Thomas S. Jordan was born on 3 January, 1832 in Macon, Bibb county, GA (according to his obit). Both of his parents were born in GA (according to his census info).
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In 1847, he began apprenticeship as a printer in "the Advertiser" office (this is from his newspaper obit in Ashland, AL - I am assuming that this means the "Advertiser" newspaper in Montgomery, AL, given that, according to that same obit, in 1852 he was foreman of the job office that printed the Code of Alabama - Brittan and DeWolf, State Printers, Montgomery, AL).
I can not find him anywhere on the 1850 census.
On the 10th of October, 1859, at Wedowee, Alabama, Thomas married Mary Creel, who was born in Carroll county, GA; she was the daughter of Jordan Creel and Mary (Polly) White, both of Carroll county.
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(Note: Thomas S. Jordan is NOT one of the two Thomas Jordan/Jourdans in Carroll county, GA. (1)Thomas Jordan, son of Samuel and Martha, was born on the very same day as my Thomas S - but this Thomas married "Fannie" and died in 1911 in Haralson Co., GA. (2) Thomas A. Jordan, b. 1836, s/o William Tadford and Agnes Blair Jordan, married Sarah E..Dyer, and died in Carroll county after the 1920 census.)
The 1860 Randolph Co., AL, census, Wedowee, Dwelling 17, has:
T.G.W. Jourdan (28, male, printer, born in GA, married within the yr)
Mary Jourdan (22, female, HW, born in GA, married within the yr)
Cinthia Jourdan (38, female, HW, born in SC)
T.G.W. Jordan had married Cynthia Smith in Harris County, GA, July 14, 1853. Thomas S. Jordan and Mary Creel had married in 1859. Apparently, the man listed in the 1860 Randolph county census is Thomas S., not T.G.W. Where was T.G.W., and what relationship was he to Thomas S.? Cynthia died of some sort of fever shortly after this census was taken, and the only other mention anywhere of T.G.W. is on a muster of the Camp of Instruction in Talladega during the Civil War.
Thomas S. was a courier for the C. S. A. between West Point, GA and Talladega, AL during the Civil War. I can not find him on a muster roll, but am told couriers were often not listed on a muster.
On July 21, 1860, Thomas and Mary's first son, Joseph Wiley Jordan, was born. This son practiced medicine in Ashland, Clay county, Alabama until his death in 1951. He also was elected to serve in the state legislature in 1930s.
In 1862, a second son, William Dotson Jordan, was born to Thomas and Mary. As an adult, he owned a drug store in Ashland, Alabama.
In 1864, a daughter, Mary, was born.
After the war, Thomas farmed for a while near Opelika, AL, then worked as a printer until starting his own newspaper, The Opelika Reformer.
The 1870 census shows:
Girard Beat No. 1, County of Russell, AL, Post Office Columbus, GA, 27th day of June 1870
Jourden, Thomas 38 M W Farmer GA
Mary 32 F W KH GA
Joseph 10 M W GA
William 8 M W GA
Mary 6 F W AL
Little Mary died at age 7, and is buried in Girard.
Thomas and Mary later adopted Mary Dyson/Dison, b. 1876. Apparently they did not legally adopt her, since she kept the surname Dyson. She m. Robert L. Thurman in 1893 in Clay county, AL.
In 1876, Thomas moved from Opelika to Coosa county, AL, where he and his sons published The Coosa News. In 1878, he moved to Ashland, AL, in Clay county, where he began publishing another newspaper.
The 1880 census for Ashland, Clay Co AL; Stamped page 69; 03 Jun 1880; Asst Marshall J F Cole; Dwelling #58; Family #58:
JORDAN Thomas W M 48 married Printer GA GA GA
Mary W F 42 wife married KH GA GA GA
Joseph W. W M 20 son printer AL GA GA
Willis D W M 18 son printer AL GA GA
DISON Mary J W F 4 adopted AL AL AL
At 9:15 PM, 6 May, 1894. 62yo Thomas S. Jordan died in Ashland, AL, after a confrontation with a rooster which resulted in sepsis. He had been a Baptist, a Mason (he had a Mason's funeral), and he was active in local politics.
