Thomas Severn was born in Pennslyvania in 1804. He died January 16, 1879 and was buried at Vincent Baptist Church.

There is a 1835 letter written by him while he is a teacher in a one room school in Muncy, Pennsylvania. This shows a passionate interest in his part in the Baptist church and in common education. Also a wanderlust talking about moving to the ‘town’ of Chicago.

He first appears in the 1860 census for Reading 2nd ward where he and wife Mary appear in the very next habitation to Joanna Jones (Mary’s sister) and children who had just arrived in Reading, after selling the Tredyffrin farm earlier that year. The conclusion is that the widow Joanna was motivated to settle in Reading through the influence of Thomas and wife Mary. In that 1860 census Thomas’ occupation is listed as gentleman.

Thomas and wife again appear in the 1870 census for Reading and again as neighbors to Joanna Jones and her remaining children.

I suspect he travelled to Wisconsin where he engaged in land speculation. A Thomas Severn appears in the records of litigation relating to land. Also by the 1860s he appears in a firm of Severn and Jones, apparently comprised of himself and Samuel Jones (the brother of Mary Jones of the diary) which was involved in the food business. That enterprise seemed to last until the mid 1860s.

But apparently despite such enterprises never changed his Reading residence as confirmed by the 1860 and 1870 census. In approximately 1878 he became Superintendent of the Reading School District and held that office practically up to his death in January 1879. The District named a school the Thomas Severn Building, which I do not know whether it still exists.

- Richard Dorsey