Tuesday, August 01, 2023
Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Richard W. Thomas
Richard Webster Thomas was born on April 4, 1907, in Manhattan, New York City, according to his birth certificate. His parents were Richard Henry Thomas of Canada and Martha Richter of Germany.
The 1910 United States Census recorded the Thomas family in Manhattan at 39 West 95th Street. Thomas’ father, a mechanical engineer, passed away in 1911. Thomas’ mother remarried to David G. Wylie on October 1, 1914.
In the 1915 New York State Census, eight-year-old Thomas lived with his new family in Manhattan at 230 West 101st Street. He had three step-brothers and a step-sister.
According to the 1920 census, Thomas resided at his first home in Manhattan at 39 West 95th Street. The household included his parents, a half-sister, Martha, and two servants.
The Thomas family of four plus four servants were in Manhattan at 306 West 94th Street as enumerated in the 1925 New York state census.
Thomas has not yet been found in the 1930 census. The Times-Union (Brooklyn, New York), March 14, 1933, said Thomas attended the Collegiate School and Rutgers University.
At some point, Thomas moved to Brooklyn.
On March 9, 1933, Thomas and Betty Stuart Peck obtained a Brooklyn marriage license number 3234. Their wedding was reported in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 14, 1933. In 1935, their marriage ended in divorce.
American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Thomas and artist Walter Galli created the series Stranger Than Fiction plus its topper, Big Little Things. The daily and Sunday series ran from April 1, 1935 to June 4, 1937. It was syndicated by the Watkins Syndicate.
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Brooklyn Eagle, 6/28/1936
The 1940 census counted Thomas and his mother in Manhattan at 163 East 81st Street. He was a newspaper reporter.
Thomas passed away on June 24, 1940, in Manhattan. The cause was a heart attack. The Brooklyn Eagle reported his death and funeral.
Richard W. Thomas Dies; Ex-Reporter, ColumnistRichard Webster Thomas, former reporter and columnist of the Brooklyn Eagle and a candidate for Congress and the State Senate in the downtown area in 1932 and 1934, respectively, died of a heart attack yesterday in his home at 163 E. 81st St., Manhattan.Born 33 years ago in Manhattan, Mr. Thomas was active in newspaper work in Brooklyn for about ten years, remaining “in harness” during the vigorous campaigns he waged to put political theories formed as a newsgatherer to active use in legislative chambers.He was educated at the Collegiate School and Rutgers University and was employed by the Standard News Association and the old Brooklyn Standard Union before joining the Eagle staff and launching a busy career in all phases of reportorial endeavor.A keen student of penology, his views on courtroom procedure were frequently aired in special articles written for the Eagle, and he later became intimately known to this newspaper's readers by conducting a column under the title “By the Way.”‘Stranger Than Fiction’In addition to his regular duties Mr. Thomas found time to delve deeply into the odd and interesting, a hobby that led to his collaboration for several years with Walter Galli of the Eagle art department in the syndicated feature “Stranger Than Fiction.”A stickler for factual reporting, he insisted on substantiating to the last degree the unusual customs and events he unearthed, frequently passing up “real gems” because of inability to establish their proof beyond all quibble or doubt.On entering the 1932 election campaign as the Republican opponent of Representative John J. Delaney, Mr. Thomas waged a forthright, hard-hitting fight based on a strong anti-Tammany stand and a denunciation of the 18th Amendment.Although swamped in the landslide for Franklin D. Roosevelt, the then 25-year-old campaigner, the youngest in the country during that election, made an excellent showing in the Heights area, carrying ten election districts.Before accepting the G.O.P. nomination for State Senator in 1934, to which was added the support of the Fusion, Liberal and Recovery parties, Mr. Thomas published the Brooklyner, a monthly magazine that flourished for about a year.He was married on March 13, 1933, to Betty Stuart Peck of Brooklyn and Belle Terre, daughter of Mrs. Bayard Livingston Peck and a descendant of Philip Livingston, signer, of the Declaration of Independence. They were divorced on Oct. 8, 1935.Formerly active in the Golf and Country Club of Belle Terre, Zeta Psi fraternity and the old Crescent Athletic Club, Mr. Thomas is survived by his mother, now the widow of the Rev. Dr. David G. Wylie, former president of the Lord’s Day Alliance, and a half-sister, Mrs. A. Thornton Baker. His father, Richard Henry Thomas, a engineer, died in 1911.
Richard W. Thomas Final Rites TodayServices Arranged In Manhattan ChurchFuneral services for Richard Webster Thomas, former Brooklyn Eagle reporter and columnist, were held today in the Second Presbyterian Church, Central Park West and W. 96th St., Manhattan. Burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery.Mr. Thomas died of a heart attack in his home, 163 E. 81st St., Manhattan, Monday. He was 33. Born in Manhattan, he was educated at the Collegiate School and Rutgers University. His newspaper career included service on the Standard News Association, the old Brooklyn Standard Union and the Brooklyn Eagle. He was best known as the conductor of the “By the Way” column and the syndicated feature “Stranger Than Fiction.”Mr. Thomas was a candidate for Congress and the State Senate in 1932 and 1934 in the downtown area of Brooklyn. Surviving are his mother, Mrs. Martha Wylie, the widow of the Rev. Dr. David G. Wylie, and a sister, Mrs. A. Thornton Baker, the former Elizabeth Wylie.
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
