Thomas Border was born in Murton Colliery  in 1840. He was the son  of Thomas and Hannah Border . Following in the trade of his father, Thomas Border became a miner, probably at an early age.

On July 13, 1861, Thomas married Ann Ramsay, daughter of Ralph and Jane Mitcheson Ramsay at the Parish Church in Dalton-le-Dale, County Durham.

A son, Ralph Border, was born in 1864 in Murton
Colliery, County Durham.

At some point after this birth, and prior to 1866, Thomas and his brother James took their families to America. Thomas and family settled in Tuscarora, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, an anthracite coal mining area. In 1866, a daughter, Hannah, was born to Thomas and  Ann Border.

Following Hannah's birth in Pennsylvania, a third child, Thomas, was born in 1869 back in Murton Colliery. An interesting quandry indeed!