Thomas 4th Ward Druggist


Company Names, addresses, dates: 1
John W. Thomas Jr:
  J W Thomas Jr 194 Church, Norfolk VA (1874)
  John W Thomas Jr, 211 Bute, Norfolk VA (1875-1880)
  John W Thomas Jr, 268 Bute, Norfolk VA (1882-1891)
  John W Thomas Jr, 80 Queen, Norfolk VA (1894-1895)
  John W Thomas Jr, 72 (80) Queen, Norfolk VA (1897-1900) 2
J. Wesley Thomas:
  J Wesley Thomas, Church cor Calvert, Norfolk VA (1882-1883) 1,3
  J Wesley Thomas, 473 Church, Norfolk VA (1885-1890)

Notes:
Up front I want to say "John Wesley Thomas Jr" was the father, and "John Wesley Thomas" without the "Jr" was the son. I know this sounds backwards.

John Wesley Thomas Jr (1836-1904)4 opened a drugstore about 1874 on 194 Church Street. The store moved a few times over the years, and lasted until about 1900.1

His son, John Wesley Thomas (1858-1890)5 who went by "Wesley" was listed as a clerk in city directories as early as 1877, presumably working at his father's store. 1
In 1882, he opened his own drug store. The announcement referred to it as the "4th ward drug store".3
But earlier ads referred to his father's store as the "4th ward drug store"6, so I'm not sure which of those 2 stores the bottle shown below is from.

The son passed away in 1890, and his store was taken over by Hugh H. Tebault.7


Bottles:

thomas_01 This is a clear 4.2" bottle embossed:
vertical: THOMAS / 4TH WARD DRUGGIST / NORFOLK


1 Norfolk City directories, 1851,66,70,72,74-75,77,80,82-83,85-86,88-92,94-95,97-99,1900-20,22-25,27-28,30,33-35,38-40,42,44,46-47,49,51-52,56,48,60
2 Street addresses changed in 1897; 80 Queen Street became 72 Queen Street, but was the same location
3 Weekly Virginian and Carolinian, 25-Sep-1890 p.8 (ad for J. Wesley Thomas's 4th ward drug store)
4 Find-a-grave entry for John Wesley Thomas Jr
5 Find-a-grave entry for John Wesley Thomas
6 Southern Workman 1-Jul-1882 p.79 (ad for "4th ward drug store")
7 Public Ledger, 18-Dec-1890, p.4 (ad for Hugh H Tebault, successor to J. Wesley Thomas)


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This page last updated on March 25, 2026.