Thomas Willett Rev. Samuel Hooker, son of Rev. Thomas Hooker, Puritan divine and founder of Hartford, Connecticut. Some have claimed that his great-grandson was Marinus Willett, who also served as Mayor of New York, from 1807-08. This claim has been refuted by E. Haviland Hillman in an article published in "The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record", Volume 47 at 119, published in April 1916. The descendants of Thomas Willett were numerous. The 'Dorothy Q.' of the poem of Oliver Wendell Holmes was Thomas Willett's great-granddaughter, and the great-grandmother of Holmes. Another of Thomas Willett's descendants is American musician Parthenon Willett Miller
Vincent Thomas (mayor) elected Thomas as the new mayor in 1976 by a 4-3 margin on the 27th ballot. He was re-elected as mayor by the city council for three additional term, each unopposed from 1976 to 1984. Thomas supported the construction of the Waterside development, as well as the downtown revitalization efforts. Mayor Vincent Thomas held a meeting with the Rev. Jesse Jackson in 1983 to discuss Norfolk's controversial school busing plan. The busing program was discontinued in 1986. Thomas actively supported the candidacy's of Norfolk's second African-American city council member. He declined to seek re-election in 1984. Shortly after his decision