Thomas, David (1762-1831) Revolutionary War soldier, state legislator, congressman. David Thomas was born in Pelham, Massachusetts. He joined an expedition to relieve Rhode Island in 1877, and served in the enlisted ranks in the Fifth and Third Massachusetts Regiments from 1781 to 1783. After the war he moved to New York, where he was commissioned a captain of the state militia in 1787. In 1805 he attained the rank of major general of the Northern Division of the New York Militia. He served four terms in the U.S. Congress representing the seventh district of New York, and then served in a number of state positions until his reputation was tarnished by a bribery charge in 1812. Though acquitted by a trial, he retired from political life and left the state.
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