Thomas was born in 1824 in Thornton Curtis, Lincolnshire, to John Beedham (Agricultural labourer) and his wife Eleanor (nee Leaning).
He followed the customary pattern of hiring as a farm servant before marrying Mary Page in 1848. He worked as a shepherd for a while, then moved at Barrow where he took on the tenancy of a six-acre farm.
He and Mary had seven children.
After Mary died in 1895 he lived on his own, working as a gardener.
He gave Percy Grainger four songs, one recorded at the 1906 Brigg Folk Song Competition.
He died in 1908.