Gladys (Kimball) Thomas (Alternate spelling Gladdis)

Birth: Born around 1917 in Texas.  

Family Information: Daughter of Charles and Anna (Shipman) Kimball.

Sister of Ernest Kimball.

Nephew of Will Shipman.

Married Blair Thomas while living in the colony -- sometime after the 1930 census and before October 1932.

In January 1933 the couple welcomed a little girl weighing seven and one-half pounds. On April 14th the infant died and was buried in the Newllano cemetery the following day. Comrade Moore officiated at services conducted at the Thomas residence.  

Description:  

Pre-Colony History: In 1920 she was living with her parents, siblings, and maternal grandmother (M.A. Shipman) in Orange, Texas.

In 1928 Gladys, along with her mother and brother from Orange, Texas, visited her uncle at the Rice Ranch. During the visit, they cheerfully put on their working togs and helped the Bantas with the domestic duties and helped out in the dairy.  

Home in Colony: In 1930 she was living in the colony with her parents, her sister, and her uncle.  

Job in Colony: In May 1929 she and Sam Fall were busy at the Rice Ranch with large new broods of ducks, chicks and infant piggies, too numerous to count.

In July 1931 Septer Baldwin traveled to the Rice Ranch, taking Gladys and Beatrice Jensen to stay for a while (as all the women did in their turn) and do housekeeping for the workers there.

In October 1931 and into 1932 she was working in the hotel kitchen, helping her mother wash dishes.  

Other Info: In November 1930 she was part of the re-organized Girls Glee Club which included: Florence Aiton, Nellie Bradshaw, Verda Bradshaw, Madeline Van Buskirk, Ethel Clark, Zelma De Faussell, Gladys Kimball, Ruth Kittle, Hope Shoemaker, Ruth Shoemaker, Laura Synoground, Dorothy Thompson, Sylvia Tuber and Ruby Nesnow, pianiste.

In September 1931, she, her mother and brother, along with her uncle and his wife, Anna (Case) Shipman, attended a reception at the Roof Garden where they enjoyed cards, music, dancing and refreshments.  

Post-Colony History: In 1940 she was living with her husband, Blair, and their two children in Orange, Texas where he was working as a laborer on a WPA project.  

Death:  

Sources: Family Member: Sharon Marsh Thomas; Llano Colonist: October 20, 1928, May 18, 1929, July 20, 1929, November 8, 1930, July 18, 1931, September 5, 1931, October 10, 1931, October 31, 1931, October 8, 1932, January 14, 1932; US Census: 1920, 1930, 1940;