Thomas Winslow was born in Perquimans County, North Carolina on March 8, 1746. A Quaker, he was appointed to present and defend a 1777 petition from the Perquimans Quakers to the North Carolina General Assembly concerning the requirement of state citizens to swear an oath of allegiance and fight in the American Revolution. Winslow died in Randolph County, North Carolina on January 29, 1826.