Born in
Birmingham,
England, he was the son of architect
William Thomas. He worked for a few years with his father, and also with his brother, Cyrus. His father emigrated with his family from England to live in Montreal, and there together they made many fine buildings, including some notable
shopping arcades in Montreal, and many buildings in
Old Montreal (such as the Dominion Block, the Recollet House, and the Caverhill Block). His association with his brother Cyrus finished around 1870 when Cyrus decided to pursue his career in
Chicago. Thomas continued on with his work, mostly in Montreal. He designed the
St. George's Anglican Church (Montreal) (1869–1870) and the
Church of St. John the Evangelist (Montreal) (1877–1879). He built many residential buildings for the upper middle classes of Montreal, notably the
George Stephen House, later known as the Mount Stephen Club (1882–1884), and the house of
Thomas Shaughnessy (1874–1875, which is now part of the
Canadian Centre for Architecture. He also designed many buildings in other Canadian provinces. He was a founding member of the
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. == Work ==