of November,
1898, the Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Marie Clements, an estimable
lady, who was born in this state and is a daughter of L. B. Clements, now
deceased. Her father was one of the
California pioneers of 1849, and for more than twenty years served as justice
of the peace of Santa Cruz. Mr. and Mrs.
Thomas have one son, Rialto E., born November 18, 1900. The Doctor exercises his right of franchise
in support of the men and measures of the Republican Party, and socially
affiliates with the Knights of Pythias of which he is now vice chancellor. Both he and his wife have the high regard of
many friends and enjoy the hospitality of the best homes in this locality.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 490-491. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Nevada County Biographies