Rev. T. B. Thayer, D. D., makes this brief but truthful statement of the character of Mr. Thomas:—
"As a teacher, he was a man of wonderful gifts. His sermons were largely doctrinal, expository, and defensive, as the position of our church at the time he began preaching demanded. He was clear, terse and logical, and original in the statement and discussion of his subject, with just enough of quaint Quaker phrase to give it spice, yet alive with the beauty and the glow of the poet's vision and illustration; and sometimes, when a sudden burst of feeling and inspiration came upon him, he rose to the highest demands of oratory, his eloquence became electric, and, like a full-charged battery, thrilled the entire congregation, until every heart beat with the pulses of his own faith and fervor. As a controversialist, he had few equals. His discussion with Dr. Ely, as an exhibition of the Universalist argument, was, and still is, the best and most persuasive work of the kind in our denominational history, and admirably displays the skill, logic, fairness and manly courtesy of Mr. Thomas as a debater. As a Christian gentleman, he was distinguished for the grace and courtesy of his manners, for his thoughtful kindness towards all, for his remarkable conversational gifts, and for the personal magnetism by which he attracted to himself all with whom he came in contact, young and old, strangers and friends alike."
For the last three years of his life he was confined to his home, and quietly passed on in full assurance of the immortal life, Sept. 27, 1880. Mr. Thomas was married Feb. 14, 1843, to Miss M. Louise Palmer, of Pottsville, Pa., who survives him, and is one of the active and efficient "women workers" of our church.
Contemporary with Mr. Thomas during his ministry in Philadelphia was Rev. Savillion W. Fuller, who became pastor of the Callowhill Street Universalist Church in that city in 1833. We are indebted to Mr. Thomas, who, in his "Autobiography," has given us a truthful though brief account of the worthy man:—
"His mind was comprehensive. His power of analysis was displayed alike in sermonizing and conversation. His perception was quick, his reflection rigid, and his stern conscience denounced what logic condemned. As a public speaker he was unequal. Sometimes he was tame, at others mightily stirring by forcible thought embodied in unusually glowing language. The average placed him in a high rank among the eloquent men of the age. In every respect of social nobility I never knew his superior.
'He bore through suffering, toil, and ruth,
Within his heart the dew of youth,
And on his lip the smile of truth.'
He carried sunshine into all circles of the young and the old, the literary and the religious. Even the house of mourning seemed radiant in his visitations of loving trust. His keen wit was without asperity, and his ardent zeal was uniformly tempered by charity. His beaming face was a true index of the inner man."
He united with Mr. Thomas in a letter to four distinguished clergymen of Philadelphia, inviting them to lecture in the Universalist churches in that city on points of doctrinal difference between the parties. The result of the invitation was, finally, the Ely and Thomas discussion.