Griffith Thomas Elementary was named after the first professional teacher in Dublin. Thomas was born in Pennsylvania on July 5, 1788. He moved to Ohio when he was 18 years old. Eventually he found his way to Dublin and stayed for 2 years. He taught school in the winter and worked on a farm in the summer. After 2 years Thomas moved to Virginia to be closer to his family. He moved around several southern states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Griffith Thomas eventually returned to Ohio because it was a free state where slavery was illegal. He and his wife Sarah married in 1815. They had 3 sons and 1 daughter, who was born in Dublin in 1823. In 1853 the Thomas family moved into the first house east of Sawmill Road. Thomas died in 1858, but Sarah lived in the same house until her death in 1880.
Thomas Elementary was named to honor the many professional teachers in Dublin schools, past, present, and future. While Griffith Thomas may have been the first professional teacher, he certainly wasn’t the last.