Thomas S. Rolph was born on December 18, 1829, in St. Lawrence County, New York, to Stephen Rolph and Eunice Evans. His father was a farmer. The family moved to Stockton, New York, sometime before 1840. He married Jane Kilday in 1862 and their daughter Alvaretta was born around 1863. They lived in Portland, New York, and Rolph worked as a farmer.
He enlisted in the Union army on August 20, 1862, and mustered in as a private in Company G of the 112th New York Infantry later that day. According to his service records, he was 6 feet tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. He was promoted to corporal on September 5, 1862. He was injured in the Battle of Cold Harbor on June 1, 1864, and he probably mustered out soon afterward. He returned to Portland after leaving the army, and he applied for a federal pension in December 1867. By 1870, he owned $600 of personal property. They moved to Meredith, Kansas, sometime in the early 1870s. Jane died in 1886, and he married Aggie Kryder around 1891. By 1900, they were living in Sheridan, Kansas, and Rolph was working as a hotel keeper. He died in Kansas around 1902.