Alexander Thoms papers

Photographs of geological formations, bird colonies and Polynesia, undated [nineteenth century]; Letter from M Forster Heddle to ? Dudgeon, undated; Obituary of Alexander Thoms from 'The St Andrews Citizen', 1926.

Alexander Thoms, of the Thoms of Clepington family, was the son-in-law of Mathew Forster Heddle (1862-1884), Professor of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews. As a young man Thoms went ot Bengal, India, where he remained engaged in estate and plantation business for about thirty years. In 1884 he moved to St Andrews and remained there until his death. He was active in local affairs and a keen supporter of St Andrews Cottage Hospital. In 1884 he was ordained an elder in St Leonard's kirk and was kirk treasurer from 1889-1921. An amateur mineralogist, Thoms presented a valuable collection of stones and minerals to University College, Dundee. He died in 1925 aged 89.

Open for consultation subject to preservation requirements. Access must also conform to the restrictions of the Data Protection Act and any other appropriate legislation.

These records were transferred from Dundee University Library in 1976. They may have originally belonged to Alexander Thoms' father-in-law Matthew Forster Heddle, Professor of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews (1862-1884) and author of various papers on mineralogy.

Compiled by Caroline Brown, University of Dundee, and Jenny Cutts, Scottish Archive Network Project.

Descriptive list available at Dundee University Archives. Subject source lists and databases are also available.

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