Frank B. Toms

FRANK B. TOMS PASSES INTO THE GREAT BEYOND

Between eleven o'clock and noon Thursday, Frank B. Toms died at his home on North Street, after an illness of five months of tuberculosis and brights disease.

Mr. Toms was born in Perquimans County, N.C., in 1847. When a child, he came to Monroe County with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry C. Toms. He came of English and Irish stock. His paternal grandparents, F. B. and Sarah Toms, came from England, and the maternal grandparents, Richard and Nancy Lynch, came from Ireland.

Mr. Tom's father died in 1868 (sic) and left the care of the family upon him. In 1877 he married Miss Fannie Harrod. They lived on the farm until 1888, when they moved to Clarendon to the house where deceased lived the remainder of his life.

Mr. Toms was a man of strong character, of indomitable will and untiring industry. He was also a most kind hearted man, yet not given to outbursts of sentimental enthusiasm. He was quiet and unobtrusive in manner - always the same.

The word of no man in the county was more respected or highly regarded than that of Mr. Toms. He was a splended practical farmer and of sound business judgement, and accumilated sufficient of this world's goods for ample satisfaction of every need of himself and family. He was a Mason of honorable standing.

Funeral services were held at the home this morning at 8 o'clock by Rev. C. H. Gilmore, of the Christian Church. And his brother masons took part as pall bearers and escorts and buried the body in Shady Grove cemetery with the ritualistic honors due him as an esteemed brother.

The only immediate relatives are a son, Frank, aged 15, and a nephew, Mr. Harry Harris.

Editor's note: Henry C. Toms is buried in Shady Grove Cemetery and his stone gives: born Feb. 27, 1824 N.C. and died Nov. 9, 1859. Other sources state that he died while at a Masonic meeting in Little Rock, Ar. His portrait hangs in Cache Lodge 235 (chartered 1869) thus it is believed he was WM Cache Lodge 88 which became defunct during the Civil War. Tom's Hill, about 1/2 mile east of Clarendon, was named for the Toms family. It was the site of a refugee camp for Clarendon residents during the 1927 flood. Through the years the land has been leveled considerably but is still refered to as Tom's Hill.