Wrenn, Thomas F.

10 Sept. 1860–31 May 1940

Thomas F. Wrenn, manufacturer and financier, was born near Liberty in Randolph County, the son of Merritt C. and Nancy Elizabeth Jarrell Wrenn. His father, a Confederate soldier, died near the end of the Civil War, and his mother reared their two sons, Thomas F. and Manleff J.; their daughter died in childhood. While her sons were still young, Nancy Wrenn moved to the small settlement of High Point where they attended school.

In 1888 Wrenn joined J. H. Tate and E. A. Snow in organizing the High Point Furniture Company, the first furniture plant in the town. Snow soon sold his interest in the business to Wrenn's brother, Manleff, as did Tate. In 1898, when he moved to Marion, Thomas also sold his share to Manleff. For many years Thomas Wrenn owned the Catawba Furniture Company in Marion and later also bought the Wrenn Hosiery Company in Thomasville.

On 10 Aug. 1898 Wrenn married Sadie Elizabeth Weedon, who died on 18 May 1909. In 1912 he married Mrs. Pearl Pitts Perry; she died on 24 Jan. 1930. Wrenn was in New York City for an operation on 22 May 1940 and died there after a short illness. He was buried in Marion.