Thomas White

Thomas White was the sixth son of William White and Mary (Darling) White. He was born April 13, 1821, in the log cabin that stands in the Reunion Grounds in western Monongalia County, Virginia, where his parents had moved around 1820. He married Cynthia Hennen on August 31, 1843. They had eight children: John, William Thomas, Fletcher, Joseph, James, Morgan, and Cynthia Mary. Cynthia died February 14, 1862, shortly after giving birth to their eighth child, who died a week later. Thomas rode his horse over to where Cynthia’s niece, Rebecca Hennen, was living in May 1862, and asked her to marry him, saying he would return in two weeks for her answer. She accepted his proposal and they were married June 26, 1862. They had eight children: Milton, Lydia Ann, Harriett, Sarah May, Simon, Levi, Homer, and Alexander. Thomas was a farmer and stock raiser. He was also the first President of the White Family Reunion. When Thomas died on August 23, 1905, the Reunion, that had been scheduled for August 30, 1905, was delayed until 1906, in his honor.  Thomas, Cynthia, Rebecca, and several of their children are buried in the Thomas White cemetery on a hill on his portion of his father’s farm.