Thomas Eddie was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1799.  At the age of 17, he shipped away to New Orleans.  He traveled up the Missisippi River to St. Louis. He worked at Theodore Hunt's farm, in what is now St. Louis County, in return for 160 acres of land.  

 In 1823, he joined a group of trappers with the Rocky Mountain Fur Expedition.  He had many adventures on this expedition.  He often set out alone in the uncharted west, earning the nickname "Old Solitary."  He was one of the first white men to chart the Great Salt Lake.

Legend says that when Eddie returned in 1827, he traded his "store bought boots" for his next 60 acres of land.  He owned a popular tavern, "The Green Tree Inn' which was where the Gateway Arch now stands.  He later purchased another 150 acres of land, for a total of 370 acres.

Thomas Eddie married Margaret Clark  and had 11 children, some whom died in childhood. It is believed that his family cemetery was established with the death of his first son, Thomas, at one day old. 

Thomas Eddie died peacefully the age of 89 and was buried in the family cemetery.  When his land was sold, the deed described the land "less the family cemetery", which sits in the middle of a suburban neighborhood today.