Thomas S. Diamond was born about 1737. Antiquarian sources say that he was of Huguenot ancestry, was in Boston in 1759,and that he settled in Albany after the American Revolution. However, he was in Albany by the mid-1760s when his second ward house and lot were noted on the city assessment roll. In 1767, he was included on the roster of the Rensselaerswyck militia company. He was a member and officer of the Albany Masonic lodge.

He has been called a Boston carpenter who was one of the builders of the Patroon's new home north of Albany.

In 1771, he was living above the East Manor and was the first clerk of the new town of Lansingburgh. In the years following, he seems to have settled in Albany where he lived the remainder of his life.

His wife was Mary Mc Lane - the mother of his children. He was member of the Albany Presbyterian church. He also witnessed baptisms at the Albany Dutch church where his grandchildren were christened! Albany and regional resident William M. Diamond probably was his sole surviving son.

We seek information on his activities during the War for Independence. After the war, he was accorded a land bounty right in conjunction with the Albany militia regiment.

In 1779, his first ward property appeared on Albany assessment rolls. During the 1780s and 90s, his name appeared on a variety of community-based records and documents. In 1790, his first ward home on the south side of Hudson Street included two men, two females, and a slave. He also leased a lot south of Wolf Street from the city.

Thomas S. Diamond died in July 1796 at the age of fifty-nine. He was buried on August 25, 1796 in the Presbyterian church cemetery plot. His will identified his wife (but not by name), son William, two daughters, and a granddaughter. It passed probate on August 31. His widow died in 1817.

Sources: The life of Thomas S. Diamond (aka Thomas Smith Dimont/Dymond) is CAP biography number 7872. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources. In 1794, a portrait painted for him was noted in Ezra Ames's account book. At this point, we have not established his connection to the Deyermond family of the Albany area.

Excerpted from Landmarks of Rensselaer County, p. 120: Diamond, George T., was born in Albany, May 14, 1838. He was a son of Thomas S. and Margaret (Lainhart) Diamond, he a native of Albany and she of Guilderland, N. Y. The grandfather of Mr. Diamond was William M. Diamond, who was the first male child born in Lansingburgh, and in honor of the event Judge Lansing deeded him a lot. His father was Thomas S., of French extraction ; he was quartermaster in the Revolutionary war and was present at the Boston Tea Party. Thomas S. Diamond settled in Lansingburgh and then removed to Albany and afterwards to New York city. While in Albany he was one of the founders and junior warden of the Master's Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. His father was Sir Hugh Diamond.