Thomas M Minitor was born and raised in Washington, DC. Both his parents, Thomas Minitor and Honora Leahy, were immigrants from Ireland. At age 21 he may have traveled to Philadelphia seeking work; the 1880 census shows him living in a boarding house with other Irish and working as a laborer. Six years later he married Anastacia McCardell in Baltimore. Thomas worked as a machinest and Anastacia cared for their growing family at home in the Hampden area of Baltimore.
Anastacia McCardell was born in Baltimore, Maryland, her father in Pennsylvania and her mother in Ireland (Samuel McCardel and Mary Jane Ellison). At the age of 19 she was working in a cotton mill and using the name Annie. After marrying Thomas, Anastacia delivered four girls in five years. Anastacia died, likely in childbirth or shortly thereafter.
The two youngest daughters (newborn and 2 years old) were sent to stay with Anastasia's sister Lillie McCardell Smith and her husband Elmer Ellsworth Smith. Honora was sent to live with her uncle Michael Minitor, and Mary was sent to...
Thomas married Elizabeth Wright four years later and together they had three more children, the first of which did not survive. Thomas continued working as a machine rigger and then machine shop foreman. He died in 1923 and Elizabeth died two years later.