John Thomas was a resident of Edgecombe County and an owner of enslaved people. In 1765 he served on a local freeholders court when it heard a case involving Jamey, an enslaved man charged with theft. Thomas died either in about 1777 or 1789, as two separate wills for John Thomases of Edgecombe exist for those dates. The signature of the Thomas that signed Jamey's trial papers does not definitively match either will's signature.