Photograph of Thomas Moran, c. 1855, courtesy East Hampton Library
Thomas Moran was born on 12 February 1837 in Bolton, England, the son of a hand-loom weaver whose life had been irrevocably changed by the advent of the Industrial Revolution. Displaced by labor-saving machinery, Thomas Moran Sr. emigrated to America. He settled his family in Kensington, Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia), in 1844.
By the time young Thomas completed grammar school and entered an apprenticeship with a local engraving firm, his older brother Edward had embarked upon a career as an artist. Harboring the same ambition, Thomas terminated his apprenticeship prematurely and began working with Edward in his studio.