Overview Included is a large group of letters and ephemera from the Thomas family, a family with deep Maryland roots known for its ancestors, politicians John Hanson and John Hanson Thomas. John Hanson (1715-1783) was the first elected President of the United States in Congress Assembled, the first to serve a one-year term under the provisions of the Articles of Confederation. Dr. John Hanson Thomas (1813-1881) was a renowned Maryland legislator arrested during the Civil War for voting for Secession,...