William Holland Thomas was born in 1805 on the Western North Carolina frontier. He was raised by his widowed mother, Temperance Thomas, and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee people. Known as Wil-Usdi or Little Will, Thomas was schooled in the Cherokee languages and customs. He was later named a chief of a small group of North Carolina Cherokees in 1839. Due to his friendship with the Cherokee people, he was positioned as a unique transcultural figure. He fought to keep the Cherokee people from being forced off their land. He later served as a Confederate colonel, a state senator, a businessman, the builder of railroads, and an ambitious developer. Thomas spent much of his later life in and out of mental health institutions. Thomas died on May 10, 1893.

James Robert Thomas, William Holland Thomas's son, was born in 1860. He was a socially prominent businessman in North Carolina. He spent much of his life managing the estate and business affairs of his father. He died in 1936.