Col. Lewys (Lewis) THOMAS ¹

  General Notes:

Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales By Thomas Nicholas (Google book):

Sheriff of Glamorgan1624 (James I); Lewis Thomas ap William, Esq of Bettws.
Under-Sheriff of Glamorgan 1631 (Charles I); Lewis Thomas, Gent.

Lewis Thomas took the King's side in the English Civil War, while his cousins fought for Cromwell. He was taken prisoner at Highnam on 25th March 1643 and he and forty other officers of Lord Herbert's defeated army were allowed to live. When he fought again on the losing side at the last battle of the civil war at St Fagan's, Worcestershire in 1648, he lost his life * . His estates were confiscated and his landless son, William Thomas, later joined an army that Cromwell sent to supress an Irish rebellion
*But his Will is dated 20 Oct 1653 and seems to indicate he died later, in 1656.

Note: History of the County of Glamorganshire - Wales
Glamorgan sent troops to join Charles I at the Battle of Edgehill, and their Member of Parliament Sir Edward Stradling was captured in the conflict.
Battle of St Fagans (1648), where the New Model Army overcame a larger Royalist to prevent a siege of Cardiff.

Extract from http://www.cenquest.co.uk/Bas%20Res/Civil%20War.htm about St Fagan's:
Colonel Horton proceeded to take vengeance. Eleven of the principal prisoners were brought on board the Admiral Crowther man-of-war then lying at Cardiff, and tried by court martial: Major-General Stradling, Major Phillips, Captain Thomas Matthews, Captain Button (Laugharne's brother-in-law), Mr. Miles Matthews, Lieutenant-Colonel Hopkin Popkins, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Morgan, Colonel Arthur Harries, Captain Edward Walker, Captain Rich Cradock, and Lieutenant-Colonel Lewis Thomas . Of these three were shot and one hanged. This excessive severity was perhaps necessary, for the insurrection was spreading. The number of prisoners, said to have been 3000, was so great that an application was made to the Parliament by Prince Charles Lodovict to have permission to transport some of the prisoners to Italy. This was granted with the proviso that they should be volunteers and confined to the common people of Wales. Any from outside Wales were to be transported to the West Indies.

From Connor Thomas:

. From Burke's "Extinct & Dormant Baronetage", p. 510, column b: Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Edward Stradling, Bt., married 1stly to Edward Turberville, Esq., of Sutton and 2ndly, to Lewis Thomas, Esq. (no address given).
From Thomas Dring's "A Catalogue of the Lords, Knights and Gentlemen that hath compounded for their estates" (printed 1655): Lewis Thomas of Peterston, Monmouth, gent., £126. (This chap was fined rather more heavily than most of the Royalists). Peterston, now Peterstone Wentlooge, is a village which is on the coast, a few miles to the east of Cardiff.
3. From "A Catalogue of the Graduates from the University of Dublin" (Trinity College Dublin). The list contains a number of Thomas', including two Bartholomews (in 1726 & 1772), Joshua ( in 1702) and three Lewis' (in 1746, 1796 and 101)

To pique your interest in the pre-Lewis Thomas era, I have family papers that suggest that there is a line to Rhys Ap Thomas, who was a leading commander for the English in raids into Europe. Rhys Ap Thomas is well documented on the internet.

Cheers
Connor

Dr Connor J Thomas
Head, Microbiology and Immunology
Coordinator Level 2 Microbiology
School of Molecular and Biomedical Science
The University of Adelaide, South Australia, AUSTRALIA 5005
Ph : +61 8 8313 5396
Fax : +61 8 8313 4362
E-mail: connor.thomas@adelaide.edu.au <mailto:connor.thomas@adelaide.edu.au>

Lewys married Elizabeth STRADLING, daughter of Sir Edward STRADLING 2nd Bt. and Mary MANSEL, after 1620.

  Marriage Notes:

A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies ... Page 510
By John Burke, John Bernard Burke (sir.)