Thomas M. Ireton was born on October 27, 1834, in Ohio to Anthony and Martha Ireton. His father was a farmer who owned $5,000 of real estate and $4,200 of personal property by 1860. He grew up and attended school in Monroe, Ohio, and by 1860, he was working as a farmer.
He enlisted in the Union army on August 10, 1862, and he mustered in as a corporal in Company F of the 89th Ohio Infantry on August 22. The regiment took part in the Chickamauga campaign, the Atlanta campaign, the March to the Sea, and the Carolinas campaign. He was promoted to sergeant on April 7, 1864, and he mustered out on June 7, 1865.
He returned to Monroe after the war, and he married Laura Fee in April 1867. They had at least four children: Artie, born around 1868; Charles, born around 1870; Tillie, born around 1873; and Florence, born around 1875. He worked as a merchant, and by 1870, he owned $400 of real estate and $1,500 of personal property. He employed at least one white domestic servant. He applied for a federal pension in July 1886 and eventually secured one. The family moved to Richmond, Indiana, I the late 1800s. He died of Bright’s disease in Richmond on June 19, 1911.